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How Astoria shaped Oregon’s gothic icon, Vampira

Maila Nurmi of Astoria, Oregon launched into national fame as the 1950s television horror host, Vampira.
Public domain via PICRYL
Maila Nurmi, who grew up in Astoria and became known as television horror host Vampira, appears in a scene from the 1959 film “Plan 9 from Outer Space.”

On this episode of Underground History, host Chelsea Rose speaks with Chelsea Vaughn, curator of the Clatsop County Historical Society. They discuss a popular walking tour dedicated to the life of Finnish American Maila Nurmi, better known as her alter ego, Vampira: Oregon's own trailblazing gothic icon.

Learn more about Nurmi’s life by taking the historical society’s nine-stop tour or picking up a copy of “Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi,” published by Feral House Press.

Guest

  • Chelsea Vaughn, deputy director and curator, Clatsop County Historical Society
Chelsea Rose is the director of the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology (SOULA) and host of the Underground History podcast, which airs during the Jefferson Exchange on JPR's News and Information Service and can be found on all major podcast platforms.