{"product_id":"vampira-dark-goddess-of-horror-paperback","title":"Vampira: Dark Goddess of Horror - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eW. Scott Poole\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis whip-smart piece of pop culture details the life of the cult horror figure, as well as the much wider story of 1950s America, its treatment of women and sex, and a fascinating swath of Hollywood history.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eVampira\u003c\/i\u003e, Poole gives us the eclectic life of the dancer, stripper, actress, and artist Maila Nurmi, who would reinvent herself as Vampira during the backdrop of 1950s America, an era of both chilling conformity and the nascent rumblings of the countercultural response that led from the Beats and free jazz to the stirring of the LGBT movement and the hardcore punk scene in the bohemian enclave along Melrose Avenue. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA veteran of the New York stage and late nights at Hollywood's hipster hangouts, Nurmi would eventually be linked to Elvis, Orson Welles, and James Dean, as well as stylist and photographer Rudi Gernreich, founder of the Mattachine Society and designer of the thong. Thanks to rumors of a romance between Vampira and James Dean, his tragic death inspired the circulation of stories that she had cursed him and, better yet, had access to his dead body for use in her dark arts. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn Poole's expert hands, \u003ci\u003eVampira\u003c\/i\u003e is more than the story of a highly creative artist continually reinventing herself, but a parable of the runaway housewife bursting the bounds of our straight-laced conventions with an exuberant display of camp, sex, and creative individuality that owed something to the morbid \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e cartoons of Charles Addams, the evil queen from Disney's \u003ci\u003eSnow White\u003c\/i\u003e, and the popular, underground bondage magazine \u003ci\u003eBizarre\u003c\/i\u003e, and forward to the staged excesses of Madonna and Lady Gaga. \u003ci\u003eVampira\u003c\/i\u003e is a wildly compelling tour through a forgotten piece of pop cultural history, one with both cultish and literary merit, sure to capture the imagination of Vampira fans new and old.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eW. Scott Poole\u003c\/b\u003e, who teaches at the College of Charleston, has written widely about American history, horror, and pop culture, including most recently in his award-winning history, \u003ci\u003e Monsters in America \u003c\/i\u003e, which received the John G. Cawelti prize from the Popular Culture Association and was named among the Best of the Best by the AAUP for 2011. \u003ci\u003e Monsters \u003c\/i\u003e received nominations for the Bram Stoker and the fan-sourced Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. Poole is a regular contributor to \u003ci\u003e Popmatters \u003c\/i\u003e and his work has appeared in the \u003ci\u003e Huffington Post \u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Religions Dispatches \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003e Killing the Buddha \u003c\/i\u003e. He has been a guest speaker at Authors@Google and has collaborated on films for the History Channel, PBS, and, most recently, the Banger Films project, \u003ci\u003e Satan: The Movie \u003c\/i\u003e. He blogs at his website, monstersinamerica.com.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.8 x 8.9 x 5.9 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 09, 2014\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51771033977120,"sku":"9781593765439","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/3e75d11b40d06dce17634d50d1a12dbe.webp?v=1780382189","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/vampira-dark-goddess-of-horror-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}