NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� has entertained Halloween lovers as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, for more than four decades.
Peterson developed the character in the 1980s, after leaving her career as a showgirl 鈥� a decision she credits at least in part to whom she says essentially saved her life.
鈥淗e absolutely changed my life, 100%. I was a showgirl in Las Vegas. I was 17 years old, and he said, 鈥楾his is no place for a 17-year-old girl. You need to get the hell out of here,鈥欌�� Peterson, now 74, recalls. Presley told her she had a nice voice and could become a singer.
鈥淎nd I was like, seriously? Really? But when Elvis tells you something, you think, maybe I can do this,鈥� says Peterson, who did indeed do a stint as a singer.
After Peterson turned to comedy, a local television station in Los Angeles took a chance on her, hiring her to be a horror host. Her instructions? 鈥淧ut together what you want and just do it,鈥� as she remembered in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
And thus was born Elvira, with her signature towering black hair and plunging cleavage 鈥� a look that she was personally comfortable with but, at the time, was considered
鈥淚 mean, now everybody, every time you turn on the Grammys or the Tonys or whatever, everybody鈥檚 got that neckline. But back then it was like, 鈥榃hat?鈥欌�� Peterson says.
After a successful run on television, Elvira hit the big screen with a series of feature films and guest appearances. Her cult following grew and led to more television and books. But there was one thing Peterson had on her wish list that she couldn鈥檛 get the greenlight for, until now:
鈥淚 decided I would be the 鈥楳artha Stewart of the Macabre,鈥欌�� Peterson explains. 鈥淎nd I said to people, 鈥楾his would be so fun to do an entertaining book only for my crowd, for my fans, for the goth crowd,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淎nd no publishers were down with that. … They said it was a Halloween book and there was already a million Halloween kind of cookbooks.鈥�
Decades later, 鈥淓lvira’s Cookbook from Hell鈥� is here, featuring spooky recipes for dinners, desserts, cocktails and appetizers. Peterson also fills the pages with creepy craft ideas, handwritten notes and photos of herself dressed as Elvira.
Peterson was involved in the book from start to finish.
鈥淚t was really hard, but I had a fabulous team that helped me,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e cooked all the recipes. Some did not make the cut. Some were not Halloween-y enough. Some were not goth enough. Some didn鈥檛 taste that great. And I really wanted everything in here to taste good. I didn鈥檛 want you to spend time making it and then go like, 鈥楿gh. It looks scary, but it tastes horrible.鈥欌��
It’s not Peterson’s though. That was 鈥淵ours Cruelly, Elvira,鈥� a 2021 memoir that she says in some ways was easier to write, even if it did erode the separation between the flame-haired Peterson and the funereally campy Elvira 鈥� something she calls 鈥渢he price of suddenly being myself.鈥�
鈥淲ell, I鈥檝e kind of totally killed my anonymity. And that was a fantastic thing to have for all those years, you know?鈥� Peterson says. 鈥淚 could go out, I could take my child to school, I could do shopping, I can do all of that without anyone looking at me twice, and now that I鈥檝e put my autobiography out there and my children鈥檚 book and this book, I am getting recognized all the time.鈥�
Nowadays, Peterson doesn’t inhabit Elvira often 鈥� her one regret is that she didn’t make her initial costume 鈥渁 muumuu with flip-flops.鈥�
鈥淏ecause that鈥檚 why I quit being my character. I鈥檓 not kidding. It鈥檚 not about, 鈥楥an I get into it?鈥� It鈥檚 just about, like, 鈥楪irl, I don鈥檛 want to get into it,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淚t is uncomfortable and tight. I mean, ask any drag queen. They鈥檙e not going to be wanting to do that stuff when they鈥檙e 74, I guarantee.鈥�
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