Elvira is coming to Shudder to celebrate her 40th anniversary as a late-night horror hostess.
The Mistress of the Dark’s return comes in the form of a one-night movie marathon event, ‘Elvira’s 40th Anniversary, Very Scary, Very Special Special,’ as part of the horror streaming service’s “61 Days of Halloween” lineup.
In an official statement, the queen of camp had the following to say about her upcoming special with Shudder:
“It’s always tough turning 40, but what better way to mark the occasion than a one-night stand with Shudder, the spookiest of streamers? It’s going to be the ultimate Hallow-anniversa-ween bash, and you don’t want to miss it.”
Cassandra Peterson first debuted the character of Elvira in 1981 as the host of ‘Elvira’s Movie Macabre,’ a show that would generally feature “B movies” with Elvira introducing the films as well as occasionally interrupting them to make a sarcastic comment or to deliver a cheesy joke about the films. The series ran for a total of one-hundred-forty episodes from 1981 – 1986.
The character of Elvira gained popularity in the horror community with her tight, revealing, black dress, her satirical “valley girl” persona, and her self-deprecating humor.
In 1988, Peterson was even able to transition her character from television to film with the release of 1988’s ‘Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.’ The film centered around the character of Elvira, who inherits a rundown mansion from her great-aunt Morgana. Now, she must deal with an uncle who is after a spellbook contained within the house, and with the townspeople who want to burn Elvira at the stake.
‘Elvira, Mistress of the Dark’ will be the first film that the horror hostess will be showing during her planned four movie marathon.
The other three films set to air are:
‘House on Haunted Hill’ (1959): A millionaire offers $10,000 to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him and his wife.
‘The City of the Dead’ (1960): A young college student arrives in a sleepy Massachusetts town to research witchcraft. During her stay at an eerie inn, she discovers a startling secret about the town and its inhabitants.
‘Messiah of Evil’ (1973): A young woman goes searching for her missing artist father. Her journey takes her to a strange Californian seaside town governed by a mysterious undead cult.
Elvira’s special airs exclusively in the US and Canada on Saturday, September 25 at 8 p.m. ET through the Shudder TV feed within the Shudder app. The special will be available to all other Shudder platforms and AMC+ on Monday, Sept. 27.
Until then “unpleasant dreams.”
