THE BASEMENT BOOK SHELF: “Elvira Mistress of the Dark”
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. One of the most iconic horror hosts in the history of horror hosts. So much so in fact that she became a household name even in homes that didn’t have access to her syndicated show Movie Macabre in the 80’s, or even had any interest in the b-movies that she showed week after week.
Cassandra Peterson, who plays the queen of Halloween, has been very successful over the years. Her career, in addition to being the horror hostess with the mostest, has also been in two cult movies featuring her character, has had countless television appearances, had a comic book series based on her, has countless action figures and model kits made in her image and even has a musical career. In addition to hosting a handful of albums and cd’s featuring Halloween-themed novelty songs she has also recorded many fun songs herself!
She has been busy for the last 40 years and there seems to be no sign of the character going away, which is great news for her fans. Her quick wit and winning personality has endeared her to fans worldwide and her new book is destined to be the ultimate Elvira collectible.
I originally became aware of the Mistress of the Dark thanks to magazine articles but didn’t have access to her show here in Rhode Island, or so I thought. Back in the day before cable television we had a thing called television antennas that would draw in either the VHF or UHF stations. On certain nights, if the weather was just right, I found that I could draw in UHF stations from both Massachusetts and Connecticut. It was one late Saturday night when I actually found Movie Macabre, quite by accident, and I was hooked. I was only able to draw the station in one more time after that but it is a memory that has stayed with me all of these years later.
When the announcement came out that Tweeterhead Publishing would be releasing an ultimate photo collection in coffee table book form of Elvira, I knew this was something that I was going to want in my collection. The book is available in two forms; one signed and one unsigned. The signed edition is almost twice the price but in my opinion, it’s the definitive copy to own.
The oversized book measures 10″ x 13″ and features 240 pages of beautiful full color and black and white photos of Elvira. Also included are blurbs from the Mistress of the Dark making this a very fun book to go through over and over again. There are over 350 images, many of which have never been published before. Even if someone is not a fan of Elvira (is that even possible?), you will still enjoy looking through this book!
Let me just say that I love this book and cannot recommend it enough. You may be hesitant to purchase it because of the price, especially since it is not available for less money on Amazon, but it is truly worth it. My only real complaint was what they charge for shipping. Despite the size and the weight of the book, it certainly could be shipped Media Mail for a lot less than what you are charged. I will say though that once I saw this magnificent book the shipping charges no longer mattered.
Don’t forget to read the other blogs in my BASEMENT BLU-RAY REVIEW series. To order your own copy of this book, just click on the image below.
~David Albaugh
