Before Cassandra Peterson’s Elvira there was Maila Nurmi’s Vampira.
If you’re at all interested in horror history or even Hollywood history at large, this year’s book Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi is a must-read, telling Maila’s story in a greater depth than ever before. The book was written by Sandra Niemi, the late Maila’s niece, chronicling the life and career of a true icon in the horror space.
As a companion piece to that incredible book, the Official Vampira Store has now put up for grabs The Vampira Diaries, a brand new book that dives even further into an iconic life.
The website explains…
“The Vampira Diaries are a collection of Maila Nurmi’s personal diaries starting from the year 1953 during her Hollywood rise to fame with the groundbreaking Vampira Show. Featuring unearthed, never-before-seen photos, original scripts, news clips from her personal scrapbook, excerpts written in her own hand, and scores of rare photos from the inception of Vampira.”
The hardcover book features 176 pages, written by Jonny Coffin. It features a Foreword by Bela Lugosi Jr. and Afterword by Dana Gould. You can grab a copy for $89 right now.
Maila Nurmi lived a fascinating Hollywood life that brushed closely up against the lives of James Dean, Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley, and it was Maila who became the original horror host with her Vampira character. Simply put, there is no Elvira without Vampira. Nurmi passed away in 2008, but her legend and legacy will live on forever in the annals of horror history.
