Mistress of the Dark, Light in my Life

There’s just something truly special about Elvira. It’s not just her iconic makeup or her infamous haunted hills or her witty quips & double entendres, no, Elvira herself feels just as familiar as Halloween or a favorite spooky movie to me. She’s become a person of comfort for me, like a beloved family member you don’t get to see often. However, everytime you see them it’s like a new magical experience that leaves your heart full. In fact, you could say ahe’s become a part of who I am. Over the years I have collected shirts and action figures, pins and posters. There’s always a little bit of the Mistress of the Dark with me somewhere in my life.

Elvira came to life.. or afterlife, in the 1980s when Los Angeles based horror show Fright Night needed a new host after the passing of Sinister Seymour. Originally she was going for a look based on Sharon Tate in Fearless Vampire Killers, but that design was rejected, retooled, and the Elvira Mistress of the Dark we treasure was born.

The incredible woman behind Elvira was born Cassandra Peterson in September of 1951. She was born in Kansas, but grew up in Colorado. Drawn to horror even as a child, she found herself infatuated after seeing House on Haunted Hill. Her taste for performing began when she took the stage a drag gogo dancer at a gay bar in her teens, proving to be an ally from the get go. After high school, she went on to Las Vegas to work as a showgirl. This led to meeting (and even going on a date with) Elvis Presley as well as bit parts in films. Traveling to Europe, she even fronted rock bands in Italy in the 1970s before working as a showgirl again when she returned to the US. Later in the 70s, the joined the Groundlings theatre group. This is where she would first begin to craft her vampiric valley girl alter persona we have all come to know and love, Elvira.

Just like young Cassandra, I was also a strange child drawn to the dark and mysterious. I loved to perform, but being autistic with severe social anxiety often left me holding back and not giving my all. Films and television were an escape for me, and I found solace in so many strange and loveable folks, including Elvira. In high school especially I dealt with pretty intense bullying, especially as I began to explore my own budding sexuality. I found even more solace in the macabre, and the campier it was, the better.

In her memoir released in 2021, Cassandra revealed she was in a serious relationship for two decades with a woman. Though she doesn’t prefer any particular label for her sexuality, she has stated that “sexually fluid” or even “pansexual” could be best used to describe her. I myself have spent most of my life trying to understand the complexities of my sexuality. I’ve come to say I like people not parts or as David Rose said in Schitt’s Creek, “I like the wine not the label.” It was so reassuring to see someone I have admired most of my existence be in a similar board as me. Even cooler that she was an icon of horror media, where you may not expect to find representation. You’d be surprised just how much representation you can find throughout horror, and it definitely needs to be embraced. Knowing that one of THE icons of all things spooky knows that love is love is something extraordinary. It brings a special kind of glow to the shadows, like the familiarity in the warm glow of a carved pumpkin. Horror media and films are often loaded with monsters and murderers, but the truly scary stuff exists in the realm of reality. Some of us cannot be out and proud in public, depending on where we live and who we are surrounded by. Finding a safe space within your comfort zones is like a deep hug and reminder that you’re not the bad guy. It’s the monsters of reality who try to dictate what love truly is and forbid others to love freely who are the true evil. At least I know I have Casandra Peterson (and Elvira!) in my creepy little corner.