Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pains of the Real Vampira by Sandra Niemi

Feral House, 2021

ISBN-13: 9781627311007

Available:  Paperback, Kindle ( Bookshop.com  | Amazon.com )

Glamour Ghoul is the biography of the woman who was Vampira, Maila Nurmi, written by her niece, Sandra Niemi. Pieced together from diaries, notes, family stories, and an unexpected family connection, Niemi weaves a fascinating tale of the late horror icon. She provides a glimpse of her aunt’s childhood,  Maila’s strict Finnish father and alcoholic mother, and how she tried to break free of their grasp. In 1941, Maila began her tumultuous journey into Los Angeles, hoping to find fame and fortune, but instead found heartbreak and betrayal, the first committed by Nurmi’s screen crush Orson Welles.

Nurmi’s creation and development of the Vampira character is discussed in the book. From entering a Halloween costume contest donning an outfit like that of Charles Addams’ Morticia (from his cartoons, not the television show), to appearing on the Red Skelton Show, to her own show and beyond, the tale of Vampira is told. There is also considerable time spent on the lawsuit between Nurmi and Elvira/Cassandra Peterson.

Interspersed between accounts of Nurmi’s life are short biographies of those who entered her life. Her relationships, platonic as well as romantic ones, with Orson Welles, James Dean, Marlon Brando, Anthony Perkins, and Elvis Presley make for an interesting read. Later in life, she was embraced by the punk community, and she, in turn, embraced the community. Her life was not glamourous: she often struggled with poverty, and was barely able to afford to scrape by. She occasionally had to return home, living with her mother and never speaking to her estranged father. Despite that, she lived on her own terms. Niemi is quite candid in telling her aunt’s story, not shying away from such things as a confrontation and violent outburst by Nurmi toward her grand-niece’s snobbish behavior during a visit to Los Angeles. Nurmi was not afraid of making her voice heard. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker