Bally’s Scared Stiff, released in 1996, is the second pinball outing for Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, and a riotous follow-up to designer Dennis Nordman’s earlier Elvira and the Party Monsters. Co-designed with Mark Weyna, it leans all the way into campy B-movie horror, crowned by a delightful mechanical backbox spider that spins around when the ball drops into a playfield trap — stop it with a flipper button to claim the feature it lands on.

The game runs on multiballs and macabre charm. Hitting the crate four times starts Crate Multiball, while locking three balls via the left orbit launches Coffin Multiball — and the savvy move is to grab Crate and Coffin as your first spider awards, since they extend their respective multiballs. The signature chase is the Stiff-O-Meter: shoot a ramp then the crate to climb it, with your progress carrying over between balls and a big reward and a four-ball multiball waiting at the top. Picking “Double Trouble” off the Spider Web ahead of a high-scoring mode doubles everything for twenty seconds.

There’s plenty for the deep player, from Deadheads that escalate with every one collected to backhandable ramps and the easiest-of-six Tale of the Leapers to clear early. Funny, spooky, and packed with Elvira’s signature innuendo, Scared Stiff is a Halloween party in machine form — a beloved Nordman creation that’s as entertaining to watch as it is to play.