Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi

This is a truly fascinating book as all of the other reviewers agree! Page after page, there was something new and different not just about Maila's truly individualistic life but about the characters who came and went from her life, many of them famous Hollywood personalities. We are provided with insight into the darker sides of Orson Welles, Marlon Brando, and Anthony Perkins as well as unexpected personal information about Elvis Presley. The 1950's were clearly a very uptight time for many everywhere and yet Maila's role as Vampira managed succeed despite the sexually charged and comically dark energy she generated so openly in television and elsewhere. The real clincher in GLAMOR GHOUL was Maila's relationship with Janes Dean which is presented here in great detail. I doubt if anyone will ever find out the full story of what kinds of truly weird things this movie legend was into but in Chapter 10, we get a glimpse of something I have never heard of: His "tombstone tours" with Maila and the most extreme thing I could possibly think of , the "Night Watch" visits to mortuaries by these two and the unparalleled activity they engaged in here. Clearly, the Vampira image was not just a put-on! She obviously was quite uninhibited in her choice of fun! I was hoping for extensive anecdotes about her participation in PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE but this was only briefly described. Later on in the book, it was depressing to read of the decline in her health and career but I was pleased to find she ended up getting the recognition and adoration she deserved plus fulfillment in activity outside of the entertainment world. Well worth reading with a writing style which flows nicely throughout! Her unending spunky personality is such an inspiration for all of us to risk being ourselves, real and spontaneous and leading a fuller, richer life!

I’m a big fan of the movie Ed Wood. The director—not so much. But I recently watched a documentary on him, and among those interviewed was Maila Nurmi.I found her incredibly fascinating, and came on Amazon to see if there was a book on her. This one had just been released. I saw it was written by a relative and paused—usually I don’t like books on celebrities written by relatives. Either they are fawning or hatchet jobs.So I didn’t buy and while I hesitated Amazon sold out of the book. When I saw it was back in stock I grabbed it.And it is amazing! Neither fawning or a hatchet job, it’s instead a fascinating portrait of a woman who wanted to be free, to be famous, and to be happy. She got all at times, along with a lot of pain. But the wonderful woman I saw in that Ed Wood documentary comes shining through. What an amazing woman Maila was.Great book. If you’re hesitating, buy it. It’s worth every penny.

In my insomnia last night I finished this book, GLAMOUR GHOUL, about the life of Maila Nurmi aka Vampira. I only got the book the day before...it’s 400 pages and way more interesting, sad, fun, and wild then I could’ve imagined! I highly recommend it! I wasn’t very familiar with Maila other than having become aware of her when I came across her gravestone in the Hollywood Forever cemetery in 2010. Anyway, if everything written about her by her niece (the author) is true, WOW!! #vampira #mailanurmi #gothchicks #originalgothgirl 🖤🦇🕷🕸⚰️

My review of "Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi."I love it when someone I know achieves something great, like finishing an incredibly difficult goal....a life goal.Jumping into the deep end to tell the story of a family member that everyone *thinks* they know, but in reality I highly doubt that anyone truly knew or understood Maila Nurmi.Here and there she would find other misfits like herself who marched to the beat of their own drum like she did, but in Hollywood any sort of true independence or brilliance is intimidating. The reaction to originality and being "different" is rarely for it to be embraced. And yet Maila was in quite a few instances recognized for her trailblazing.She certainly had ideas about how she and her creations should be consumed and received, and many times her belief, conviction and dedication conflicted with the gatekeepers of fame.She was uncompromising. Many would say to a fault, but I found myself in awe of how tightly she clung to her dreams and the art she made. Maila wasn't someone who could be manipulated or pushed around. Well, like most of us she learned that "trust" is a four-letter word in a lot of cases. Her early experiences with people in Hollywood taught her that trust shouldn't be freely given. Even when it was earned it could be betrayed without batting an eye. There truly was no "honor among thieves" in that entertainment cesspool. There might have been some lucky breaks for her, but everything she accomplished was hard-won and she did it on her terms. She could be both her own worst enemy and best advocate for her vision. All of this at a time where women were not afforded such freedom of mind or movement. She took it, and never apologized for that.I won't give away some of the more wild, exciting and downright mind-blowing personal relationships that Maila had, it's so fun to unfold turning the pages of this book I don't want to spoil it. What I will say is that what makes this read a complete pleasure is understanding how it came to be and who made it happen.Sandra Niemi is Maila's niece, and it's with her that the responsibility of telling her Aunt's story came to rest. It would be a daunting task for anyone, let alone someone who had never written a book before. To compile, chronicle and contain in pages the life of a woman who was so fiercely independent and in so many instances completely evasive? It's a true and mighty accomplishment. And I don't believe anyone could have done it better than Sandra did.Painstakingly pieced together with Maila's own writings on scraps of paper jumbled through all her belongings, family history, accounts from friends and what I can only imagine was a mountain of legends and myths to sift through, Sandra put together a great and cohesive story of her Aunt's life. I think what makes it so compelling is Sandra's own desire to understand her family's own history through the lens of her Aunt's life. So much of Maila's life was integral to understanding her entire family. Sandra's quest to define Maila is also the journey for clarity on a personal level. It was a mightly personal task.It seems to me that after all this, life constantly moving forward and shifting sands of time this story became even more difficult to tell....and yet other important things in Maila's life became easier to tell in many ways. Again, I won't give it all away, but timing being what it is I believe this was the perfect time for Sandra to finish and release this book honoring her Aunt with the voice I feel she always wanted to have, but wasn't able to actualize. It does justice to the art and unique personality of Maila.I found myself only reading little bits at a time, then putting the book down so it would last longer. It's been a long time since I read a book I didn't want to reach the end of because of the shear enjoyment of the read. Glamour Ghoul was a page-turning adventure from start to finish, and it's an emotional journey that came straight from the heart. I believe that's what makes the book so special.Thank you, Sandra, for putting so much of your life into this book so that the rest of us could understand and love your Aunt Maila for who she truly was. Fierce, unapologetic and defiantly beautiful. She was a genius in so many ways, and her legacy can be seen everywhere. From Tim Burton films, punk rock, goth to misfits everywhere who saw in Maila a kindred spirit. Those misfits gather courage from her work and life. They benefit from her bravery and create their own art. In that way she will continue to live on into the future.Some people tried to steal that legacy, but it's hollow and lacks the brilliant vision Maila encompassed. I can see that. There will never be another Maila....and that doesn't include her creation, Vampira. I see Maila clearly now, so if that is what you set out to do? You accomplished that mission so well. ❤️

Maila Nurmi has been one of my greatest inspirations since I was very young, but it always hurt me that there wasn't as much information about her as I would have wanted, except for a few interviews and articles...which would constantly had me wondering who was the woman behind the super high arched eyebrows and snatched wasp-waist. This book does a marvelous job at unveiling the person who brought the greatest horror hostess of all time to life layer upon layer: her dreams, her vulnerabilities, her accomplishments, her ups and downs, her fears and hopes. I felt deeply connected to Maila as I kept turning every page and I for the life of me, couldn't put it down.Sandra Niemi, Maila's niece, did an outstanding job. Highly recommend, it is a MUST for every Vampira fan out there.

Un libro que se disfruta de principio a fin y que lanza mucha luz sobre la enigmática figura de Maila Nurmi, a quien mundialmente se le conoció como Vampira. Muy recomendable.