Bally’s Elvira and the Party Monsters, released in 1989, is the very first pinball collaboration with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark — the campy horror hostess who would go on to headline a beloved trilogy. Designed by Dennis Nordman and Jim Patla, it’s a riotous monster-mash party stuffed with B-movie ghouls and Elvira’s trademark innuendo, anchored by twin ramps and a skull shot that swallows balls for multiball.
The scoring is built around the skull lock and spelling out the star’s name. Locking three balls in the left skull shot starts the three-ball multiball, relit afterward by completing J-A-M or B-A-T, with the ramps paying jackpots and then 250K Party Ramps. Spelling E-L-V-I-R-A lights a 3-million shot on the skull for twenty seconds — and if your flippers are strong enough to loop the left ramp, doing so for millions and Elvira letters is a smooth path to a big game. The Spots Letter feature is lit by completing J-A-M, B-A-T, the dead heads, or five left-ramp combos.
Like many games of its era it has lock-stealing in multiplayer, and a fun quirk: drain on ball three with balls locked, start a new game right away, and your locks carry over. Funny, spooky, and full of personality, Elvira and the Party Monsters launched one of pinball’s most entertaining franchises — a Halloween bash that’s as cheeky and fun today as ever.