Morticia & Co.

We're closing in on October, so I'm in the mood for something a little bit horror related. Here's a list of some of my favorite goth queens and ghoulish gals who take a page from the Morticia Addams playbook.

First up is, of course, Morticia Addams: Originally a comic strip, the character was played to perfection by Carolyne Jones, ex wife of Aaron Spelling. I really love Combustible Edison's groovy lounge-tastic tune "Morticia's Theme".



Lily Munster: Yvonne DeCarlo is probably more glamorous and beautiful than anyone in this list. She had quite the resume before becoming a Munster including being Moses' wife in The Ten Commandments.

Check out The Drunken Severed Head's post on Yvonne, which includes a link to her record Yvonee DeCarlo Sings.
Click here to check out probably the best spot for good quality vintage photos of DeCarlo.

Elvira: Cassandra Peterson is literally the queen of all media. She's done everything from "The Fall Guy" to Coors beer commercials, to hosting her own show, to having her own pinball machine, to starring in movies... you name it, she's done it. She claims to have even slept with Elvis.

Below is a clip from her days hosting "Midnight Madness", where she would basically lounge on a couch and say horrible puns. It was great fun, though, and this clip really shows why: not only do viewers enjoy the lovely Elvira, but they got to learn some fun trivia about the movie being shown.



Siouxsie Sioux: The first media appearance of Siouxsie Sioux came on Bill Grundy's show where he made a flirtatious comment towards her. As it happens, The Sex Pistols were also present and Steve Jones calls the host a "dirty sod" (among other things) on live television. This incident caused a public scandal and ultimately led to the demise of the Pistols. Click here to view it - I find it hilarious when the closing elevator music fades over the drunken cursing punk mayhem happening onstage. Definitely worth a look.

Vampira: Before there was Elvira, there was Vampira (Maila Nurmi). For a truly bizarre little clip check out Vampira dancing with Liberace - there's no sound, but very odd indeed. I was surprised to learn she was pretty well connected. She dated Orson Wells, was good friends with James Dean and married the guy who would later write Dirty Harry.

Lydia Deetz: Winona Ryder's character in the film Beetlejuice; also featured in the animated series. Basically a goth girl icon.

Bella LaGhostley from one of my favorite cartoons, The Groovie Goolies. Do you notice a faint resemblance to Vampira?

and finally...
Bellatrix LeStrange: An evil character from the popular Harry Potter series. She is played by Helena Bonham Carter in the films (whom I happened to meet at a Barnes & Noble.... sorry for the namedropping, but I thought it was really, really cool).