Cassandra Peterson Says Halloween Growth Has Been A Key Component In Elvira’s Success

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), Halloween enthusiasm is back to pre-pandemic levels with related spending expected to reach $10.6 billion. Cassandra Peterson, the woman behind Elvira, the decades-long ghoulish cult favorite, isn’t surprised. For Peterson, the Elvira phenomenon has been a 24/7 business that has resulted in a multimillion dollar empire of projects and products. These days, you can find the fictional Mistress of the Dark featured on television programming, Vegas slot machines, purses, baby onesies, and pet bowls. With over 1000 licensed products, she’s everywhere.

This year, the NRF projects that $3.6 billion dollars will be spent on Halloween costumes with $1.7 billion for adult costumes. Of those dressing up, 1.7 million adults report that they plan to dress as a vampire. More than a few will likely channel the “vampiress” Elvira.

Elvira and Halloween

Originally conceived as a year-round horror hostess television personality in the ‘80s, Elvira’s connection to Halloween culture has pumped the brand beyond Peterson’s wildest expectations.

“The holiday is a key component. Being associated with a national holiday that’s actually going worldwide…is just a miracle…I didn’t start out as being associated with Halloween. But Halloween is growing right along with me and the character. It started out as very much a kid’s holiday, you know, trick or treating, and it’s all fun. And as I started, and I can’t take all the credit, that’s for sure, but I think it’s built built built into more of an adult holiday, still a great kids’ holiday too. But as Halloween expands, so does Elvira and it’s just a fantastic thing…It’s just been bigger and bigger,” says Peterson.

Real Life and Elvira

The paperback edition of the pop culture icon’s memoir Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark released this month comes one year after the hard cover publication that included Peterson’s relationship reveal that introduced fans to the fact that she has been in a longterm romantic partnership with a woman.

For Peterson, the last year has been enlightening and lightening thanks in part to the memoir which addressed her difficult relationship with her mother and her supportive relationship with her assistant Teresa “T” Wierson.

“I’m kind of happy to get a lot of the stuff about her (her mother) off my chest. And I’m happy to stop hiding who I really am and what relationship I’m in. When you’re younger, you’re worried about that stuff. You’re worried about it affecting your work, your income, your personal relationships. But it’s finally all out there. And I’m like, ‘Yay, I feel like I am 100 pounds lighter.'”

Did the disclosure that actor Cassandra Peterson was in a gay relationship affect the Elvira brand that had long been associated with a vampy female character that seems to be rather obsessed with men?

Peterson notes that there was an initial shift of sorts, but it wasn’t a negative one. With respect to social media, she witnessed a dip and then a bigger surge in Instagram followers. “I lost 11,000 then gained 60,000 in the first weekend,” says Peterson.

She claims the book and her revelations have had a positive impact on the Elvira franchise. “I’m gonna do knock on wood right now. So far, everything that I’ve done has been wonderful. None of my licensees, which I have over 300 of them, none of them have, you know, reneged on my contracts. None of them have said, ‘Oh, gee, we can’t do this with you.’ It’s all been positive. I’m so happy. I mean, maybe I’m just one of the lucky few, I don’t know. But it’s been a positive experience. And all the things I worried about, have not come true.”

Peterson’s schedule continues to be packed with appearances and fans wanting a glimpse of the woman behind the Halloween icon. Like them, she’d love to see Yours Cruelly, Elvira becomes a biopic.

Elvis and Elvira

Fun fact: Her role in helping turn Halloween into a multigenerational holiday wouldn’t have happened without Elvis Presley. Peterson was a 17-year-old show girl in Las Vegas when the cast of her show was invited to a party in Elvis’ suite. She spent the evening talking with the superstar who told her she had a nice voice and then offered some advice.

“He said, ‘Go out and get some vocal lessons. And get the hell out of Vegas ‘cause it’s no place for a 17-year-old girl.’ And I was like, ‘What? What? This is my dream come true.’ He’s going, ‘No, no, no, it’s not your dream come true. You have many more dreams in front of you. And you need to really start working on yourself. And furthering your career.’ I always tell people, I was the youngest show girl in Vegas. And if it wasn’t for meeting Elvis, I would now be the oldest showgirl in Vegas. But he changed the entire trajectory of my career and my life.”

Peterson got singing lessons the next day, scored a song in her show and soon moved to Europe where she became lead vocalist for an Italian rock band and the rest is history—chronicled in her memoir.

The Future Elvira

The actor and business woman who has retired her dancing shoes from her long-running annual show at Knotts Scary Farm, still seems like she’s far from giving Elvira a rest. Has she thought about what happens if she ever hangs up the black dress and high hair?

“Oh, yeah, I think about it all the time. But I truly believe that I have built a brand that is—finally, took me 40 years, but that the brand is solid enough that it will be forever associated with Halloween. And that even if I’m not appearing as Elvira, even if I’m not alive anymore, I think the brand will continue. I mean, I think it’s become enough like Santa Claus, for example, who really, you know, isn’t around to backup his image. I think that Elvira will continue with me or without me. So I feel pretty confident about that at this point. It’s like buying Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, Elvis Presley stuff, you know, they’re not around, and they’re doing better than they were when they were alive.”