When it comes to bringing horror to the masses, perhaps no one has done more for the genre than Cassandra Peterson, aka Elvira: Mistress of the Dark! Her years as the host of Movie Macabre as well as her own personal films turned her into one of the most popular horror personalities, one that brought humor, sexiness, and terror, all wrapped up in a delightfully charming persona, to audiences around the world.
I was fortunate enough to be able to take a few minutes of Peterson’s time to chat about Halloween, horror, and some other fun and spooky topics. Hope you enjoy!
If you were to curate your own Movie Macabre of films that came out in the last 10 or so years, which titles would really stand out for you?
Oh god! Well, I like the ‘Paranormal Activity’ movies, although I think the first one is the best. I also really liked ‘Shaun of the Dead’! I was also a big fan of ‘Deathgasm’ and ‘Housebound’. I like when horror movies have some sort of humor in them. I like the rollercoaster of funny then scary and back and forth.
We know that Elvira loves Halloween but does Cassandra Peterson have the same level of passion for the spookiest of holidays? What’s Halloween like for Cassandra at your house?
Well, first of all, I grew up with my family celebrating Halloween as the biggest holiday, which was kind of bizarre back in the lat 50’s and early 60’s. Halloween wasn’t as big of a deal. It was just kids going out to trick or treat. But the reason that it was so big in my house was that my mother and my aunt owned a costume shop. So, from the time I was in second grade, I was the “costume dressing up-ist freak” you ever met! I was SO into Halloween! And I was the luckiest kid in the neighborhood because my aunt and mom would show me the most awesome costume of whatever was the most popular TV show that was on, like Miss Kitty from “Gunsmoke”, which I wore and entered a contest and won a $500 gift certificate. Later on, it was “I Dream of Jeannie” and Ginger from “Gilligan’s Island”.
So, my mom and my aunt would show me these awesome costumes while all the other kids were wearing these really dopey plastic packaged jobs from Sears. So I was the “Queen of Costumes”! People were always wondering what I was going to be wearing, you know? So, no, this started for me with Halloween being the biggest deal in the world. It continued to be my whole life. I would start putting my Halloween costume together in, oh god, Spring! I was born and raised on Halloween!
Can you tell us what you’ll be wearing this Halloween or is that a surprise?
Oh no, I can tell you right now what I’ll be wearing! I’ll be wearing “Elvira, Mistress of the Dark”! [laughs] It’s the only Halloween costume I’ve worn in 35 years! I never get to wear anything else because I always, always, always work on Halloween and I’ve never had a Halloween where I didn’t have a job. So, it’s my only costume. I always talk about if I could just wear something else for a change. I had a fantasy about it on one of my recent Movie Macabre shows where I was dreaming and I saw myself dressed as a nun, dressed in a burqa, dressed in a mumu with flip flops… Something more comfortable! [laughs]
It’s wonderful to hear that your passion for Halloween hasn’t abated after all these years!
Oh yeah! And besides that, because of Halloween connection, I got really into building the Aurora model kits of Dracula, the Mummy, the Wolfman, all that. I was just so into the horror genre. For me, it was all about Halloween, the spooky, the scary. When horror movies that I was allowed to go see, usually with Vincent Price, I was the the one sitting in the front row. I’ve been into it since I was seven or right years old.
What are some of the most entertaining horror characters that stand out for you?
Vincent Price was my number one idol. I was cutting out pictures of him and putting them on my wall. So his characters, like Dr. Phibes, or anyone that he played in the Roger Corman films that were loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe… Oh! I was a huge Poe fan, too! I had poems and books of Poe.
I did like the Universal characters. I loved the Mummy and the Invisible Man I thought was amazing and, of course, I loved Bela Lugosi’s Dracula. I was raised on the classic movie monsters. Those are the ones I still associate with Halloween and “scary”. I like the whole nostalgia throwback thing.
They all have a charm and elegance to them that I feel like we haven’t seen in horror in a while.
Yeah, there are some great characters that are lasting like Freddy and Jason, but I don’t think they’re as much fun because they’re a little hardcore. They’re great, don’t get me wrong! I love them! But for me? I like the classic horror.
It’s wonderful that you mentioned how Vincent Price was a big idol for you. Do you think there’s anyone today that could take up that kind of mantle?
Wow! Oh man, that’s a tough one! This is like taking a test! [laughs]
I can of looked for that person when I made ‘Haunted Hills’. The character I had in mind for the villain was Vincent Price, period. We were looking at other actors, like Richard Chamberlain, who has an elegant style but isn’t known for horror movies, so I thought he’d make a great choice. Also, believe it or not, Mick Jagger. And then we ended up with Richard O’Brien and I have to say that he ended up being the perfect pick. I wouldn’t really compare him to Vincent Price but he had that whole vibe down. He was elegant, he was English, although Vincent wasn’t English, and I think Richard and I really captured that feeling.
I don’t know if I can think of anyone else that could compare to Vincent Price. I love Bruce Campbell but it’s not the same vibe.
What about you? Do you have anyone you can think of?
Well, I asked the same question on Twitter recently and Stuart Gordon replied that Jeffrey Combs of ‘Re-Animator’ already has taken up that mantle.
Yeah, that’s a great suggestion! He does have that kind of vibe. That is a good one, yeah! He’s such a hard one to replace. He was so unique.
I actually not only met him but we became pretty good friends. He was such a wonderful guy. So funny and delightful and so interesting! I could sit and listen to him talk for hours without getting bored or talking back. So, his loss to me was kind of a double whammy. The loss of an actor and the loss of a friend.
His last performance in ‘Edward Scissorhands’ was just so perfect, so beautiful. What a perfect movie for him to go out on. He played this mad scientist but gentle kind man.
He played a mad scientist with the best of intentions, man with a good heart.
Absolutely.
What’s coming up for both you and Elvira?
Well, right now I’m involved with doing my show at Knott’s Berry Farm, which is the largest Halloween venue in the country. The show this year is called “Elvira’s Asylum”, which features singing, comedy, and dancing. So I’m performing four to five nights every week until the 31st. After that, I have Comikaze, which I’m involved in.
And I have a television show that I’m going to be on called “Halloween Wars” on the Food Network and it’s really funny. It has some of the best people in the business when it comes to horror and Halloween. It’s a contest for them to build scenery and food. It’s really awesome and I’m happy to be a judge on that and it’s completely fitting with my appearance.
I also just went to Vegas for the unveiling of my slot machine, which is a pretty freaking state-of-the-art awesome slot machine. It’s going to also entail clips of classic horror films in the slot machine when you hit a bonus. So you’ll see a clip with me commenting on it, which I think is just so awesome!
I’m not a gambler at all…
Neither am I.
…But that might get me to spend a few dollars! [laughs]
I know, right?! I think people are going to come out of the woodwork to play this thing. It’s 10ft tall and it’s just awesome. You can’t imagine. I’ve never seen anything like that.
Sounds like you’re going nonstop!
I definitely am!
Well, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me! It’s been a pleasure and an honor!
Thank you!