This year marks 40 years of Elvira. It's a name and image that will probably ring a bell for most people, especially for classic horror fans and fans of the art of drag. But who exactly is she, and what makes her such an icon?
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark is a horror hostess played by actress Cassandra Peterson. Horror hosts aren't as popular now, though people like Joe Bob Briggs continue to have specials, however, they were a vital part of classic horrors. Essentially the role of a horror host involves introducing and interjecting in showings of horror movies, mostly B-movies or classic movies. Shows like Fright Night with Sinister Seymour The Vampira Show came before Elvira and her show Elvira's Movie Macabre in 1981 but she kind of changed the game.
The character of Elvira is very recognizable. She wears a long black dress with a plunging neckline, red lipstick, a dagger around her waist, and long black hair. She's kind of Morticia Addams meets a vampire. The look is of course very sexy, and that's very much a part of the humor. Elvira is known for making a lot of campy jokes, largely innuendos, and making fun of herself and her sexy appearance. She has a sort of bimbo, Valley Girl, personality, and a good amount of sarcasm in her segments. Her look combined with her humor and charm caused her popularity to soar.
Elvira's likeness was used on all kinds of media throughout the 1980s, and she's still highly recognizable today. Not only was she popular within the world of horror, but she was very mainstream. She covered magazines and was a very popular Halloween costume. She was the new host of the Knott's Berry Farm Halloween event. And there were so many kinds of Elvira merchandise. There were Elvira action figures, comic books, scandalous calendars, perfumes, and even pinball machines. Ultimately, all of this success lead to a 1988 feature-length film that Peterson herself co-wrote.
The film Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is a truly wild movie that garners cult classic status at this point. In the film, Elvira plays a version of herself. She quits her horror hostess job in hopes of having a Las Vegas show but needs a lot more money to fund it. Luckily for her, she's just inherited a house from an old relative she didn't even know she had. The problem is that it's in the center of an extremely conservative community where she does not fit in, and her evil uncle is after her! It's a very cheesy movie full of camp and the usual Elvira innuendos, but it's a Halloween classic and a lot of fun. After its release, Peterson immediately wanted to make a sequel but it was stuck in development problems for years and just didn't happen, though there are rumors of a sequel in production now.
After the success of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark things died down a little bit for Elvira. She was given a CBS sitcom, but the show was canceled before the pilot even aired. She maintained doing a lot of conventions and guest appearances and made another, unrelated feature film called Elvira's Haunted Hills, but she only did a few more Elvira specials between the 1990s and now. Despite this, the character remains a huge staple in the lives of those who call themselves horror fans. There are still tons of Elvira merch around, she's still a very popular Halloween costume, and she is very active in the convention circuit.
Besides horror, one community that has helped keep the character of Elvira alive is the LGBTQ+ community. And especially, the world of drag. She has long been seen as an LGBTQ+ icon and has been a part of many Pride events around the world. Her film Elvira's Haunted Hills first premiered at multiple AIDS charity events across America before its Hollywood premiere, or even its Cannes Film Festival screening. However, it wasn't until 2021 that Elvira revealed in her book, titled Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark that Peterson revealed she is part of the LGBTQ+ community herself. She identifies as sexually fluid and, after divorcing her husband of 25 years, she has been with a woman named Teresa for 19 years.
Peterson is now 70 years old, and of course, looks amazing. There have been rumblings of bringing back the character of Elvira in the form of another movie or animated work, but nothing too solid has come about. She did step back into the horror hostess job recently though, on September 25th appearing for a 40th anniversary special streamed on Shudder's Shudder TV service. She introduced four films, including her own, and it was the first time she was back as a horror hostess since 2014. Perhaps this marks the start of a new era for Elvira, or maybe it doesn't, but her mark on the horror genre and the community will always be there.