RH Greene, Dracula Memoirist, Pays Tribute to a Goth Icon with "Vampira and Me," an Off-Ramp Hallowe'en Special

 
This Halloween weekend on Off-Ramp, we're premiering a new documentary from Off-Ramp contributor, author, and filmmaker R.H. Greene, Vampira and Me.

For Halloween 2009, Greene told us about his novel Incarnadine: the True Memoirs of Count Dracula. But his first vampire was a more contemporary icon who became a dear friend. Vampira and Me is a moving remembrance of the legendary Maila Nurmi, the original TV horror hostess and the one bright spot of Ed Wood's Plan Nine from Outer Space.

Drawn from Greene's personal archive of never-before-heard interviews with Nurmi, as well as more intimate memories of their close personal bond, Vampira and Me offers a unique profile of a vibrant creative figure, her enduring pop culture impact, and the high price she paid during and after the peak of her celebrity.

If you're wondering what all the fuss is about, watch this -- and remember, this was 1954:

This is almost all that's left of the Vampira show, which makes her enduring legacy all the more astonishing.