Jaws Memorabilia, Merchandise And Memories

Aside from Jaws clothing, posters and games, there are some items that are extremely collectible. The big one that everyone wants to get their hands on is the Jaws box set with action figures.

Well if my memories of Jaws weren't thrilling enough for a young girl, the early 80s came with another surprise...a trip to Martha's Vineyard! Now I assure you that my mom and stepfather weren't bringing me there because of Jaws...but it just so happened that much of it was filmed there! Yes, the billboard "welcome to Amity" sign was still in place, the lighthouse was in the distance - I was in Jawsland!!

Even I didn't know I was in for such a treat. I didn't know about details like where it was filmed, and the internet didn't exist so there was no way of me finding out. Our plan was to do a tour of the east coast, starting from our Chicago home, and making a loop including Maine and Niagara Falls, then back home. It was truly a fluke that I ended up in the place where the movie was filmed. That they left some Hollywood accents about made it almost too much for me to bear.

Of course, now about 13 years of age, this also encouraged me to NOT SWIM in the water. I was already afraid of sharks, given this would be my first trip to an actual body of salt water. Our hotels were always on the beach...I was just seconds from an ocean the entire trip...but I wouldn't go in.

Nope...I knew what lurked out there, waiting for me in the ocean. I could actually hear the Jaws theme in my head as I looked out over the water (dah-dump. dah-dump,dah-dump. dah-dah-dah-dump x 50...you get the idea).  Even the light on the water would play tricks on me, certain I saw a shark fin, a shark head - maybe even the land shark from Saturday Night Live!

Yes, on this trip, I would stick to hotel swimming pools 100%...and I did.

Learn everything you want to know about Jaws right HERE

So after my childhood of growing up with Jaws, which was a pretty neat, I must admit...more Jaws sequels came about. I couldn't wait to once again watch the shark terrorize the waters off Amity Island...but as usually happens, Hollywood blew it (in my humble opinion).

Jaws 2 was similar to the first, and I really liked it. Of course you can't beat the original movie, but they really did a good job. Then came Jaws 3D in theaters (just called Jaws 3 on DVD). Of course, we all flocked to the theater for this high tech movie, but the plot was awful and completely disappointing.

I won't even begin to discuss the 4th Jaws movie (Jaws: The Revenge) because it was just absolutely ridiculous. I don't even think the director or actors knew what they were talking about. All of the sharks in the past were blown up in some form - but now the relatives were hunting down the family? Geez...

But again, these movies are cult classics. We just recently watched all four in a row, which was a lot of fun - and it clearly reminded us just how silly the last ones are.

The thrill of the movie Jaws cannot be denied...I still love to watch it! That said, I must admit that as a child, and now as an adult, I am afraid of sharks. I can't blame Peter Benchley or Steven Spielberg completely because we are always afraid of things we don't know.

Mind you, I've never lived by the ocean, know little about sharks or attacks, so the odds of my being attacked by a shark are relatively low (haha). But even as a CHILD who would swim in FRESH WATER, where I knew there were no sharks around, Jaws was forever etched in my mind...so it did make some impact on me.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I can't say...but I do know that I am a huge Jaws fan and would be disappointed to have missed out on the decades of Jaws movies, books, posters and games. There are few movies I've seen that have stuck with me so long.

Even today there are modern games for Wii called "Jaws: Ultimate Predator", also available for Nintendo - which means even the younger generations are still helping to keep this classic movie alive.