Go
Saints!

Thursday
March 28th, 2024

cassandra peterson book spotlight pageELLY GRIMM • Leader & Times

 

With the last couples week being the thick of the Halloween season, I was looking for some spookier reads to take in, and one of the books I ultimately ended up picking up was by Cassandra Peterson. 

For those who are unaware, Peterson is most famous for her TV persona Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. While I’m too young to have watched her show growing up, I’ve certainly heard of the character and when I saw Peterson’s new memoir “Yours Cruelly, Elvira” in the library, I figured “There HAVE to be some good stories in here!” And I was proven completely right. 

Peterson tells her story in more chronological order, beginning with being born in Manhattan (KANSAS, not New York, as I was surprised to discover) and growing up in Colorado and then sharing how she became a dancer in Las Vegas while searching for other acting chances to ultimately booking her most famous role as Elvira. Also included is her time working with The Groundlings, her meeting several famous musicians (including Elvis, Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Page, among others). There is a lot that happens in the pages between all of those milestones, and all of it is definitely worth reading about from the mistress of horror.

One of the aspects of this book I particularly liked was Peterson’s writing style. It’s very loose and without any pretension or anything like that. While reading it, I almost felt like she was legitimately telling just a story to a friend or group of fans as opposed to a memoir, which is typically more serious. Peterson holds nothing back while describing her experiences in life and provides plenty of detail and humor with several of the anecdotes, and there are also some more serious stories she talks about that are somewhat heartbreaking to read. Some of the stories she shares from her days as a groupie following rock bands were enough to make my jaw drop because of how young she was. Some of the stories she tells of some of her early auditions, while unsurprising given how predatory the entertainment business can still be, were also quite eye-opening. Some of my favorite stories throughout the book are when she describes meeting upcoming talent who ultimately turned out to have pretty good careers (her stories about re-meeting first-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank at the gym one morning and meeting an up-and-coming Brad Pitt at an audition for a film project were particularly amusing to read). 

avhs november article

Many of Peterson’s stories also have a theme of finding oneself, which is always a good thing for people to hear about because I think everyone is still on that journey to a degree. Especially with her show business career, Peterson talks about how there were many less than stellar jobs she had to take and how many places she lived before ultimately settling down and later landing Elvira, but she wouldn’t change any of it. There’s a point in the book where Peterson writes how Elvira “taught me some surprising lessons. She has helped me get through the hard times and get back up when I got knocked down. I’ve come to realize her personality comes from my teenage self — the self that was young enough to believe I could do anything, be anyone. Elvira became everything Cassandra wanted to be.” Overall, Peterson’s writing style is straightforward and honest without being overwhelming, and there’s an excellent use of haunt and humor throughout each of the stories.

Something else I really liked about the book was how determined Peterson was throughout her entire career, particularly the earlier stages. Every job and show she ends up with, she writes how she was determined to be the absolute best she could and how she never let her self-doubt get the better of her. In fact, it seems like she was too stubborn NOT to succeed even though not every audition necessarily went the way she wanted. In a way, Peterson’s story is also a quiet one of resilience, which is also always good to read. 

Overall, I very much enjoyed “Yours Cruelly, Elvira” and would give it a solid “A.” The writing style is frank and refreshing and feels more like a conversation than a serious memoir. All the different anecdotes Peterson shares throughout the book are both hilarious and haunting, and she’s able to maintain a dry sense of humor throughout the book. I also liked how there is some inspirational advice as far as finding oneself along with being determined in life and keeping moving forward through everything.