1989 · Bally
Elvira and the Party Monsters
Blue and violet night sky with clouds and a full moon, purple haunted mansion with lit windows and towers at top right, graveyard with leaning tombstones and bare trees at left and green swampland and wooden picket fence along the bottom.
- Year
- 1989
- Maker
- Bally
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Made by
- Design
- Dennis Nordman
- Design
- Jim Patla
- Art
- Greg Freres
- Mechanics
- Tony Pugh
- Mechanics
- Irv Grabel
- Software
- Mark Penacho
- Sound & Music
- Chris Granner
Vision analysis
On the playfield
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- magenta
- black
- green
- yellow
Fingerprint: Elvira and the Party Monsters: enormous arched red-and-cream ELVIRA title center, portrait of pale dark-haired woman with fur collar ringed by monster heads, second ELVIRA logo with leaning portrait on apron, two triangular black panels with teal flames in lower corners, dense green monster faces and red starburst bumpers upper third.
The most memorable element is the enormous arched red-and-cream ELVIRA title dominating the centre of the playfield, sitting directly above a large painted portrait of a pale, black-haired woman with a fur collar and a ring of small cartoon monster heads circling her head. A second, smaller ELVIRA and the PARTY MONSTERS logo repeats on the lower apron plate, flanked by a second leaning portrait of the same woman in a deep-plunging black dress. Two matching black triangular panels with teal flame graphics sit symmetrically in the lower left and lower right corners of the apron. The upper third is a dense collage of green monster faces, red starburst bumpers and a white Monster Bash banner at the very top.
Setting
- Concentrated radiating magenta and black starburst behind the central title
- Flat cream instruction card on the lower apron
- Dark black upper playfield crowded with green monster faces and metal ball guides
- Teal-green flame motifs on the lower corner panels
Symbols
- Red and green playing-card suits
- Playing cards
- White dice
- Eight-pointed red starbursts
- Yellow-and-red radiating starburst badge
- Teal flame motifs
- Skull emblem
- Arched lettering roundel
- Arrow and triangle graphics
- Coin and key icons
- Small white skull motifs
Notable shapes
- Wedge-shaped playfield narrowing towards the top
- Large central magenta starburst
- Arched lower-triangle flame panels at the apron corners
- Circular yellow-and-green emblem in the mid-upper playfield
- White rectangular banner card at the top edge
- Oval party monsters badge below the central portrait
Art motifs
- Radiating sunburst rays
- Scattered playing-card faces
- Jagged lightning-bolt lettering shapes
- Dripping horror-style letterforms
- Spotlit theatre-poster composition
Themes
- Horror comedy
- Monster party
- Vampire
- Gothic
- 1980s pinball
Title on it
- Elvira and the party monsters
Text on it
- Monster Bash
- ELVIRA
- and the PARTY MONSTERS
- PARTY MONSTERS
- BALLY
- BALLY MIDWAY INC
- EACH PLAYER GETS
- A 1 MILLION POINT BONUS AT START OF BALL
- Monster Bonus with Elvira
- DANGER - ELVIRA STRIKES AGAIN
- SUPER
- Design - Dennis Nordmann
- Design - Jim Pala
- Artwork - Greg Freres
- Sound - Chris Granner
- 1989 WMS Industries
- DANGER
- ELVIRA STRIKES AGAIN
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Painted head-and-shoulders portrait in the centre of the playfield: pale skin, jet-black bouffant hair with a raised crest, sharply arched dark eyebrows, heavy red lipstick, fur-trimmed collar, shoulders bare, facing straight ahead with a fixed stare |
| Woman | Second painted portrait on the lower apron plate: same black bouffant hair and red lips, wearing a low-cut black garment, leaning forward with forearms visible, upper body angled |
| Creature | A ring of roughly eight small white cartoon monster heads with exaggerated eyes and fangs encircles the central portrait's head, drawn in a 1950s horror-comic style |
| Monster | Several large green snarling monster faces with yellow eyes and bared teeth crowd the upper third and the two lower corner panels, painted in flat cartoon style |
| Creature | A small skull-and-crown or bat-wing emblem appears on the white banner at the top of the playfield |
A wedge-shaped electro-mechanical style playfield seen under glass, with metal lane guides and brightly lit inserts. Dominant colours are magenta/hot pink, black, teal-green and yellow, with red and cream accents. Across the lower half, huge arched red-and-cream serif letters spell ELVIRA, arched above a painted portrait of a pale woman with jet-black bouffant hair, arched eyebrows, red lipstick and a fur-trimmed collar, flanked by a ring of small white cartoon monster faces. Below her sits a yellow-and-red starburst badge reading PARTY MONSTERS. A second ELVIRA logo sits on the rectangular lower apron plate in red serif letters above the words and the PARTY MONSTERS in dripping green-and-white letters, next to a second portrait of the same woman leaning forward in a black outfit with plunging neckline. Two triangular instruction panels with cream card and black text fill the apron, the left one carrying numbered rule lines and a small monster-framed panel, the right one listing credits beside the portrait. Above the middle of the playfield is a small circular yellow-and-green emblem with arched lettering, and behind it a fan of coloured card-suit targets (red, green, blue rectangles) plus tiny card and dice icons. The upper third is crowded with green monster faces, an arched circular sign, red bumpers with white starbursts, and at the very top a white banner reading Monster Bash with a small skull-and-crown emblem, plus a yellow-bordered 'for service only' style plate at upper left. Lower left and right corners each hold a black triangular panel with teal flames and white lettering.
On the backglass
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- purple
- black
- red
- blue
Fingerprint: ELVIRA with black beehive hair, pin-up raising pink-red ice-cream drink, party monsters including Frankenstein and werewolf, flaming cauldron, bar-b-q bonus playfield inset.
The central pale woman with a towering black beehive hairstyle and plunging black dress, arms flung wide and grinning, is the single most memorable element. She is flanked on the right by a pink-and-red swirled ice-cream-cone drink held aloft, a bizarre prop that reads as a giant novelty soda. A flaming black cauldron of green punch with big curved ELVIRA'S PARTY PUNCH lettering anchors the lower left. The signature gag panel is a grinning skull wearing a red bandana under a glass bell jar, labelled with a neighbour's address. Lower right carries a working pinball playfield with a yellow BAR-B-Q BONUS banner.
Setting
- Blue and violet night sky with clouds and a full moon
- Purple haunted mansion with lit windows and towers at top right
- Graveyard with leaning tombstones and bare trees at left
- Green swampland and wooden picket fence along the bottom
Symbols
- Black iron cemetery fence finials
- Pink poodle-shaped party balloon
- Flaming cauldron
- Gravestones and bare crooked trees
- Full moon
- Goblets and beer mugs
- Roast meat on a skewer
- Gravestone silhouettes
Lettering
- Main title in very large red serif capitals with a white drop shadow and black outline, arched slightly across the top left; subtitle below in chunky yellow-green irregular horror-comic letters with black outline; cauldron text in curved cream and red block capitals; bonus text on a yellow rectangular banner in bold black capitals; manufacturer name at top right in flowing yellow-green script
Themes
- Horror comedy party
- Monster picnic
- Graveyard
- Haunted mansion
- Pinball within the artwork
- Gothic monsters
Title on it
- Elvira party monsters
Text on it
- ELVIRA
- PARTY MONSTERS
- Bally
- ELVIRA'S PARTY PUNCH
- DEADHEAD NEPTUNE
- R.U. GRINNING
- EXTRA BALL
- MULTI BALL
- ELVIRA LETTER
- MYSTERY NO. SCORE
- COLLECT SPECIAL
- BAR-B-Q BONUS
- BALLY
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Pale-skinned young woman, huge teased black beehive hair with yellow highlights, black plunging low-cut dress with deep neckline, red lipstick, grinning with fangs, arms spread wide, holding a skewer of roast meat in her right hand and raising a pink-and-red swirled ice-cream-cone drink in her left |
| Monster | Frankenstein's monster at left of centre, flat green head with black hair, bolts at the neck, orange t-shirt, holding up two green frosted beer mugs in a toast |
| Creature | Brown shaggy werewolf in profile behind the woman's right shoulder, heavy brow, open snarling mouth |
| Skeleton | A grinning skull with yellow eyes and a red headband sitting inside a glass bell jar on a blue cabinet, with an address label below |
| Monster | Wrinkled pale vampire in a black suit, white shirt and red-lined cape at right, gaunt face, slicked black hair, holding a drink tray |
| Monster | Second decayed corpse head at far right with sunken dark eyes, rotting skin and a high forehead, in a tattered brown coat |
| Skeleton | Ghoul in a black hood and cowl on the far left with hollow orange-glowing eyes, raising a wine goblet |
| Other | Grim reaper in a deep black hooded robe with glowing orange eyes and skeletal hands, upper left |
A painted horror-comedy backglass on a blue and purple night sky. A pale-skinned young woman with enormous teased black hair stands dead centre in a plunging black low-cut dress, arms spread wide, red lips, holding a skewer of roast meat in one hand and raising a large pink-and-red swirled ice-cream cone drink in the other. Around her crowd seven ghoulish partygoers: a Frankenstein monster in an orange tee with a flat head and black hair; a brown werewolf in profile at her left shoulder; a skeletal, wrinkled vampire in a black suit and red-lined cape at right; a second decayed corpse head with sunken eyes behind him; a ghoul in a black cowl on the far left raising a goblet; a grim reaper in a black hood with glowing orange eyes; and a grinning skull under a glass dome on a blue cabinet labelled with a redhead neighbour's address. Left of centre a black cauldron of green punch flames orange and reads ELVIRA'S PARTY PUNCH. Right of centre a jukebox-like pinball playfield shows BAR-B-Q BONUS. A purple haunted mansion with lit windows and a full moon sits top right, with a yellow full moon behind the top-left lettering. Iron fence finials run along the bottom edge below two green instruction panels.