Elvira's House of Horrors

Stern Pinball, 2019 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Elvira's House of Horrors in the Pinball Genie app →

Designer: Dennis Nordman (layout) / Lyman Sheats (lead code). Two-flipper, single-level, B-movie house-party theme. No Pro model — shipped as Premium, LE (400), Signature (50), and Blood Red Kiss; all editions share an identical playfield, mechs, and ruleset, so every shot is trim: all.

The core loop — HAUNTS

The spine of the game is starting Haunts (B-movie modes). Repeatedly shoot the House/Mansion Entrance (center) until its insert flashes purple, then the next House shot starts the qualified Haunt; the Super Secret Back Door skill shot instantly qualifies/starts one for free. Haunts run a 45s timer that pauses in the pop bumpers (resets to 15s if you make progress under 15s). There are 6 main Haunts (Night of the Living Dead, Teenagers from Outer Space, The Brain That Wouldn't Die, The Manster, Manos: The Hands of Fate, The Werewolf of Washington) plus 4 Skeleton-Key-locked Haunts. Completing a Haunt qualifies Trailer Trash (hurry-up worth 50%→75%→100% of the Haunt score depending on ramps hit) and advances B-Restorator rank toward Director's Cut.

Skill shots

• Dead End / Top-Lane skill shot (safe): 250k +25k/time plus +5X bonus multiplier.
• Super Secret Back Door (high value): 1M base, +250k/time, max 2.5M, and qualifies/advances a Haunt.

Multiballs

• Garage Multiballs (Wild Women → Add-a-Zombie → Attic Attack) — lock via the gravestone drop target into the Garage.
• Junk in the Trunk — complete the 36-24-36 stand-up bank to open the Trunk, lock via the crate-diverter Left Ramp; 2 balls → Trunk MB; all 4 Junk items → Phone-A-Fiend MB.
• Deadhead Family Crypt — the Crypt Cleaner battle track (defeat Deadheads via crypt/skull hits).
• Freak Fryer → Gappa Angry — charge Freak Fryer with switch hits (5 levels) to light Gappa Angry, a 6-stage lock progression culminating in a 6-ball MB at the Cellar; draining mid-Gappa yields consolation MBs (Pool Party, Dance Fever, Make-Out Mayhem, Scream Test, Run For Your Life).

Multipliers

• Double Trouble — complete the Trunk targets AND Hand of Fate targets, then roll a lit inlane for 2X playfield (30s); re-qualify while running → 4X.
• Bonus multiplier — built +5X per Dead End skill shot; Double Bone-Us (Hand of Fate wheel) doubles the entire end-of-ball bonus.

Side modes / collect systems

Un-Happy Hour (ramps), Drive Me Crazy (orbits), Gar-Goils Gone Wild (Gar-Goil targets + orbits), Hand of Fate wheel (collected at left outlane), Manos Wheel.

Wizard modes

• House Party (mini-wizard) — start 3 Haunts.
• They Came From Space (wizard) — start 6 Haunts; complete all 6 phases = 100M.
• Director's Cut (wizard) — complete 4 Haunts; re-collect films at the Cellar = 100M.
• Wild Market Value (final wizard) — achieve all 7 subsystem requirements; a ~30s hurry-up at the Cellar to "sell the house."

Tournament money: stack a Haunt + a jackpot multiball under a held 4X Double Trouble, loop multiball supers via the House relight, and 100% every Trailer Trash.

Goals in Elvira's House of Horrors

Every goal below is tracked step-by-step, with shot paths drawn on the playfield map, inside the app.

• Dead End Top-Lane Skill Shot skillshot · Easy

  The safe skill shot: plunge into the lit top rollover lane for points and a +5X bonus multiplier, feeding into the low-risk bumpers.

  Reward: 250k (+25k each success) plus +5X bonus multiplier

• Super Secret Back Door Unskilled Shot skillshot · Medium

  The high-EV opener: soft-plunge behind the mansion into the Back Door for big points and a free Haunt qualify.

  Reward: 1M base, +250k each (max 2.5M), and qualifies/advances a Haunt

• Left Ramp → House (Haunt Loop) combo · Easy

  The fundamental beginner money loop: the Left Ramp lights a Haunt and the House starts it, driving the whole progression.

  Reward: Lights and starts Haunts → Trailer Trash → Director's Cut

• Trailer Trash 100% Cash-Out combo · Medium

  After finishing any Haunt, hit both ramps then the House to collect 100% of the Haunt's score on a hurry-up.

  Reward: 100% of the completed Haunt's score (50% House-only, 75% one ramp)

• Werewolf of Washington Quadratic Combo combo · Hard

  The only formal combo engine in the game: chain the flashing blue shots within 7 seconds each; value scales quadratically and the House holds all shots lit.

  Reward: base + 125K × (N²−N) on the Nth chained shot

• Flow Loops (Left Ramp → Trunk, Left Orbit → Left Ramp) combo · Medium

  Community flow loops that build shot value and feed safely: Left Ramp into the Trunk, and Left Orbit backhanded into the Left Ramp.

  Reward: Builds shot value and shot multipliers; safe feeds

• Jackpot Shot Set Loop combo · Medium

  The game's canonical jackpot ring: Left Orbit → Left Ramp → Garage → House → Right Ramp → Right Orbit → Crypt, farmed during multiballs.

  Reward: Sweeps every lit jackpot in a single pass

• Garage Multiball (Wild Women) multiball · Medium

  Knock down the gravestone drop to light Garage locks, lock three balls, and start Wild Women Multiball; loop orbit supers via the House relight.

  Reward: 350k jackpots (+25k), 1M House super, then 800k orbit supers

• Junk in the Trunk Multiball multiball · Medium

  Complete the 36-24-36 targets to open the Trunk, collect and lock via the crate-diverter Left Ramp, and start the 2-ball Trunk Multiball.

  Reward: Two roving jackpots; Left Ramp Super Jackpot awards 1–3 random Junk pieces

• Deadhead Family Crypt Battle multiball · Medium

  The Crypt Cleaner track: lower the crypt, awaken a Deadhead, batter the skull, and return to the Crypt to defeat it.

  Reward: 250k per Deadhead (held ball-to-ball); 1st lights RETURN, 2nd Extra Ball, 3rd Super Head Shot

• Freak Fryer → Gappa Angry (6-Ball) multiball · Hard

  Charge Freak Fryer with switch hits to light Gappa Angry, then run the six escalating lock stages to the Cellar for the 6-ball multiball.

  Reward: Stages 500k (+500k/stage, +25k/switch); Cellar Super Jackpot + 6-ball MB

• Haunt: Night of the Living Dead mode · Medium

  A three-stage main Haunt: shoot ramps then House, destroy 4+ ghouls across the lit shots, then finish at the House via the Cellar.

  Reward: Shots 500k → 2M final; completing qualifies Trailer Trash and advances B-Restorator

• Haunt: Teenagers from Outer Space mode · Medium

  Make a scaling set of lit shots excluding the House, then use the right spinner to build the base value before the House final.

  Reward: Spinner raises base value ~1% of final per hit; House lights the final shot

• Un-Happy Hour (Ramp Side Mode) mode · Easy

  Qualify with a scaling number of ramp shots, then farm ramps for 30 seconds.

  Reward: Ramp shots 350k (+25k) for 30s

• Gar-Goils Gone Wild mode · Medium

  Charge the Garg-Oil-Gauge by completing the Gar-Goil targets, then farm the orbits for escalating value (a Wild Market Value requirement).

  Reward: Targets 50k (+10k), all-4 bonus 150k (+25k), orbit shots 150k (+150k), orbit Super Jackpot

• Double Trouble (2X → 4X Playfield) multiplier · Medium

  Complete the Trunk targets and Hand of Fate targets, roll a lit inlane for 2X, then re-qualify while it runs to upgrade to 4X.

  Reward: 2X scoring for 30s (+10s per re-complete); re-arm while running → 4X

• Bonus X + Double Bone-Us multiplier · Medium

  Stack bonus multiplier via top-lane skill shots, then collect Double Bone-Us on the Hand of Fate wheel to double the entire end-of-ball bonus.

  Reward: +5X bonus per skill shot; Double Bone-Us doubles the whole bonus on top

• Director's Cut (Wizard) wizard · Hard

  Complete 4 Haunts to reach B-Restorator Rank 4, lighting Director's Cut at the House; re-collect each film by shooting lit blue shots to qualify the Cellar.

  Reward: ~100M for completing all 4 films; takes precedence over other modes

• Wild Market Value (Final Wizard) wizard · Hard

  The ultimate goal: start every major subsystem once (7 requirements), then sell the house on a ~30s hurry-up at the Cellar.

  Reward: ~30s Cellar hurry-up paying your total accumulated market value

• Aggressive High-Score Opener strategy · Medium

  Back Door skill shot for a free Haunt, start and play it while arming Double Trouble, then 100% Trailer Trash under 2X/4X.

  Reward: Front-loads points and fast-tracks Director's Cut

• Safe Beginner Opener strategy · Easy

  Take the near-zero-risk top-lane skill shot, then run the Left Ramp → House Haunt loop, only battering targets in multiball.

  Reward: Builds bonus X cheaply; Extra Ball at 2 Haunts

• The Core Stack: Haunt + Multiball + 4X strategy · Hard

  The money strategy: start a Haunt, layer a jackpot multiball on top, and hold 4X Double Trouble so everything on the playfield is quadrupled.

  Reward: The highest sustained scoring window in the game

• Extra Ball via Hand of Fate strategy · Medium

  Complete the Hand of Fate targets to spin the wheel and hunt the extra ball award, collected at the outlane.

  Reward: Extra ball when the wheel lands on it

• All Three Multiballs in One Game strategy · Hard

  Route a single game through every standard multiball: Garage locks, the Trunk targets, and the Crypt battle.

  Reward: Three multiballs plus the stacking value of layering them over Haunts and 4X