Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-22 10:50:54
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Cassandra Peterson
- ISBN：0306874350
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Kevin
，
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 addic 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。 。。。more
Jess
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Oh。 My。 Stars。 Just when you think you can’t love Elvira anymore OR the woman who created her， you can。 Love this book so much。
Autumn
，
Immensely satisfying read。 Cassandra Petersen is one of my heroes， and I am a known freak professionally for well-written celebrity memoirs。 They are my jam， and they don’t come around very often。I’m With The Band by Pamela Des Barres has always been a guidepost for me as a writer and a feminist。 Yours Cruelly is at the same rarified level of providing gasp-worthy gossip， witty jokes， hard-won advice for surviving and thriving in a misogynist culture， and just an unbelievable life story。 I spent Immensely satisfying read。 Cassandra Petersen is one of my heroes， and I am a known freak professionally for well-written celebrity memoirs。 They are my jam， and they don’t come around very often。I’m With The Band by Pamela Des Barres has always been a guidepost for me as a writer and a feminist。 Yours Cruelly is at the same rarified level of providing gasp-worthy gossip， witty jokes， hard-won advice for surviving and thriving in a misogynist culture， and just an unbelievable life story。 I spent the whole book chuckling， gasping， or mumbling “What？！？！” Cassandra Petersen has lived a truly radical life and she has been pretty quiet about it until now。 Her influence is everywhere and I’m now convinced that she at least met every cool person of the late 20th century。 Do not miss this book。 。。。more
Sharon Pierce
，
Sounds interesting！ 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， C Sounds interesting！ 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。 。。。more
Sarah
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