maila nurmi

Image

Mistress to the Horror Kid

thismusicleavesstains:

The most famous and reproduced image from the Misfits/Vampira summit on April 17, 1982. It should be noted that even though Arthur Googy quit the band earlier in the week the drummer did fulfill the rest of his obligations for the Walk Among Us tour (which ended the same day Lodi’s finest met tv’s spookiest). Alas, Arthur was in no mood for Kodak moments such as this. L-R: Jerry Only, Vampira, Doyle giving the Jersey fist-pump, Glenn Danzig. Photographer unknown.

Image

The Misfits meet Vampira

thismusicleavesstains:

The Misfits meet Vampira, April 17, 1982, at Vinyl Fetish in Los Angeles. Touched by their musical tribute, the reclusive horror hostess stepped out of the shadows to thank the band at this meet and greet. Notably absent from these shots is Arthur Googy; the drummer quit the Misfits two days earlier following a donnybrook with Glenn Danzig over a McDonald’s cheeseburger. First photo, L-R: Doyle, Vampira, Jerry Only, Danzig; foreground head unknown. Second photo, L-R: Jerry, Vampira, Doyle, Danzig. These images were both printed in the Summer 1993 issue of Ugly Things and came from Jerry Only’s personal collection. Photographer unknown.

Audio

Vampira

TRACK #61:

Vampira by Misfits

If John Zacherle is the grandaddy of Horror Hosts, then Maila Nurmi is their mother goddess.

Back in 1954, The Vampira Show was the first program to feature a spooky host introducing (and mocking) old B-movies.

Though only on the air for about a year, Vampira’s mark on horror culture can still be felt today, particularly tooling around Tumblr, where her image is ever present.

And why not? As Mr. Danzig so succinctly puts it:

Two inch nails
Micro-waist
with a pale white feline face
inclination eyebrows to there
Vampira
Mistress to the horror kid

Vampira is the embodiment of the classic horror image. Young fangirls still want to be her, and young fanboys still want to be with her. And though nothing but a few old kinescopes exist of the short-lived program, Maila Nurmi’s legacy will forever live on with the genre.

Fittingly led in by Martin Landu’s oscar-bearing Bela Lugosi, exulting Ms. Nurmi’s appealing qualities to Johnny Depp’s irritated Ed Wood.

Go try on a sweater then, Nerd-o. Me and Bela here will just sit back with some morphine and enjoy the show.