About this item
The new book from award-winning historian W. Scott Poole is a whip-smart piece of pop culture detailing the story of cult horror figure Vampira that actually tells the much wider story of 1950s America and its treatment of women and sex, as well as capturing a fascinating swath of Los Angeles history. In Vampire, 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. A veteran of the New York stage and late nights at Hollywoods 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.
About the Author
W. Scott Poole is the author of numerous books and articles on monsters and mayhem in popular culture.
His forthcoming book, available to order now, is _In the Mountains of Madness: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of H.P. Lovecraft_. Based on new findings and bursting with new interpretations, it will offer newcomers and old fans of the America's great horror writer new insight into his life, work, and continuing influence. It ships to readers in September.
In 2014 he published _Vampira: Dark Goddess of Horror_ that looked at the life of 1950s horror host Maila Nurmi (a.k.a. Vampira) to explore the history of American sexuality, gender relations and the rebirth of the horror film in post-WW2 America. Its a story that begins with the history of the dark lady of late night horror and branches out into a discussion of the Beats, Bebop Jazz, the birth of rock and roll and the social protest movements of the 1960s. Novelist Sheri Holman calls the book "a subversive masterpiece."
He is also the author of _Monsters in America_ from Baylor University Press (2011) ._Monsters_ explores the American fascination with vampires, zombies, serial killers and even sea serpents, showing how these creatures of our dark obsessions help us to understand the dark and foreboding places in American history. The book won the John Cawelti prize from the Popular Culture Association for the best book published in pop culture history for 2011.
In 2009, Poole published _Satan in America: The Devil We Know__ (Rowman and Littlefield) , a cultural history of the image of Satan in American religion, history and popular culture. This exciting work blends the study of horror films, comic books, religious texts and newspaper accounts of "satanic panics" into a highly readable analysis of the concept of the devil in American cultural history. Penn State folklorist Bill Ellis called the book "required reading for anyone who wants to understand the dark roots of America culture." I
Poole is also an associate professor of History at the College of Charleston where he teaches courses on monsters in American history, Satan in folk belief and pop culture and the history of religion and race in American life .
