Scared Stiff (pinball)
| Company type | Pinball machine |
|---|---|
| Industry | Arcade games |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder | Dennis Nordman |
| Parent | Midway (Bally) |
Scared Stiff is a pinball machine from 1996, created by Dennis Nordman and launched by Midway under the Bally brand. It stars the horror hostess Elvira and serves as a sequel to the 1989 title Elvira and the Party Monsters, which was also developed by Nordman.
Description
Embracing a B-movie horror motif, the game tasks players with completing the Six Tales Of Terror to progress the Stiff-o-meter. These tales include Eyes Of The Bony Beast, Terror From The Crate, the Stiff In The Coffin, the Monster's Lab, Night Of The Leapers, and the Return Of The Deadheads. A distinctive feature is its interactive backbox equipped with a player-operated spinning spider that collects features and activates special modes. For sound, Scared Stiff employs the DCS Sound System.
The game was showcased at the 1996 AMOA convention in Dallas, where Cassandra Peterson appeared in her Elvira persona. Originally, the slingshots housed moving rubber boogieman figures that reacted to ball hits and performed a 'dance' during the Boogie Man Boogie mode. Due to concerns about their longevity, this mechanism was removed late in production, although traces of it persist in both the machine’s design and ROM data. Enthusiasts have since revived these boogieman elements on restored units.
Digital version
The digital rights for Scared Stiff were licensed for inclusion in The Pinball Arcade on various platforms until June 30, 2018.