At television station KSFB in California, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, a ghoulish hostess of horror movies, is introduced to new station owner, Earl Hooter. Enamored by the plunging neckline of Elvira’s dress, Hooter attempts to flirt with her. When she expresses disinterest, Hooter lunges at her. Offended, Elvira pushes him away and quits. In her dressing room, Elvira’s agent, Manny, tells her the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, will not produce her stage show unless she raises $50,000. Just then, she receives a telegram that her great aunt Morgana Talbot has died, and Elvira is required to attend the reading of her aunt’s will in the small town of Fallwell, Massachusetts. After arriving in Fallwall, Elvira’s car breaks down. She walks to The Cozy Cot, a nearby motel, to rent a room. Upon seeing Elvira, the motel’s owner, Mrs. Meeker, tells her the motel is full. However, Mrs. Meeker’s husband, Leslie, states one room available. Mrs. Meeker instructs her granddaughter, Robin, to show Elvira the room. While helping Elvira with her luggage, Robin tells her the only fun place in town is the bowling alley, Patti’s Tidy Bowl Lanes. That evening, Elvira arrives at the bowling alley bar. Patrons Travis and Billy sit at her table and flirt with her. Annoyed by their advances, Elvira pours beers onto their laps. Humiliated, the men prepare to attack her. However, Bob Redding, owner of the town’s movie theater, punches them. The bowling alley owner, Patty, blames Elvira for the fight, but Bob offers to pay for any damages. The next day at the law office of Mr. Q. Bigelow, Elvira meets Vincent Talbot, her great aunt’s brother. Elvira is to inherit Morgana’s house, her poodle, Algonquin, and a book of recipes, while Vincent inherits nothing. He becomes upset, and wants the book of recipes for the magic spells it contains. As Elvira walks back to her motel, Vincent’s car pulls up and he offers to purchase the book for fifty dollars. Elvira agrees and tells him to meet her later at Morgana’s home. That afternoon, Mr. Bigelow drives Elvira to Morgana’s dilapidated mansion. Inside, he introduces her to Algonquin, a white poodle, and shows her the book. Throwing the book aside, Elvira asks how much the house is worth. Bigelow estimates $70,000. After he leaves, Elvira gives Algonquin a makeover, styling his fur into a black and purple mohawk and renaming him “Gonk.” When Vincent arrives, she is unable to locate the book. He becomes angry and leaves. That night, after Elvira is settled in, three local teenage boys, Bo, Randy, and Sean, spy on Elvira from her window, hoping to see her undress. When she discovers them, they fall onto the ground. Later, Elvira dreams that her great aunt Morgana is calling her from a secret room in the house. The next morning, Bo, Randy, and Sean return and offer to help Elvira repair the mansion. Throughout the day, more teenagers show up, including Robin Meeker, the motel owners’ granddaughter. By the end of the day, the exterior of the house is painted with a multitude of bright colors, which Elvira loves. Elsewhere, Mrs. Meeker tells her fellow town council members about Elvira and the ruckus she is causing. High school principal Calvin Cobb agrees, and threatens to expel any student seen with Elvira. Chairperson Chastity Pariah vows to run Elvira out of town. In the evening, Manny calls Elvira to ask about the money for her Las Vegas show. She tells Manny she does not have it, but he tells her she will soon need to come up with it. The next day, Elvira goes job hunting. However, Chastity Pariah and Mrs. Meeker call everyone in town and instruct them not to hire her. Meanwhile, Vincent’s hired henchmen, Travis and Billy, break into Elvira’s house looking for Morgana’s book, but are unable to find it. Afterwards, Vincent orders them to bring him the town’s ordinances. After they leave, Vincent enters a secret room with an altar and recites an incantation. Once he gains the power of the book in time for next week’s lunar eclipse, he will become an all-powerful warlock. Later, Elvira sees Bob Redding in front of his movie theater. He says he would hire her if he could afford to do so. She thanks him, but tells him that if he showed bad horror movies like the ones she hosted on television, his theater would make money. Bob likes the idea. Elvira goes to the bowling alley to tell the teenagers about the film screening that night. However, Robin Meeker explains that Mr. Cobb threatened them with expulsion if they are seen with her. As Elvira pretends to cry, the teenagers agree to attend the movie for her. That night, Bob and Elvira set up for the film event by positioning a bucket in the rafters to pour glitter on Elvira for the finale. Patty, owner of the town bowling alley, becomes jealous because of Bob liking Elvira, sneaks backstage and fills the bucket with tar. After the movie is over, Elvira performs a dance routine, mimicking one in the film Flashdance. When she pulls the cord attached to the bucket, tar drops onto her, as Patty dumps feathers. After Elvira cleans up, she spends time alone with Bob at her house. When she sits on the couch, she finds the recipe book and offers to cook. In the kitchen, Elvira prepares a spell, believing it is a food recipe. When she brings the pot into the dinning room, a lizard creature jumps out. Bob and Elvira carry the pot into the kitchen and toss the creature down the garbage disposal. Afterward, Gonk goes upstairs with the book in his mouth. Bob and Elvira follow him into the secret room she dreamed about. Opening a trunk, Bob finds a letter addressed to Elvira from Morgana. The letter reveals that Vincent wants the book of spells, which once belonged to Elvira’s mother. It is up to Elvira and her red ring of power to protect it. The next day, the Fallwell Morality Club holds a picnic in the park. Elvira sneaks to the buffet, places a pot with the monster recipe on the table, and hides nearby with Bob. Chastity Parrish takes the lid off, but nothing attacks her. Elvira confesses that she used Hamburger Helper as a substitute ingredient, and the spell may not work. The picnickers take heaping helpings. As they eat, they strip to their underwear, and act with wild abandonment. Later, at a council meeting, Vincent produces the town charter’s law against witchcraft, and suggests arresting Elvira. That evening, Elvira is locked in jail with Gonk. When Bob arrives to check on her, she tells him to find the recipe book. As the townspeople prepare to burn Elvira at the stake, Gonk magically turns into a mouse and escapes from the cell. Bob finds the book, but Vincent hits him over the head and steals it. The mouse-like Gonk enters the house and finds Bob tied up. After nibbling at the ropes, Gonk transforms into a Rottweiler. As Elvira is led outside, Robin, Bo, Randy, and Sean fall through the jailhouse roof into an adjoining cell in a failed attempt to save her. At the stake, Patty lights the fire that surrounds Elvira. Bob arrives and tries to stop the flames. Elvira remembers Morgana’s letter and her ring’s power. With the ring, she invokes a rain storm, quenching the flames and causing the townspeople to flee. As Bob unties her, Elvira kisses him. Vincent appears as the lunar eclipse begins. He attacks Elvira with magic, but she counterattacks. However, the ring flies off her finger onto Vincent’s. Frightened, Elvira runs away to the town cemetery. When Vincent finds her, she throws her stiletto-heeled shoe into his forehead and runs for the house. Inside, Vincent grabs Elvira’s neck with his ringed hand. She chops off his hand, and as he sets the house on fire, Elvira grabs the ring and vanquishes him. She escapes before the fire destroys the house and spells book. The next morning, Bob, Elvira and Gonk sit on the front porch of the damaged house. Suddenly, the town folk appear and apologize. Mr. Bigelow announces that she has now also inherited her great uncle Vincent’s estate. With her new inheritance, Elvira pays for and performs in her own show in Las Vegas.