Cassandra Peterson is done wearing her iconic Elvira costume now that she's 74: 'Nobody wants to see that'

At 74, Cassandra Peterson has officially hung up the cleavage-exposing little black dress and teased-to-Transylvania wig she once wore to embody her alter ego, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.

“People ask me: ‘Why aren't you doing the costume anymore?’ I’m like, ‘Girl, nobody wants to see that,’” the actress tells me during our conversation for Yahoo’s Unapologetically series.

That’s not to say Elvira is retired. The character Peterson created nearly 45 years ago has taken on a life of its own, becoming to Halloween what Santa Claus is to Christmas.

This spooky season, Peterson has conjured up Elvira’s Cookbook From Hell , out now, with recipes like Sausage Guts, Roasted Brains and a Slithering Serpentine Salad, haunting additions to any party. There’s also a new Elvira-themed experience at the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride & Halloween Festival . In many ways, “The character lives a separate life without me,” she says.

Meanwhile, Peterson’s life in this chapter is one defined by authenticity. In her 2021 memoir, Yours Cruelly, Elvira , the actress came out as gay . She’s been in a 23-year relationship with Teresa “T” Wierson, a trainer who became a friend, assistant and, ultimately, her partner.

Here’s what the Queen of Halloween and pop culture icon says about living a life without secrets, navigating aging when your image is rooted in sex appeal and how being in her 70s means she doesn’t “really give a crap” about a lot of things she once did.

Given how closely you're associated with your iconic persona and Elvira’s distinctive look, I imagine aging in the public eye is harder for you. Do you feel that people expect you to maintain a certain image?

It’s absolutely harder. I was just thinking about it this morning — maybe I think about it every morning — but I set myself up in a lot of ways. Being very, very sexy, a lot of cleavage, not a youthful look, but almost ageless — and then suddenly you get older. [Aging] is a bummer for women, actors in particular. If you get a bunch of plastic surgery, everybody says, “Oh my God. She’s had so much surgery. She looks so awful.” If you don't get surgery, they say, “Oh my God. She looks like an old bag.” There’s just no winning. People are angry at you either way, so I'm finally getting to the point that I'm just going: Screw it. I don't care. I'm just gonna get old and be a crone, dammit.

Back in the day, people never talked about their procedures and aging treatments. That’s changed recently. What do you think about the pivot to women being more forthcoming?

I love that they're being candid about it. … I have always done things to protect my character, not me as myself. If it was just me as myself, I would be an old bag, and I'd be fine with that. I really would. But I have this character, which is my living to protect. And people really don't want to see Elvira be 90 years old.

While you no longer dress up as Elvira, your brand continues to thrive.

Elvira is a character that lives a separate life without you. The only one I can compare it to is Pee-wee Herman [portrayed by the late Paul Reubens, whom Peterson considered a mentor ]. My character can be animated. It can be in comic books. I compare it to Santa Claus in a lot of ways. Santa Claus is always Santa Claus. He's back every year. He's not actually a real person, though. I think Elvira has become the Santa Claus of Halloween, and she’s doing her own life without me. Now, I’m just the backup band.

Halloween has become as big as Christmas in a lot of ways.

It’s a big deal. If I could be the queen of any holiday, it would be Halloween. It's an awesome holiday. The great thing about Halloween is you don't have to buy any presents for anyone, so you're not spending your money. You don't send cards. You don't have to go to dinners with your relatives. You just get to dress up as your fantasy and go out and have fun. It's such a hedonistic holiday. And it's for kids and adults — adults are appreciating it more as they get older. Halloween is creeping into regular life. They have Summerween . People want to dress up and be in fantasyland all the time — and can you blame them?

You came out in 2021 at age 70. What do you say to someone who’s still afraid to be their full self?

I kept that secret for a long, long time to protect my character. Sadly, if you've seen the Pee-wee as Himself documentary, [Reubens] did the same thing , and that's heartbreaking. And it was heartbreaking for me and for my partner. It felt bad all the time. But I was very afraid that it could affect my livelihood, and people wouldn't like the character anymore. I'm so happy to say that it didn't change, except maybe for the better. So I say to people: “Keeping secrets makes you sick.” It literally does — in the brain and in the body. So get over it. Though, sadly, it does affect some people's jobs, so it's easy for me to throw that out there, but you have to decide what's more important, I guess.

What is something that getting older has helped you make peace with or let go of?

I guess let go of what people think about me. It's just like: Why does it matter? They can think what they want to think, and it doesn't have to affect me. Only if I let it. So I let go of people's opinions and do what I want to do.

What do you do for self-care?

It doesn't look like I do anything, but I do a lot. I try to keep in shape with yoga, Pilates and weight training. It's toned down over the years, but I still do a lot of physical activity.

Also, I eat pretty darn clean. Organic food. I don’t take medication — knock on wood. I don't drink and do things I used to do when I was younger.

You don’t even drink your own gin (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark Autumnal Gin)?

Oh, I do. I drink. I'm not saying I don’t drink at all . I toned it down, which means I still drink a lot.

What’s your favorite recipe in your cookbook?

My Adraka Kozarole, which is from my movie Mistress of the Dark . People always wanted to know what the recipe was. It doesn't have edrazeba [worms] in it for real — it’s green beans. It's kind of the green bean casserole that my mom used to make when I was a kid for Thanksgiving, but the best part about it is that you get the potato chips on top, which you have to crunch with your butt. You put them on a chair and then sit on them. You also use Cheez Whiz, which was a big part of my life growing up, so it's a nostalgic recipe for me.

Tell me about the Elvira costume and wig. How many wigs do you own?

My very first Elvira wig was made by my dear friend Robert Redding, who passed away a few years after Elvira became Elvira. He made the wig and styled it after his favorite group from the ’60s, the Ronettes. I thought their hair couldn't possibly have been that high, but if you look at old pictures of Ronnie Spector, oh yes, it was that high — and higher. He said, “I just want to give it that little early ’60s edge,” because we were trying to differentiate it from Morticia Addams or Vampira. We had parameters: black hair, black dress and some ’80s jewelry. The first wig was made out of fake hair called Elura, which I later used as the name of my character in Elvira’s Haunted Hills . The early wigs were so uncomfortable, so hair-sprayed, so itchy and so sweaty. As the years went by, I had zillions of wigs made, and I tried everything. In the last eight to 10 years of Elvira, I finally found the perfect solution. That was long, human hair — which feels good, doesn’t make you sweat and doesn’t tangle as much — and then the top part was fake hair, because the human hair just won't keep the height. It was an expensive little wig — with three feet of human hair — and I only have one now.

Do you ever dress up on Halloween as a different character?

I rarely do, because I'm almost always working. I had a couple Halloweens that I was able to dress up — as a very ghoulish nun, a 1960s hippie. I love dressing up, and I've had to wear the same damn costume now for 45 years. That kills me.

Where will you be for Halloween this year?

This year, I’m going to be on a plane traveling to Orlando for a big convention, Spooky Empire. Halloween is a Friday, so big events happen on Saturday and Sunday, unfortunately. I'm like, Oh man, flying on Halloween? That sucks. I don't know if I've ever done that. But I always try to be out with as many fans as I can.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.