LOS ANGELES — Hollywood horror is on full display at Icons of Darkness, and while some might find the figures less than friendly, collector Rich Correll said the monsters, dinosaurs, aliens and orcs are all his pals.

Correll insists he could sleep soundly in a room full of Freddy figures and Chucky dolls.

"I'm right at home with all this stuff," he laughed.

Collecting creatures has been a lifelong passion for Correll, dating back to when he was a child actor on the TV show "Leave it to Beaver." 

"Jerry Mathers and I were huge monster fans," he said. "We used to bug our makeup guy about, 'Hey, can you take us to the makeup lab at Universal?'"

This was a time when film memorabilia was just being thrown away, he said. When they finally talked their way into the room, he recognized an opportunity when he saw it.

"There was a head in the trash from a movie called 'Abbott and Costello meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,'" he remembered. “Boris Karloff played Jekyll and Hyde. I knew what it was. I said to these guys, 'Hey, can I take that?' I was a little, you know, like 10-year-old kid. Guy said, 'Yeah, sure.' That launched this hobby of mine."

That piece remains under glass, but in the more than 50 years since, Correll has amassed what may be the world's largest collection of horror, sci-fi and fantasy memorabilia, with 2,800 pieces worth close to $15 million.

For a long time, Correll housed his collection in a massive warehouse in Ohio, but having them back in Hollywood for the Icons of Darkness exhibit is a bit of a homecoming. He said it's where they belong.

Visitors are led through several rooms by a docent who explains the various pieces, giving guests ample time to ooh and ahh, appreciate the scope, study the details and take plenty of selfies.

"There should be a way to pay tribute to these movies," he explained. "You know, keep them alive and preserve them and be out there for the fans."

Mike Hill is way more than a fan.

"This is faint worthy for me to see this stuff," he gushed, looking at a selection of items from the Terminator films.

He does not just love monster movies. He makes them. The effects artist and sculptor has breathed life into many modern-day creatures like the leading man — or fish — from "The Shape of Water."

"When you see the work that goes into these, every pore, every vein, every capillary," Hill said. "I think people will come away more appreciative of the art that goes into making monsters."

As movies use more and more CGI effects, memorabilia is harder to come by because it only exists on a computer. It is why Correll is preserving the past and planning to make the exhibit permanent by opening a Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Hall of Fame next year.  

His goal is not necessarily to scare people, although he does enjoy tapping into that awe, that energy, and in some cases, the nostalgia one gets from movie magic.

"It's funny. People come through and say, 'I remember where I was when I saw this. I remember where I was when I saw that,'" Correll said. "The whole thing is just a lot of fun because of people getting scared. Most of the time if somebody gets scared, they scream and then they laugh. So if they are laughing they are having fun."

For some, a horror show, for some a funhouse, but underneath all the macabre makeup and latex, Icons of Darkness, which is open through the end of the year, is really a love letter to movies, right in the heart of Hollywood.