{"id":2083005,"date":"2025-10-11T01:20:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T01:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2083005"},"modified":"2025-10-11T01:20:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T01:20:12","slug":"cassandra-elvira-peterson-talks-politics-publishing-her-cookbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/cassandra-elvira-peterson-talks-politics-publishing-her-cookbook\/","title":{"rendered":"Cassandra \u2018Elvira\u2019 Peterson Talks Politics & Publishing Her Cookbook"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Though she\u2019s spent more than 40 years as a spooky and sexy icon, Cassandra Peterson<\/a> \u2015 better known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark<\/a> \u2015 admits she\u2019s felt a bit scared by the real world as of late, and not simply because Halloween season is in full swing. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI feel pretty darn good about my career \u2015 it\u2019s still going, and I\u2019m just kind of home free,\u201d she told celebrity.land in an interview. As for what\u2019s been recently giving her a fright, she added, \u201cPolitics … that\u2019s a scary consideration for not only me, but I think the rest of the country right now.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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With that in mind, fans may be relieved to find Peterson\u2019s sense of campy humor intact on her latest project, in which she playfully rebrands herself as the \u201cMartha Stewart of the Macabre.\u201d Unveiled last week, \u201cElvira\u2019s Cookbook from Hell<\/a>\u201d is a 222-page book of colorful recipes she\u2019s created to spice up dinner parties and social gatherings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Would-be chefs can try their hand at creepy dishes like the \u201cTransylvanian Ghoul-ash\u201d and \u201cLiving Dead Lasagna,\u201d and will appreciate Peterson\u2019s tips on signature cocktails and festive decor. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Horror<\/picture><\/div>\n
Horror icon Elvira \u2014 n\u00e9e Cassandra Peterson \u2014 is the author of “Elvira\u2019s Cookbook from Hell,” unveiled Sept. 30.<\/figcaption>
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Courtesy of Cassandra Peterson, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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More adventurous offerings include the \u201cRoasted Brains,\u201d featuring an over-roasted cauliflower drizzled in a mint, lime and jalape\u00f1o chutney, while \u201cAdraka Kozarole\u201d is a wink at a memorable scene<\/a> from the 1988 film \u201cElvira: Mistress of the Dark<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Still, the book required Peterson to do a little legwork.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve wanted to do this for literally 30 years,\u201d she recalled. \u201cNobody was biting. It was always, \u2018There\u2019s a million Halloween cookbooks, we don\u2019t need one more.\u2019 And I kept telling them, \u2018There\u2019s a huge Goth crowd that would do Halloween 365 days a year if they could.\u2019 I finally convinced a publisher to go with it after my autobiography [2021\u2019s \u2018Yours Cruelly, Elvira<\/a>\u2019] did well. They went, \u2018Oh, maybe Elvira does<\/em> have an audience.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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New pursuits aside, Peterson hasn\u2019t turned her back on the world of horror films, citing 2015\u2019s \u201cThe Witch<\/a>\u201d and 2024\u2019s \u201cNosferatu<\/a>\u201d as recent favorites.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Peterson<\/picture><\/div>\n
Peterson published a memoir, “Yours Cruelly, Elvira,” in 2021. <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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She also praised Demi Moore<\/a>\u2019s Oscar-nominated portrayal of a fading Hollywood star who goes to deadly extremes to appear youthful in \u201cThe Substance<\/a>,\u201d noting, \u201cI loved it. I thought it was hilarious and brilliant and kind of hit home for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While many fans look to horror as escapism, Peterson believes the genre has a responsibility to reflect the moment in which it\u2019s being produced. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIn the 1950s and \u201960s, there was the Red Scare, and people were worried about atomic bombs \u2015 we got \u2018Godzilla\u2019 out of that,\u201d she said. Still, she feels Hollywood is likely to hold off for a bit before producing a horror movie that reflects the current sociopolitical climate: \u201cRight now it would get pulled off the screen.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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These days, Peterson is also embracing a newfound role as an LGBTQ+ rights advocate. Though she\u2019s long enjoyed a queer fanbase, one of the most headline-making revelations in \u201cYours Cruelly, Elvira\u201d was her first public acknowledgement<\/a> of her relationship with her girlfriend, Teresa \u201cT\u201d Wierson<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\""I<\/picture><\/div>\n
“I feel like if I can do that for even a few people, then being Elvira is worth it,” Peterson said, when asked about young LGBTQ+ people who say she’s helped them embrace their own sexuality or gender identity.<\/figcaption>
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Courtesy of Cassandra Peterson, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Though she admits the news rankled some fans<\/a> who were \u201cmostly male and older,\u201d she has no regrets about her decision nearly four years later. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cKeeping secrets is not good \u2015 it gives you gas and a lot of other things,\u201d she quipped. \u201cAnd my middle name is Gay! That\u2019s what happens when you get that name.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for your support along the way. We\u2019re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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On a serious note, she says she\u2019s heard from \u201ca lot of young people \u2015 and I mean really young,\u201d who have credited her for helping them to embrace their own queer sexuality or gender identity. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBoth women and men have come up to me and said, \u2018You gave me the strength and the courage to come out to my family, or at my job.\u2019 I mean, it\u2019s heavy,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like if I can do that for even a few people, then being Elvira is worth it. Putting all that makeup on for all those years paid off.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n