However, being the first game released by horror-pinball-fan-turned-industry-disruptor, Charlie Emery of Spooky Pinball who raised the bar for collectors and manufacturers alike, AMH is forever a game by which future machines will be judged. With its lighthearted but spooky theme, fun shots, and deep ruleset by Ben Heck, America’s Most Haunted is well-deserving of its spot on this list on its gameplay merits alone. America’s Most Haunted (Spooky Pinball, 2014) It remains one of the most sought-after pinball machines of all time and enshrined designer Pat Lawlor in pinball’s proverbial hall of fame. With toys and artwork to reference multiple episodes of the classic black & white TV series, this non-traditional playfield layout will have you shooting all over the place and it even features flipperless flipping using magnets on the upper playfield. Not directly horror (which is why it isn’t higher on the list), but creepy enough, Twilight Zone throws everything except the kitchen sink into its widebody cabinet. When people want a pinball with all the bells and whistles, I point them to Twilight Zone. And although it isn’t cheap by any means, it is one of the lower cost DMD (Dot Matrix Display) machines in the collector market, and therefore a good entry point for a horror fan looking to get into the hobby. Fans of the movies will be thrilled with the clawed ball save, four-ball multiball, and voice effects from Freddy himself, Robert Englund. This pinball machine from Gottlieb has everything you’d expect on a Freddy Krueger pinball table: a giant disfigured Freddy face, a fiery furnace, and clawed fingers are all on full display. Freddy: A Nightmare on Elm Street (Gottlieb/Premier, 1994) “Gorgar speaks!” and “Me got you!” certainly added to the creep factor of a game that features what appears to be Satanic ritual sacrifice on its backglass. Sure, its vocabulary was limited to seven words, but sound designer Eugene Jarvis (who would later design the arcade classic Defender and is currently the boss over at arcade manufacturer Raw Thrills) and programmer Paul Dussault made use of every one of them. However, back in the day, this devilish game was cutting edge and holds the honor of being the first pinball game with digitized speech. Made in 1979, Gorgar’s technology may seem primitive to us now. Despite that, they’d still be great in any collection. All of these are fun, but due to one reason or another (I’m looking at you Tales From the Crypt with your annoying cackling) they just don’t hold up to the rest as far as historical impact or in-your-face fun. Honorable Mentions: Class of 1812, Alice Cooper’s Nightmare Castle, Elvira and the Party Monsters, and Tales From the Crypt. Here’s the definitive list of the 11 best pinball games to play in the dark. From ghosts and goblins to spooks and specters, it is totally possible to deck out an entire arcade with nothing but horror pinball machines. However, sometimes games are noteworthy for just being fun. Horror-themed games have been a platform for numerous innovations in pinball including speech, 3-D printed parts, and more. While sci-fi happens to be the most common genre of pinball, horror has earned a definitive place in the pantheon of great games. Pinball machines come in all shapes, sizes, and themes.
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