Maila Nurmi, a.k.a. Vampira is born in Gloucester, Mass. in 1922. The Finnish-American actress is known primarily as the first host of horror movies on TV with The Vampira Show on Los Angeles station KABC in 1954. Her character is not only the prototype of the Elvira, Mistress of The Dark character, but also Maleficent, the evil witch of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. She also appeared in character in the infamous Plan 9 From Outer Space. She died in 2008.
This Day in Halloween: Maila Nurmi, a.k.a. Vampira -- host of the pioneering "Vampira Show" -- is born in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1922. / Illustration by Remmick Wadsworth