Yours Cruelly, Elvira
Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark
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Narrated by:
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Cassandra Peterson
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Written by:
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Cassandra Peterson
About this listen
The woman behind the icon known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the undisputed Queen of Halloween, reveals her full story, filled with intimate bombshells - and told by the bombshell herself.
On Good Friday in 1953, at only 18 months old, 25 miles from the nearest hospital in Manhattan, Kansas, Cassandra Peterson reached for a pot on the stove and doused herself in boiling water. Third-degree burns covered 35 percent of her body, and the prognosis wasn't good. But she survived. Burned and scarred, the impact stayed with her and became an obstacle she was determined to overcome. Feeling like a misfit led to her love of horror. While her sisters played with Barbie dolls, Cassandra played with model kits of Frankenstein and Dracula and idolized Vincent Price.
Due to a complicated relationship with her mother, Cassandra left home at 14, and by age 17 she was performing at the famed Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas. Run-ins with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Tom Jones helped her grow up fast. Then a chance encounter with her idol Elvis Presley changed the course of her life forever and led her to Europe, where she worked in film and traveled Italy as lead singer of an Italian pop band. She eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she joined the famed comedy improv troupe The Groundlings and worked alongside Phil Hartman and Paul "Pee-wee" Reubens, honing her comedic skills.
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 heartbreaking tale of a Midwest farm girl's long, strange trip to become the world's sexiest, sassiest Halloween icon.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2021 Cassandra Peterson (P)2021 Hachette BooksYou may also enjoy...
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What listeners say about Yours Cruelly, Elvira
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Atlas
- 2021-10-22
Elvira’s story is fascinating!
I have loved the Elvira character for years and am thrilled to now know her story. Cassansra Peterson has led an incredibly fascinating life. The stories in here are fantastic tales for fans of the queen of Halloween. A MUST listen for all fans.
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- Linus Bourque
- 2023-03-10
Read by the Mistress herself and it was great!
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Cassandra read her autobiography. It was funny, sad, terrifying and wholesome (in the end).
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- Sienna
- 2023-05-25
Devoured this
Loved hearing this by Elvira herself. My goodness, the stories and her history and the almost wins and who she sold her home to. Loved everyone minute!
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- Jennifer B
- 2022-12-26
Great audiobook
Such an interesting life stories. From Cassandra almost dying of her burn injuries to having met so many iconic music & actors and a lot of douche bags, Tom Jones, to having narrowly missed near fatal situations and her family life..wow. I’m exhausted. Just glad she found love again.
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- Jason
- 2022-11-23
Get It!
I have always been a fan of Cassandra Peterson's Elvira, so I was very excited for the audio release of this book. There are so many great stories and fun facts about the films she was in, people she dated and Hollywood at that time in general. Also, many of the horrible things that have happened to her well
I actually have put this up there in my top five audiobooks at this point. it's in the same list as Can't Hurt Me. if you like the spooky, Hollywood, films and of course Elvira, get it!
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- MJay12
- 2022-04-17
Amazing❤️
Once I started I literally could not stop. Listened to the whole thing in one day. There's nothing better than the writer reading their own words. Cassandra has had quite the life and I really appreciate her sharing it in this book. Lots of amazing, interesting, uplifting, inspirational and even heartbreaking stories. I fully enjoyed this book more than I ever expected. I look forward to listening to it again and again.
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- Tessa
- 2023-10-02
Love
I usually don’t leave reviews but I’ve always been a fan of Elvia/Cassandra and I never knew her story. I loved hearing about how she grew up and how her career came to be and all the people she met along the way. So happy she documented this as well because she’s so iconic.
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- Nicholas Smith
- 2021-11-24
beautiful, striking, harrowing.
so many amazing stories. her experiences during the aids epidemic was absolutely heartbreaking ugh.
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- Emily
- 2022-11-05
Excellent
One of the best memoirs I’ve ever read, and certainly the best one i have ever listened to. Cassandra Peterson has led a fascinating life, her story is both fun and inspirational. Elvira is funny, and Cassandra is brilliant. As a fellow queer I had heard the “good news” about this book, and I wanted to hear how she handled coming out. I wasn’t expecting such a beautiful love story. Loved this book, I am sure I will listen to it again sometime.
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- J. Horyski
- 2021-12-18
Great Biography by The Mistress of the Dark
This was a fantastic biography - funny, emotional and just plain interesting. Unlike a lot of biographies, it’s clear Peterson wrote this herself and her sincerity comes across perfectly. It helps that she reads it herself and is, as it turns out, a great audiobook performer.
It’s one of those biographies where, despite it being history, you find yourself rooting for the subject at every turn.
Someone at Audible needs to get Peterson to reprise
Her role as Elvira for a series of audiobooks.
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