Two inch nails, micro waist

With a pale white feline face

I was always ambiently aware of Vampira via The Misfits and The Damned, but I never knew the story behind her creator, the eminently fascinating Maila Nurmi, until researching my latest feature for The Ankler. It’s a wild yarn that truly has it all, from Old Hollywood glamour to early L.A. punk to an epic legal showdown with eighties horror queen Elvira:

Nurmi herself was a gothic pop icon, but her career had long since tanked. She now lived in penury, barely squeaking by on Social Security benefits. It was a far cry from her glory days as America’s original horror host, Vampira, created by Nurmi for KABC Channel 7 — a worldwide phenomenon for two brief but bewitching years in the mid-1950s.

Back then, Nurmi was at what would be the height of her career, a trailblazing sex symbol and subversive cultural rebel who cast a spell on postwar America at the dawn of television and rock ‘n’ roll. She’d been nominated for an Emmy. She’d forged a deep but ill-fated friendship with James Dean. She’d performed with Liberace, shared a memorable moment with Elvis Presley — and inspired the look of Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty. Then it all came crashing down and Nurmi faded into obscurity, another forgotten figure on the long list of Hollywood washups. 

Did that teaser whet your appetite? If so you can read the full piece here. I hope you enjoy it. Meanwhile, scroll down for a few other seasonally appropriate reads/listens that have found their way into my browser lately. Plus a Vampira-friendly Halloween playlist just for you…

»Vanity Fair: “Royals and the Spirit World —Throughout history, royals who have explored Eastern religions, astrology, mysticism, and occultism have been mocked and even imprisoned for their beliefs.”

»The Gilded Gentleman: “The Ghost Stories of Henry James and Edith Wharton — In nearly all of their ghostly tales, both James and Wharton explore the inner depths of the human psyche and the all too human emotions of fear, abandonment, passion and loss.”

»JSTOR Daily: “Can You Photograph a Ghost? — William Hope claimed to be able to document the visitations of ghosts. The controversial images he produced add to our understanding of the history of photography.”