Mistress of the Dark

Cassandra Peterson started playing the Gothic Vampire "Elvira," in 1981 Los Angeles, where she hosted a show featuring poor quality horror movies. I remember watching her show weekly, as her popularity went "National" very quickly. Who can forget her quirky remarks and interruptions during the cheesy scenes of those terrible flicks?

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that our next door neighbor has a basement full of old pinball machines, and that this Elvira machine still works well. Better yet, one can play for free! Elvira even talks to you when you make a special move or two.

Playing pinball late on a Sunday evening is not something I do on a regular basis. In fact, I have not touched a pinball machine in over 10 years. It brought back memories of going to arcades with my friends and remembering the rock musical, "Tommy." Pinball was big then, and these old machines are archaic by today's standards.

There were only 4000 "Elvira" pinball machines produced, and this one has been refurbished with new lights. The machine isn't perfect, but I had fun playing, and even managed to beat my neighbor, despite him being far more skilled at trapping the pinballs in the flippers.

I wanted to share this photo with everyone, as it represents a part of me that will never grow up. My love of pinball is something that remains a mystery to my daughters, but will always bring a smile to my face.

I don't have to be a pinball wizard to enjoy the bells, whistles, music and loud sound effects of the machine, and I must admit, I still get a thrill over racking up bonus balls.

Pinball with Elvira. A fun ending to a weekend full of cleaning our basement and moving my daughter back home from college.