What famous family does everyone remember just by snapping their fingers twice? The macabre and Halloween-centric The Addams Family, of course. They are undoubtedly drawn to morbidity and ghoulish affairs, but don’t be mistaken – they aren’t evil or unfriendly. In fact, since the beginning they have been charming and nearly endearing.

The Addams Family has been around for generations, and it has progressed and evolved into something bigger than ever dreamed.

The Addams Family first came to life in 1938 in a single panel cartoon. Charles Addams, the creator, published the series in The New Yorker. Although Addams had published over 1,300 cartoons, only 50 were of The Addams Family. Furthermore, they weren’t given names or personality traits: the family was just composed of a gothic, aristocratic mother and father, their two children, the grandmother and the uncle. The comics revolved around the Addams responding humorously to the normal ways of society, along with their own odd philosophy of living among the darkness. At this point, the hype for The Addams Family had not even begun.

The Addams Family became a hit when it was discovered by ABC television network. ABC had read Addams’ comics and immediately wanted to create a dynamic for the characters. When asked about the character’s names and personalities, Charles Addams revealed quite a lot about them.

“Gomez and Pugsley are enthusiastic,” he stated. “Morticia is even in disposition, muted, witty, sometimes deadly. Grandma Frump is foolishly good-natured. Wednesday is her mother’s daughter. A closely knit family, the real head being Morticia… money is no problem.”

The quirky family was enough to steal the hearts of viewers, but the catchy theme sold it. The show aired from 1964-66, with 64 half-hour episodes altogether.

What followed afterwards was a series of television shows putting the family into many different scenarios. Perhaps the oddest being the animated episodes from 1973-75 showing the family vacationing on a road trip in a Victorian-themed van.

Just before this series aired, changes were made to include more of Uncle Fester and Grandmama. While both were originally silent characters in the 1938 comics, they took more of a role in this animated show. While Uncle Fester was Morticia’s brother originally, he was now Gomez’s brother. Grandmama also became Morticia’s mother instead of Gomez’s. The longest television show, other than the original 1964 version, was The New Addams Family, which aired from 1998-99 for 65 episodes.

The two most successful movies made were “The Addams Family” and “The Addams Family Values.” The Addams Family (1991) was a box office hit with a whopping $191.5 million dollar profit: the highest the family has ever grossed in media. Due to the success of the first film, The Addams Family Values came out in 1993 with a $48.9 million dollar profit.

In 2010, The Addams Family was developed into a Broadway musical. While the entire Addams Family series focused on the children being children, this plot found Wednesday and Pugsley as young adults – with Wednesday getting married to a “normal” man. It was immediately met with success, and multiple websites reported that it had grossed over $62 million dollars.

Siena Heights also did this same play between October 6-8.

From the beginning, The Addams Family has been a series like no other. There is something about a family constantly living in a state of Halloween that is appealing and interesting to those of us who live normal humdrum lives. With the latest installment of The Addams Family, where are they headed next?