Front Book Cover / Photo: Mary Ann Halpin

With the return of costumes, pumpkins and black cats, you know that Halloween is upon us as the annual holiday is only getting bigger. And Halloween symbolism is echoed even louder when an iconic figure resurrects her role as the “Queen of Halloween,” with a tease for men, a taunt for children and a slit high enough for Jesus to see.

As a midnight concierge who has seductively ushered in Halloween for 35 years, she’s no stranger to spooky nights, horror films and party-proof Maybelline. We’ve celebrated her then, we celebrate her now and we tip our hats and our wigs to the coveted Mistress of the Dark, Elvira.

Played by the talented Cassandra Peterson, Elvira is a unique character who’s been embedded in pop culture since the ’80s with her sexuality, humor and gothic persona. With the mystique of Morticia Addams and the spunk of Roseanne Barr, Elvira is Halloween’s go-to vixen who represents that ghoulish time of the year.

Peterson was able to quickly capitalize on the popularity of the Elvira in the ’80s, which still continues today. Elvira has been in two nationally syndicated television series and two feature films that include Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and Elvira’s Haunted Hills. Not to mention, Peterson has recorded five CDs as Elvira, and the character has the best-selling female costume of all time.

To commemorate 35 years of Elvira, Peterson released her latest book on Oct. 5 called Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. It’s a 240-page hardcover book with over 300 photos, including photos that have never been seen before. It’s a retrospective look, with commentary from Peterson, at a character that has entertained millions through TV, films and live appearances.

Before the release of the book, Peterson and I got a chance to discuss her real life and Elvira’s future.

Photo: David Goldner

JMG: How did it feel when you were putting the book together and looking at your old photos and going down memory lane?
Cassandra Peterson: It was interesting. I had these photos in boxes in storage units for years, especially the older ones, and I haven’t looked at them forever, so it was fun for me to go through them and remind myself of times past. I enjoyed that part. The part I didn’t enjoy is just seeing myself in photos all the time. You can only look at yourself so much, believe it or not, even if you look super hot and sexy (laughing).
Well that’s a little hard to believe that you don’t enjoy seeing yourself. That’s been a big part of your image. Elvira has always been an attractive woman.
Obviously, I have a different sense of how I look; self-esteem issues like everybody else I guess, we all have them. Like I said, there’s definitely a fun side to go through that, but then there’s a side like, “Oh I’m getting older, not looking as good,” you know. I was so happy that I had the guys from the publishing company picking out pictures and I would just OK the ones they would pick. I wouldn’t have to pick through all the ones where I look really hideous.

You’ve created such a great brand for yourself and experienced so much over the past 35 years. What’s the most memorable moment that you’ve had as Elvira?
Oh my gosh! I have so many that were pretty amazing as Elvira. I think getting to meet my childhood idol Vincent Price when I invited him to my local TV show in LA and he agreed to come on, that was almost too much to believe. And just meeting so many celebrities and finding out that they were Elvira fans too, like Michael Jackson. It’s amazing to meet these people that I idolized and then they’d say, “Oh my gosh I love Elvira.” I also got to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. It was pretty amazing. And appear in the Rose Bowl Parade on my own float. So, those are some of them.
Well those are some great moments. Anytime you can put Michael Jackson in the mix, you know it was a pretty big moment.
Yeah, it was pretty awesome, let me tell you.

Your curves and sex appeal have been a big part of Elvira’s charm. What do you do to keep yourself in shape and looking your best?
Everybody is always asking for my secret and I’ve said if I had it, I would be selling it on Elvira.com by now (laughing). I don’t have anything specific that I do, although I eat pretty healthy, mainly a vegetarian diet. I work out pretty much seven days a week. I’ll alternate between running and yoga, or working out at the gym by lifting weights. I have to do that every day or it wouldn’t be long before I wouldn’t be able to fit in a dress anymore. So I think mainly diet and exercise are my two biggest beauty secrets.

A few years ago you had a reality show called The Search for the Next Elvira where you were looking for someone to pass the torch to. Are you still looking for someone to replace you?
Well doing that show was kind of a wake-up call that people don’t want another Elvira. I thought I could get another Elvira in there to do all my gigs that I normally do around Halloween and it just didn’t turn out that way. We got a girl that was wonderful and did a great job, but nobody wanted to hire her. Unfortunately, it came back to me. I have a daughter who’s 21, but she’s not interested in being Elvira at all. She’s a musician and really not into it. So, I have a feeling that I’m going to have to be Elvira until the end and hopefully the character can live on without me doing it. I’ve been working for a while on an animation project. I think as far as licensing and marketing the character goes, the image of Elvira will continue to live on, like Santa Clause, but there’s not really a Santa Clause. I hope I didn’t burst your bubble (laughing).
Yes, you did. I can’t believe you just said that (laughing)!

Photo: Harry Langdon

Will there be any new movies or Elvira-related projects that we should know about?
I have a lot of stuff coming out, mostly different products coming out this month. I have my new slot machine that’s coming out at all the casinos all over the country. And it’s a super high-tech, awesome slot machine. It’s not like a typical one. When you win bonuses you get to see little clips of old horror movies which is awesome. I’m also working on an animated television show and my autobiography that I’ve been writing FOREVER, and if I ever get anytime I hope to finish that and put that out there. I had a really unique and unusual life even before I became Elvira. So I really want to get that out there. I think people would be shocked and amazed.

You were recently a judge on the Food Network’s Halloween Wars. Was it a one-time appearance, or will you be back?
It’s my second year in a row doing that and it was really fun. I hope to be back in the future. I’ve been asked to do a lot of TV this month like RuPaul’s show, but I’m not able to do it because I’m working Knott’s Scary Farm. I do two live shows a night, four days a week.
So RuPaul invited you to be on his show too?
Yes, he did. I’ve known Ru forever. I’ve been a judge on his show a couple of times. I have a podcast with him coming up as well.
Yeah, I’ve spoken to RuPaul a couple of times. He’s just an amazing person.
He’s so amazing. I feel like I’m so much on the same wave length as he is. I feel like I’m in this very exclusive club that includes RuPaul, Pee-wee Herman and myself. We have characters, we own them and we are always those characters when people see us. It’s a little bit like having a split personality, or being two different people, so its twice the fun (in her Elvira voice).

What do you like to do in your downtime when you’re not playing Elvira?
Well I work a lot believe it or not. People think that on November 1 I hop in my coffin and go to sleep for the next nine months. But the rest of the year is me chasing work for Elvira. And that’s just not appearances, television or film, but mainly merchandising and licensing of the character. I have many, many, many products out there relating to Elvira and Halloween and I’m always looking for the next new project. So that keeps me pretty busy year round. But I like traveling. I used to live in Italy so I like cooking. I cook Italian food. But I don’t mean to sound boring but I’m into just reading, gardening and cooking. I live a pretty private life when I’m not being Elvira.

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark is available at Elvira.com.