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Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark
**Instant New York Times Bestseller, Los Angeles Times Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, Publishers Weekly Bestseller**
The woman behind the icon known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the undisputed Queen of Halloween, reveals her full story, filled with intimate bombshells, told by the bombshell herself.
On Good Friday in 1953, at only 18 months old, 25 miles from the nearest hospital in Manhattan, Kansas, Cassandra Peterson reached for a pot on the stove and doused herself in boiling water. Third-degree burns covered 35% of her body, and the prognosis wasn't good. But she survived. Burned and scarred, the impact stayed with her and became an obstacle she was determined to overcome. Feeling like a misfit led to her love of horror. While her sisters played with Barbie dolls, Cassandra built model kits of Frankenstein and Dracula, and idolized Vincent Price.
Due to a complicated relationship with her mother, Cassandra left home at 14, and by age 17 she was performing at the famed Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas. Run-ins with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Tom Jones helped her grow up fast. Then a chance encounter with her idol Elvis Presley, changed the course of her life forever, and led her to Europe where she worked in film and traveled Italy as lead singer of an Italian pop band. She eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she joined the famed comedy improv group, The Groundlings, and worked alongside Phil Hartman and Paul "Pee-wee" Reubens, honing her comedic skills.
Nearing age 30, a struggling actress considered past her prime, she auditioned at local LA channel KHJ as hostess for the late night vintage horror movies. Cassandra improvised, made the role her own, and got the job on the spot. Yours Cruelly, Elvira is an unforgettably wild memoir. Cassandra doesn't shy away from revealing exactly who she is and how she overcame seemingly insurmountable odds. Always original and sometimes outrageous, her story is loaded with twists, travails, revelry, and downright shocking experiences. It is the candid, often funny, and sometimes heart-breaking tale of a Midwest farm girl's long strange trip to become the world's sexiest, sassiest Halloween icon.
The woman behind the icon known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the undisputed Queen of Halloween, reveals her full story, filled with intimate bombshells, told by the bombshell herself.
On Good Friday in 1953, at only 18 months old, 25 miles from the nearest hospital in Manhattan, Kansas, Cassandra Peterson reached for a pot on the stove and doused herself in boiling water. Third-degree burns covered 35% of her body, and the prognosis wasn't good. But she survived. Burned and scarred, the impact stayed with her and became an obstacle she was determined to overcome. Feeling like a misfit led to her love of horror. While her sisters played with Barbie dolls, Cassandra built model kits of Frankenstein and Dracula, and idolized Vincent Price.
Due to a complicated relationship with her mother, Cassandra left home at 14, and by age 17 she was performing at the famed Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas. Run-ins with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Tom Jones helped her grow up fast. Then a chance encounter with her idol Elvis Presley, changed the course of her life forever, and led her to Europe where she worked in film and traveled Italy as lead singer of an Italian pop band. She eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she joined the famed comedy improv group, The Groundlings, and worked alongside Phil Hartman and Paul "Pee-wee" Reubens, honing her comedic skills.
Nearing age 30, a struggling actress considered past her prime, she auditioned at local LA channel KHJ as hostess for the late night vintage horror movies. Cassandra improvised, made the role her own, and got the job on the spot. Yours Cruelly, Elvira is an unforgettably wild memoir. Cassandra doesn't shy away from revealing exactly who she is and how she overcame seemingly insurmountable odds. Always original and sometimes outrageous, her story is loaded with twists, travails, revelry, and downright shocking experiences. It is the candid, often funny, and sometimes heart-breaking tale of a Midwest farm girl's long strange trip to become the world's sexiest, sassiest Halloween icon.
Editorial Reviews
"Friggin' hilarious! Juicy stories and outrageous revelations!"―RuPaul
"A wicked page turner filled with hilarity and heartbreak-a life full of crazy stories and insane revelations, told as only Cassandra Peterson could tell it."―Rob Zombie
"This is the behind-the-wig story we've all been waiting for! It's inspiring, at times harrowing, and consistently hilarious. Be warned though, it's a real 'booby trap' because once you've picked it up you cannot put it down!"―Peaches Christ
"A hauntingly beautiful memoir of one of the most iconic figures of the macabre. Just when I thought I couldn't fall in love with Elvira any more, this book took my admiration to a whole other level."―Kat Von D
"I knew Cassandra had a colorful and exciting life, but I didn¹t realize what a talented writer she'd become. Her book is beautiful-funny, poignant, outrageous, and full of surprises. Exactly like her. I'm happy I can genuinely recommend it and hope I'll get to play myself when it becomes a blockbuster movie."―Paul Reubens AKA Pee-wee Herman
"Elvira the character is a tantalizing gothic pop icon, a living Halloween costume, a kitschy, clever, comely chanteuse with brains. But Cassandra, the multi-talented woman inside that character, has lived an incredible life full of experiences that make most people's best days sound like dime-store humdrum."―Jack White
"Elvira/Cassandra is a glamour ghoul after my own black heart-and a virtuoso tassel-twirler. I value her beauty advice. But most of all, I treasure her showbiz tales-louche, lusty, and sometimes so ludicrous they have to be real! Here they are, and more, delivered with that scintillating wit that makes her a bona fide legend. I savored every single page."―Dita Von Teese
"Prepare yourself to enter a rocky, rollicking life, loaded with unexpected twists, turns, and stunning surprises. The Groupie stories alone will leave you jawdropped. Turn off your phones and computers, get to know Cassandra, and settle in for a delicious, un-put-downable read."―Pamela Des Barres
"For chilly nights, stay at home and read Yours Cruelly, Elvira, the dishy new memoir from Elvira (a.k.a. Cassandra Peterson), the longtime horror movie hostess and entrepreneur."―New York Times
"Cassandra Peterson reveals how she became the Mistress of the Dark, and her tale is far more complex than one might expect….Through it all, Peterson maintains the dry sense of humor beloved by viewers since her Movie Macabre days, showing off her affection for corny puns even when she's recalling painful memories. Her book is a must-read for anyone interested in 1970s Hollywood, horror movies, or jus...
"A wicked page turner filled with hilarity and heartbreak-a life full of crazy stories and insane revelations, told as only Cassandra Peterson could tell it."―Rob Zombie
"This is the behind-the-wig story we've all been waiting for! It's inspiring, at times harrowing, and consistently hilarious. Be warned though, it's a real 'booby trap' because once you've picked it up you cannot put it down!"―Peaches Christ
"A hauntingly beautiful memoir of one of the most iconic figures of the macabre. Just when I thought I couldn't fall in love with Elvira any more, this book took my admiration to a whole other level."―Kat Von D
"I knew Cassandra had a colorful and exciting life, but I didn¹t realize what a talented writer she'd become. Her book is beautiful-funny, poignant, outrageous, and full of surprises. Exactly like her. I'm happy I can genuinely recommend it and hope I'll get to play myself when it becomes a blockbuster movie."―Paul Reubens AKA Pee-wee Herman
"Elvira the character is a tantalizing gothic pop icon, a living Halloween costume, a kitschy, clever, comely chanteuse with brains. But Cassandra, the multi-talented woman inside that character, has lived an incredible life full of experiences that make most people's best days sound like dime-store humdrum."―Jack White
"Elvira/Cassandra is a glamour ghoul after my own black heart-and a virtuoso tassel-twirler. I value her beauty advice. But most of all, I treasure her showbiz tales-louche, lusty, and sometimes so ludicrous they have to be real! Here they are, and more, delivered with that scintillating wit that makes her a bona fide legend. I savored every single page."―Dita Von Teese
"Prepare yourself to enter a rocky, rollicking life, loaded with unexpected twists, turns, and stunning surprises. The Groupie stories alone will leave you jawdropped. Turn off your phones and computers, get to know Cassandra, and settle in for a delicious, un-put-downable read."―Pamela Des Barres
"For chilly nights, stay at home and read Yours Cruelly, Elvira, the dishy new memoir from Elvira (a.k.a. Cassandra Peterson), the longtime horror movie hostess and entrepreneur."―New York Times
"Cassandra Peterson reveals how she became the Mistress of the Dark, and her tale is far more complex than one might expect….Through it all, Peterson maintains the dry sense of humor beloved by viewers since her Movie Macabre days, showing off her affection for corny puns even when she's recalling painful memories. Her book is a must-read for anyone interested in 1970s Hollywood, horror movies, or jus...
Readers Top Reviews
LadyCorinne. G
I've idolized this woman since I was a child. From the terrible puns to the flawless showmanship she's been someone I looked to for independence, confidence, and hilarity. After meeting her several times, and crying on her for a solid 15 minutes once, she is an outstanding person through and through. She reveals a great deal in her memoirs from beginning to... well page end because I'm sure she's far from done sharing her tale and I will be here for it. Do yourself a favour and buy it. Any horror, pop culture, or Elvira fan would love it. This is her story. And her victory to revel in.
Derek keen
A most intriguing story of elvira actress Cassandra Peterson with her lows, highs, and tragedies all through her life.
bev ozbourne
This is a must buy for any elvira fan . i couldnt put the book down for 2 days till i finished it. I found it truly inspirational . she rose above the bad experiences she went through some had me crying what some people did to her in her young years. But she rose above it all and didnt give in. Truly an amazing book to read especialy for women who have suffered abuse. This book is deffo a must have. I totaly loved the whole book. Like i said i couldnt put the book down . it will make you laugh and cry . and most of all ill say again truly inspirational. Its made me adore cassandra peterson aka elvira all the more. Shes truly and amazing woman ❤
Rick Shaq Goldstein
This is definitely not the type of book I would want to read… but I had about a ten-day opening in my non-stop year round reading schedule and in the back of my mind… I kind of recognized her name from 30-40 years ago when some nights I channel surfed looking for something to watch… and a couple of times… despite not being a big horror film fan… would happen to land on her doing some of her “shtick” before the channel went back to the night’s horror film. A few times I watched her before changing the channel again when the flick came on… and I remember she had a few funny segments. So… in summary… that’s how during a rare opening in my reading schedule I bought this book. For me… it was near impossible to keep reading and get through it. From her barely teen age years of wearing push up bras… short dresses… low cut tops… sheer material… when she was BARELY PAST TWELVE YEARS OLD… was a harbinger of a tsunami of worse to come. She talks of being dressed as just described and scouring every floor of hotels when rock groups were in her town… in hopes of being a groupie… and then the flood gates as well as her legs really open… (This is around the time I started praying for the TMI to be halted!) She proudly tells of the first time she “TOUCHED” a man… and says “it felt like a long, skinny worm.” (By the way… the owner of the aforementioned “skinny-worm”… was Jimmy Page then of the Yardbirds… and later Led Zeppelin.) At the ripe old age of fourteen she danced in nightclubs… and while still in high school she was dancing in gay bars and strip joints… while still under age she was in topless shows in Vegas… and then… literally non-stop (even though I prayed for it to stop) she started sleeping with more guys than McDonald’s serves hamburgers to in an average day. You literally need a scorecard to keep up… from a bloody sexual encounter with Tom Jones… to having sex with the same guy that had sex with both her sisters… to having sex with a guy she met in Italy who locked her in a basement apartment… to pretending to be a hooker to rip off men… to going home with at least one man from every party she ever describes going to… to… I have to start a new paragraph here just to emphasize that this next one… IS NOT A TYPO OR HALLUCINATION… !!! She actually not only had sex with the person about to be shared here… but moved in with him for a year… here it comes… A GUY WHO LITERALLY LIVED IN A ONE ROOM TREE HOUSE (REPEAT… ONE ROOM TREE HOUSE… IN THE HILLS!)… A real tree house with hacked electricity and a hose for showers. (Okay once again L-rd stop this story!) All along the way she shares sizes of large and small anatomical body parts. And of course everywhere she goes and every one she meets… not only wants to have sex with her… but usually does… and she drops more names than a person with no fingers putting letters on a menu board outside a res...
Pageturner in NYC
Cassandra Peterson has been playing the spectacularly funny and statuesque vamp Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, for four decades, and now the comedic bombshell has written a real bombshell of a memoir. Although Peterson's sardonic sense of humor and love of punny wordplay shines through, YOURS CRUELLY is not fluff. This memoir is explosive, surprising and written with wrenching candor as Peterson explores the physical and emotional abuse in her childhood and her family's three generations of addiction. At 14, she started working as a go-go dancer at a bar, doing her school work between dance sets. After high school, she became a Las Vegas showgirl. On her 18th birthday, she declined an offer from magician Siegfried (minus Roy) to be her first sexual partner. She also fended off Andy Williams and had a career-changing encounter with Elvis Presley. Her sexual encounter with Tom Jones landed her in an ER. At 29, her agent told her she was too old to make it in Hollywood but she found success when she created the character of sexy punk vampire Elvira and landed a job hosting horror movies at a local Los Angeles TV station. Peterson's captivating tale is one of survival and perseverance. After six miscarriages, she finally gave birth to her daughter at age 43. When her abusive 20-year marriage ended, she found love with her female personal trainer, and the two have been together since 2002. (This book is her first public disclosure.) Peterson's inspiring life story is written with wit, empathy and verve. Cassandra Peterson's inspiring memoir is a roller-coaster ride of dizzying highs and crushing lows, told with wit and candor.
