How do you describe your collection?
It’s spooktacular and magical. It’s my comfort and a reflection of myself.
I have a good number of toys and games from the 1950s and ’60s. I have really old Casper pull toys, including one where he’s playing a xylophone. I have a good mix of plushies from different decades, made of all kinds of materials. But so much more was released when the 1995 Casper movie came out. They also started making computer games for the PlayStation, Game Boy, and others at that time.
My Guinness World Record was established with 1,153 items. The passion doesn’t stop at a number. I currently have 1,685 objects. My goal this year is to get to 2,000 items, and I know I can do it.
When and why did you start your collection?
I first discovered Casper through the older cartoons when I was five or six years old. Back then, dollar stores sold VHS tapes. I remember going with my grandpa, and he would buy me the Casper tapes. I was able to get a good number of them.
Growing up, I felt so much like Casper. In my family, I was the little black sheep, the one who’s in the other room alone, crying, as the family all gathered together. That’s my story. As sad as it is, I turned it into something good. Casper would befriend the lonely, the misfits, and people like that. I thought he would be my best friend. I’m also a friendly spirit kind of person. I related so much to him. He was a comfort to me from a very young age.
I was eight when the Casper movie was released and I became even more hooked. I felt drawn to the character, but also to Camden, Maine, where the movie was filmed. I felt so connected to the New England scenery. I know this can be a hard subject to touch on — past lives and the things you can remember. I’ve always had dreams of certain scenery. It was the same environment I saw in the Casper movie. It was familiar and comforting to me.
My great-grandmother bought me my first Casper plush. Then for school, I got a Casper lunchbox, pencils, book covers, and a backpack. I was a little Casper fan, so I started a collection.
When my parents divorced, it was very nasty and my dad took the majority of our stuff from my mom, my sister, and me. But I was able to save a few of my Casper items. As I got my own life situated, I was able to collect much more — I still had Casper in my heart. Fast forward to me having a son and going to a friend’s store that sold vintage toys and memorabilia — there was a Casper toy. It was like one of those moments in a movie — flashing lights and flashbacks of happy memories and the comfort of remembering how much loved Casper. I bought the toy for my son. He had just turned four and I thought it was time he was introduced to Casper. I gave it to him when we got home and his eyes filled with joy. He cuddled and loved him. Soon after, I showed him some of the Casper cartoons and he watched them all the time. Then I got him into the movie. It was my favourite and now my little boy loves it too. He’s nine now and still has his little Casper best friend. We don’t get tired of it. My son still loves being in that room — we watch Casper and play. It reawakened my love for Casper.
It all started as a small collection for my son and me to both enjoy — then, the pandemic happened. The collection grew out of his room and into a guest room that we never used. I bought curio cabinets and started hanging stuff on the wall. With the pandemic, everyone was on TikTok connecting with people that way. I started following a Scooby-Doo collector, Danii Meger. She’s a Guinness World Record holder and encouraged me to apply for a record after she saw my collection. No Casper record had been established, so they created one for me. They said I needed 1,000 individual licensed items to be considered for a record. I had 830. So close. My husband said, “We’re gonna do this.” We started shopping around and seeing what good deals we could get.
Then we went to Japan, where my husband is from.
We looked up antique stores during our visit and found so many that sell American memorabilia. We hit up as many as we could, and there was tons of Casper stuff. I told them about my mission to set a world record. They looked around for vintage things for me. Some stores sell new things as well, such as bags and charms — all kinds of stuff. I was able to get a lot. We filled four suitcases with 113 items from that trip.
We ended up stuck in Okinawa for an extra two weeks because of typhoons. We finally made it to Tokyo. That delay was meant to be because we ran into a lady with a camera crew and a crowd that had gathered. I asked my husband if he recognized her. He didn’t. I said hello to her and had a chance to talk with her — my husband translated. She was interested in knowing our story and why we had all these suitcases. I told her about my love for fashion and my dream to work in fashion in Tokyo, that I was doing some photo shoots with my sister-in-law there. I also told her about my mission of getting a Guinness World Record for my Casper collection. Little did I know, she was a comedian from a famous nationwide television show in Japan called Hirunandesu! They included me in her opening segment of the show and also did a full segment featuring my story.
I was still shy of the 1,000 items I needed when we got home from Japan, so we did some online shopping — including sites in Japan where I could have my purchases shipped to my in-laws’ house.
I collected more than the 1,000 items I needed for Guinness. I prepared all the documentation — a spreadsheet with the name of the object, photo, description, and a timestamp from the video taken of the witnesses counting the item. I turned everything in on October 25, 2023 and established the record. I love that it happened in October because it’s Casper and Halloween.
The entire process took about a year from my initial contact with Guinness to setting the record. I received confirmation of the record on February 9, 2024 — a week before what would have been my grandpa’s birthday. My grandma was in hospice care at the time and I was able to show her the record before she passed. She was beyond proud and said that she always knew that I was going to do big things in life. My grandparents were everything to me. My grandfather always told me that I was his Number One. I knew that they were with me along the way as I continued with all of the successes that came along after getting the world record. It was hard to get noticed for my fashion designs and jewellery. I was trying to get out there, but because I was so different in my designs, people just brushed me off. Now, I finally have a voice. And since becoming the Casper girl, I’ve gotten out there more, and now I’m able to sell my jewellery. I’m able to do more. People are listening to me. People care about my story.
It’s been a turnaround — from feeling like a ghost my whole life to finally being seen.
How do you display and store your collection?
Everything is out for you to see. I am the embodiment of “where there’s a will, there’s a way”.
I have designated binders for small things like pictures, trading cards, and pogs.
It may take me a couple of hours to figure out a way to arrange a new item in a cabinet that’s already filled, but I make it work. People’s jaws drop when they walk into the room. It’s a wonderful feeling because I created my own personal sanctuary, and it’s like it’s still 1995 and I’m the little girl with the Casper blanket and plushie. I have my comfort. The world out here is scary and mean, but I’m in there, safe with Casper. I still have that inner child, and I’m healing every day. That’s how this collection helps me.
A friend told me that I should be more of an advocate for mental health and children who grew up like me. That’s something I want to do. I’m telling the story of what happened in my life because I know other people are either growing up like I did or grew up like me. I’m currently writing a book — I’ve already signed a contract with a publisher — to share my story. It includes how Casper impacted my life.
After all that work I did for Guinness, I keep my spreadsheet updated so that I have an accurate inventory of all my things. Even though it scares me to say this, it’s also in case anyone tries to challenge my record in an attempt to establish their own. For Danii, she keeps collecting and retains her record even though there are a lot of Scooby-Doo collectors. My friend, Robert O’Connor, was the first world-record holder for Ghostbusters, and somebody came for that title. He’s been very encouraging to me to keep going with my collection.
People have their personal reasons for collecting. For me, with Casper, it’s so deep — it’s how I grew up. It’s the only thing that comforted me. It has a deep meaning. Casper changed my life. I’m going to keep that legacy going.
What do you consider to be the Holy Grail of your collection?
Of course, there is a good number of the vintage items. But, I think the Holy Grail would be one of the movie props — the newspapers that were used in the scene in the attic where Casper told Kat how he passed on. I have those framed with their certificates of authenticity.
Besides meeting Christina Ricci herself and having her sign the record, I am still looking for Casper cookie jars. They are rare, but they are out there. I see them on eBay, but they can go for $500. There’s a cookie jar with Casper holding a chocolate chip cookie and another of him riding a train. I need the cookie jars.
What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a Casper collection?
For me, it starts with the passion for the thing you want to collect. If you feel the passion for it in your heart and your soul, it helps the drive to keep going.
As my late grandpa would always say, never give up. I would always hear him say that, so I never gave up on anything. I never imagined it would take me this far. I’m so grateful to have come as far as I have.
Don’t worry about what other people tell you about your passions. There’s a reason those are your passions. Life is short, make yourself happy.
See more of Vanessa’s collection on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
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