‘Yours Cruelly, Elvira’: Cassandra Peterson’s Memoir Releases This Fall

You can now pre-order Yours Cruelly, Elvira, the upcoming autobiography from legendary horror host Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson. The memoir covers Peterson’s entire life and details how she came to be the horror star known to genre fans as the “Mistress of the Dark.” Along the way, she’ll divulge all kinds of stories from her incredible life and career.

When she was only 18 months old in 1953, Peterson was rushed to the hospital after accidentally dousing herself with a pot of boiling hot water. She suffered third-degree burns all over her body, but she overcame the odds and survived. The incident would leave her feeling like a misfit, driving an early love for horror. As the book listing states, while “her sisters played with Barbie dolls, Cassandra played with model kits of Frankenstein and Dracula, and idolized Vincent Price.”

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Yours Cruelly, Elvira will also delve into Peterson’s teenage years, including her complicated relationship with her mother, resulting in the future horror star leaving home at the age of 14. It was a “chance encounter with her idol Elvis Presley” that changed the course of her life forever, eventually leading to her work with The Groundlings and fellow comedy legends Phil Hartman and Paul “Pee-wee Herman” Reubens. Of course, one thing led to another from there, and the birth of the Elvira character along with everything that came with it will all be explored at length in the book.

From the Hachette Books listing:

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.

Yours Cruelly, Elvira is scheduled to be released on Sept. 21, 2021. You can pre-order your copy now, whether that be in hardcover, ebook, or audiobook download, by visiting HachetteBooks.com.

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