Haunted House, with its industry first of three playfields, is considered to be an iconic pinball game. Although Bally’s Elektra has three playfields and predates Haunted House, Elektra’s lower playfield was self-contained and uses its own captive ball for scoring. The lower playfield of Haunted House is accessible any time during the game, and the one ball travels between all three playfields. Each playfield is themed to be a part of a haunted house, the main level being the main floor, the lower level being the cellar, and the upper level being the attic. It has been called the perfect pinball package by some admirers. However, it is often criticized for the lack of both speech and multi-ball, which were left out due to cost-saving measures. The ball can only be lost from the main playfield, as the ball draining on the attic or cellar playfields will always be returned to another playfield for play to continue. Haunted House was designed by John Osborne, with artwork by Terry Doerzaph. It is part of Gottiieb’s “System 80” series of pinball machines.
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