Every year at Halloween, there are certain pop cultural touchstones of the season that come back, reminding us why we love this holiday of ghosts and goblins so much. The Sanderson sisters of “Hocus Pocus.” The horrifying mask of Michael Myers. The sexually tempting ways of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
“The key to my longevity is definitely aligning with a national holiday,” Cassandra Peterson, the woman who has played Elvira since 1981, told TODAY.
When compared to Santa Claus, she responded: “Exactly, except without the beard.”
This year, as the leaves turn gold and pumpkin spice pops up everywhere, Peterson has made a shocking admission to the world: she has been in a relationship with a woman for almost two decades.
“It was hard on both me and my partner, sneaking around and introducing her as only my assistant, which she is, by the way,” Peterson said. “It was just uncomfortable, holding in secrets like that. That's your energy, you know? And I just turned 70 years old and thinking, ‘If I don't talk about it now, when will I? When I’m 90?’”
In tandem with her new book, "Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark," Peterson sat down for an interview with TODAY, opening up about her decadeslong relationship with a woman, why she has no current plans to get married again and what labels she uses to identify herself with ... if any.
‘I was worried about my gay fans thinking I was a hypocrite’
Peterson began performing as Elvira in 1981 on a local television show in Hollywood, hosting a weekly showing of B-movies called “Movie Macabre.”
“I was an actress in Hollywood, running around, looking for work and heard about this horror hosting thing on a local station,” she explained. “I knew it wasn't going to be much money or anything but as an actor when you’re out of work you can't be too picky. I didn't know exactly what the hell I would be doing, but it was horror-related and I was and still am obviously a big horror fan. So I thought this is going to be such a great gig. I actually get a little check every week to do this awesome job.”
After that show ended, Peterson went national with Elvira in a syndicated version. She later acquired the rights to the character, the key to how she has been able to perform as her for the last four decades.
“I really, honestly, never imagined that being the rest of my life,” she said. “It was such a cheesy, low-budget show. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, this is probably going to last about a week.’ But here I am, 40 years later still doing it.”
Elvira had her own feature film in 1988, and continued to make appearances every Halloween, making massive income over the merchandising of Elvira. Peterson also had a daughter, Sadie, in 1994 with her then-husband, Mark Pierson, whom she married in 1981.
In 2002, Peterson met Teresa Wierson — whom she lovingly refers to as "T" — at Gold's Gym in Hollywood. By now, Peterson was separated from her estranged husband and wasn’t looking to date anyone. Especially not a woman.
“I really didn't understand what was going on,” she said. “I mean, I knew I was falling in love with her, but I kept saying to myself, ‘You’re not gay! What's going on?’ Sadly for her I even sent her packing for a while. It was hard for me to come to the conclusion that it was OK. I've been with men for 50 years, now suddenly I want to be with a woman? It really was very bizarre.”
After staying friends with Wierson, the pair ended up developing a romantic relationship and falling in love. But Peterson kept their relationship a secret until now, when in her new book she "came out" about dating her. One of the fears Peterson harbored wasn’t what her straight fans would think. She was more worried about her LGBTQ fans, especially since for her entire career, Elvira has been heralded as a gay icon and Peterson is known herself as an LGBTQ ally.
“Honestly, that made it harder,” she said. “It's so funny because practically 99.9% of my friends are gay, and I had so many gay friends on the one side I had not told. I feel like it'll be harder for them to hear and I was more worried about my gay fans thinking, ‘Oh, God, what a hypocrite. All these years she keeps this secret, while hanging out with the gay crowd. Meanwhile, she's been with a woman.’
"That was the biggest hurdle to get over. It didn't bother me as much with the straight people as I was worried about my gay fans thinking I was a hypocrite.”
