LOS ANGELES, Sept. 30 — Cassandra Peterson, the iconic actress behind Elvira since 1981, has recently launched her latest venture, Elvira’s Cookbook from Hell. Released on Tuesday, the book is filled with recipes perfect for breakfast, picnics, appetizers, desserts, cocktails, and more, all themed around horror.
In a recent Zoom discussion with UPI, the 74-year-old Peterson emphasized her commitment to providing authentic recipes. “The recipes are legit,” Peterson stated. “They’re actually real recipes for people to make with all skill levels from very, very easy to pretty darn difficult.”
Elvira’s Unique Touch
Each recipe in the cookbook is paired with vibrant photographs of Peterson in her Elvira persona. These include an array of archival images showing her with pumpkins or seated among skeletons in a theater, along with fresh, new photos taken specifically for the book.
Peterson took special care to ensure each recipe introduction reflected Elvira’s distinctive voice, leading her to rewrite them from a more personal perspective. “I looked at it and it sounded more like Cassandra Peterson, not Elvira-y enough,” she remarked. “I almost think my autobiography was easier to write than that.”
With roots in improv comedy, Peterson honed her skills during the 1980s with the Groundlings troupe. This background has not only shaped her performance as Elvira but also influenced her culinary writing style in the cookbook. “It definitely draws on my Groundling improv background,” she confirmed. “That’s what set the whole Elvira character in motion.”
Culinary Adventures and Misadventures
Peterson also personally taste-tested every recipe in Elvira’s Cookbook from Hell, ensuring their suitability. While she embraced numerous ideas, she rejected some that were overly complex—even for seasoned chefs.
The recipes include whimsical creations like cherry tomatoes styled as toadstools and bat-shaped chicken wings, all adhering to the horror theme. However, one recipe, corn cob ribs, raised concerns for safety. “You had to cut the corn in slices, a whole corn cob,” Peterson explained. “We tried doing that. We said, ‘Somebody is going to lose a finger. We cannot have this in the book.’ It was really hard to do. You needed a chainsaw or something.”
One cherished recipe she had to exclude was one taught to her personally by horror legend Vincent Price, who starred in her all-time favorite scary film, House on Haunted Hill. Though the recipe was practical rather than themed for Halloween, she revealed it to UPI: a method of steaming fish in the dishwasher while washing dishes simultaneously. “You just put it in a bunch of aluminum foil,” Peterson detailed. “Put a whole fish in there, boned. Put in some lemon slices, some herbs, wrap it all up really tight and run it through a cycle in the dishwasher on hot. When it’s done, the fish is steamed perfectly, your dishes will be clean, and you’ll be all set for dinner.”
A New Generation of Fans
As she expands her brand, Peterson’s literary contributions reflect a growing appeal beyond television. In 2021, she published her autobiography, Yours Cruelly, followed by Elvira’s First Book of Monsters in July, a children’s book illustrated by Pintachan. She described it as, “very nonscary. It makes monsters palatable for little ones.”
Peterson has noted a significant increase in younger fans, especially since joining social media. Her Instagram handle, @therealelvira, showcases posts featuring both her Elvira character and her personal self.
“I’d say the majority of my fans now are in their teens and 20s,” she observed. “The upside being that more people know me and I have more fans, the downside being I have no more anonymity.”
Elvira originally captivated audiences as the host of Elvira’s Movie Macabre, a syndicated horror movie show. Peterson provided engaging commentary on the films, though she doesn’t see herself as a traditional film critic. “People expect that of me,” she acknowledged. “They expect me to know all about the film and who wrote it and who directed it and how it was. I’m just here to show you the movie and make my twisted little comments on it and maybe take the edge off if it’s really scary.”
While some episodes of the show can now be streamed on Shout! TV, Peterson has expressed that modern horror films are often too well-made for her to humorously critique. “They’re so damn good that they wouldn’t really be that good for Movie Macabre,” she said. “I’d love to have them on my show, but I wouldn’t have anything funny to say about them. They’re just too good.”
Beyond her film endeavors, Peterson also represented Coors Light as a spokesperson, branding it as the official beer of Halloween. Throughout her journey as Elvira, she has cycled through a plethora of wigs to maintain her character’s iconic style, citing her natural red hair as a contrasting element. “I need a lot more hair than I have to do Elvira with that bouffant and that length,” she explained. “Real hair just won’t stay like that forever. I need it to stay the way it is for long periods of time.”
