Articles by Midnight Believer

Vampira was born as Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi on December 11, 1922 in Petsamo, Finland. She immigrated to the United States with her family in 1924 and eventually made her way to Los Angeles, California by the 1940's. During the late 1940's and early 1950's, she supported herself as a model for various men's magazines and as a burlesque dancer. In 1953, Maila attended a masquerade party dressed as a vampire character that she dubbed "Vampira." This character was loosely based on "Mortic…