Vampira: The Original Scream Queen

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Vampira: The Original Scream Queen

By Kelly Florence & Meg Hafdahl

 

“Bring on the empty hearses that I may people them with my enemies.

Isn’t that, after all, why people commit autobiography? To aggrandize themselves and to destroy their enemies? 

In any case, of course, the enemy shall be felled quite accidentally as the flailing sword of truth decapitates them. Now, all nonsense aside, you know I have no enemies. Only discarded lovers, and they have their memories.”

-Maila Nurmi

Ever since Kelly was little, her grandparents told her about the legendary Vampira, (pronounced Vamp-eera in the Finnish dialect). She was a Finnish American who had made it onto Broadway, into Hollywood, and had her own hosting gig introducing horror movies on a television station in Los Angeles. Her pet tarantula on the late-night gig was named Rollo and Kelly’s grandparents named their cat the same. While there are numerous stories and rumors surrounding Vampira and her life, we appreciated reading two biographies about her. Her name was Maila Nurmi, and she was a queen.

Growing up as the daughter of Finnish immigrants, Maila understood the importance of work ethic, public speaking, and passion. Her father, a journalist and devout religious man, raised his children to appreciate their legacy and encouraged them to work for the things they cared about. Moving around the country with her family, Maila spent time in Duluth, Minnesota (where Meg spent her junior high and high school years and where Kelly currently lives) as well as many cities across the country. While she didn’t pursue a career her father may have been proud of, she had the drive and tenacity to become a legend, albeit one most aren’t aware of.

We encourage you to read Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi (2021) by Sandra Niemi (Maila’s niece!) and Vampira: Dark Goddess of Horror (2014) by W. Scott Poole. Here are our top takeaways about this fascinating woman.

Imagination is Important

As a child, Maila found solace in playing pretend, creating, portraying characters, and consuming media that inspired and shaped her. She was interested in fantasy, animation, and worlds beyond our understanding. We fully believe that reading literature, comic books, listening to music, watching movies and television, or viewing art of any kind can have a prolific effect on our personalities. We naturally gravitated towards the things that we love, and we feel that these experiences have made us the people that we are today.

We Should All Follow Our Dreams 

Even though Maila’s family may not have been supportive in the beginning, she understood what would bring her joy and she pursued her goals. She focused on and elevated her talents to pursue fame, fortune, and recognition to become an ICON in the horror world. Did you know:

-She inspired Charles Addams (the cartoonist who created The Addams Family) to name the mother in the family Morticia? (she was previously unnamed) 

-Maila was the first scream queen by literally screaming as she introduced horror films? She also subverted the trope of women being victims and instead, encouraged them to embrace knowing their worth and owning their sexuality.

-She allegedly was fired from her Broadway debut for upstaging the star? 

Be Kind, Always

Referring back to the opening quote, Maila did have some discarded lovers. Listen to our podcast, Horror Rewind, to get the details or read Sandra Niemi’s book. There are some incredible and juicy details! In the end, Maila was kind, generous, cared for animals, other people, and deserved more. She lost her court case against Cassandra Peterson, also known as Elvira, even after Maila had been brought in as a consultant for the show to reinvent the character of Vampira, and never financially recovered from it. 

In our book Travels of Terror (2024), we wrote about visiting Maila’s grave at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and leaving flowers for her. At the time, we didn’t know the full context of her life, her legacy, and her final resting place. In her niece’s book, Maila describes sitting near a pond in a cemetery, seeing swans, marveling at palm trees, and describing the view as “heaven.” She was buried on the spot that she spoke of in 2008. 

We hope that more people will know Maila’s name, understand her importance in the horror genre, and seek out the content she created and was a part of. She never gave up, and neither should you.

 

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