by Cassandra Peterson
The leaves are starting to turn. A chill is creeping into the air as spooky season approaches. It’s time to start planning your horror movie watchlist for October and what better way to prepare for the holiday than by picking up the biography of the Queen of Halloween herself! If you spent time channel surfing between 1981 and 1986 you may have come across a show called Elvira’s Movie Macabre, a schlocky movie channel hosted by a vivacious goth with big hair and even bigger…ratings. But who was the woman behind the slinky dresses and heavy eye make-up? Her name is Catherine Peterson, and as shocking as it may seem, Elvira was far from the most sensational episode in her life. Join the Mistress of the Dark herself as she takes you on a glamorous and star-studded adventure. Read about Peterson’s time as the youngest showgirl in Las Vegas at the age of 17, the night she shared a kiss with Elvis, about the years she spent living in a haunted house and of course, an entire chapter dedicated to a distressing incident involving an undead pigeon.
Yours Cruelly is an honest look into life in showbiz in the 60s up to now. Peterson speaks openly about the danger for someone like her in that world but also the joy, the friendships, the determination she had to go out and show her stuff, to be completely herself and to make what she wanted to make. She’s more than the Elvira calendar hanging on my wall. She’s made a space for goofy goths, movie freaks and folks who don’t quite fit in and fought tooth and nail to get where she is. Having been a member of the Elvira cult for a long time now, I was ecstatic to see she’d written an autobiography and it didn’t disappoint. Peterson has one of those stories that makes you wonder how all of that fits into one life. The book is incredibly inspiring and funny. Patterson honed her comedy skills with the Groundlings after all, alongside Pee-wee Herman himself! If you’re a fan of the spooky, kooky and all things ooky, or if you’re just curious how a girl from Manhattan…Kansas found her way onto the big screen in California, this is a fabulous ride of a life story!