Williams Electronics achieved record levels of creepiness with their 1990 release of Funhouse, a pinball machine that may as well had been called 'Gimme A Quarter And I'll Give You A Nightmare.' The game featured a moving, talking ventriloquist dummy head embedded on the playfield. His name was Rudy. His game was abject fear...er, fun.

The game was themed like a funhouse, obviously, and the player took on the role of a visitor to the many funhouse attractions. Earning points advanced a clock set in the middle of the playfield, ticking away towards midnight, at which time the funhouse would close and Rudy would go to sleep. Midnight also signaled the start of multiball mode.

Balls hit at various stations around Funhouse moved time forward in five minute increments. The goal was to make a succession of tricky shots to reach midnight, because when Rudy fell asleep, he did it with his mouth open and a ball shot in there released several ball into play. To do so wasn't easy, especially if you had a phobia of ventriloquist dummies. Rudy followed the ball with his eyes and shouted phrases like "Stay away from my clock!" Disturbing, to say the least.

But, disturbing seemed to be just the thing to draw kids to this pinball machine. It became a big hit for Williams Electronics and a true collector's item.