At the Chiller Theatre Expo in Parsippany, NJ this past weekend, the world's largest collection of Jaws memorabilia came to the show for the first time ever. The collection is rarely exhibited in public at all. I knew I had to check it out. It's a big part of why I even went to the show at all. Number one reason was the art contest. Number two reason was I knew too many artists/vendors not to go hang out with them for the day when they were in the area. And number three was the Jaws museum. Chris Kiszka has been collecting Jaws props for a long time. Not just replicas or window cards, but actual props that were used on set. He even has one of the head puppets used for shooting close-ups of the shark attacks.

Protected in a thick glass case and displayed like a permanent museum exhibition, the Jaws Museum experience was quite impressive. The display cases and head were lined up on the back wall, flanked by the stars who could make it to the convention for a signing. It was quite a production that was jam packed from about 12PM until I left around 6PM. I was lucky I walked in as soon as I could (issues finding anyone who could help me find the art contest registration while I fought cold feet, more on that in a much larger post).

There was something indescribable about being that close to props from that film. I mean, I've been to haunted houses that rent out props from Saw and museums with special exhibits on grindhouse films. I've even been on The Great Movie Ride more times than I can remember just to get another look at all those sensational props on the queue line.

But we're talking about the most critically acclaimed monster movie of all time here. The film went three for four on Academy Award nominations, only losing out on Best Picture to One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. The film cemented a fear of sharks into the mind of audiences worldwide. I've talked to many people who were fortunate enough to see Jaws during its original theatrical run who gleefully describe the audience's shocked reaction to the film and how they were afraid to go back in the ocean for a while.

Jaws is a cultural zeitgeist because of the critical and commercial success. The film is still held in great acclaim today and is still being referenced, copied, and parodied across all entertainment media. I might be misremembering, but I think I accidentally created a discussion about a potential Jaws musical when I was trying out for the Geek & Sundry vlog channel (interactive Google Hangout, mentioned scary musicals, someone else brought up Jaws). It's simply one of those films, not just a horror film but a film, that people seek out.

The Jaws Museum showed off just how much care went into making the film. The level of detail was astounding. Everything was aged, distressed, and finished to perfection. If you didn't tell me they were movie props, I would have thought they really were items just fished out of the ocean and thrown on a shelf.

Check out the gallery and share your Jaws thoughts below.

This post was part of 31 Days of Horror 2013.