Poltergeist was one of the most storied productions in Hollywood history.
In fact, it's often called the most cursed film set of all time because of what happened
to so many of its stars after the movie hit theaters.
"They're heeeeere."
But even during the making of the now-classic movie, there were enough real-life scares
to justify that reputation.
Let's take a look at some of the freakiest things that happened behind the scenes of
this haunted house favorite.
Coincidental cast deaths
Perhaps the most enduringly buzzy aspect of the Poltergeist movie legend is that so many
of its cast members — including two of the child stars — died unexpectedly after the
film was released.
The first instance happened when Dominique Dunne, who portrayed Dana in the original
film, was strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend in the driveway of her home in 1982 — at
the age of just 22.
Then, in 1988, child star Heather O'Rourke died at the age of 12 from cardiac arrest,
after experiencing septic shock from a congenital bowel obstruction.
She'd completed filming on the third installment of the Poltergeist franchise a few months
before her unexpected death, but the film had yet to be released at the time.
Although other cast members would later perish from more natural causes, the expiration of
the film's two young actresses caused many to speculate that their involvement with the
supernatural movie had something to do with their untimely demises
Creepy clown attack
Before Dunne and O'Rourke's deaths, there was another eerie incident which nearly claimed
the life of one of the Freeling children off-screen.
Actor Oliver Robins, who portrayed the middle child Robbie, was actually strangled by the
very animatronic clown that tormented his character so in the film.
If it weren't for the intervention of producer Steven Spielberg, he's not sure what would
have happened to him.
Nothing good, probably.
As Robins recalled, "the way they shot the sequence … they didn't really have the special
effects the way they do today.
So, the clown doll had this extended arm and they had me act backwards … in a tight confined
space under the bed.
The contraption caught around my neck … Steven saw that, probably in the video assist [deck],
and he pulled me away from it.
Who knows what might've happened otherwise.
It was very fast …. Maybe I wouldn't be here today."
As if that demonic clown wasn't already scary enough.
Real Skeletons
Achieving authenticity in a Hollywood production can be tough, especially in the sci-fi/horror
realm, but this might be taking things a little too far.
You know the scene when the Freeling mom is thrown in the muddy pool, and all these corpses
start to float to the surface around her, causing her to scream and freak out?
Well, if that reaction seemed especially realistic to you, there may be a reason.
Actress JoBeth Williams revealed during her Reddit AMA, writing, "When we were shooting,
I thought the skeletons were fake, I thought the prop department made them.
But later I found out they were REAL skeletons bought very cheaply.
That really grossed me out."
Talk about suffering for your craft.
"You left the bodies didn't ya?
You son of a bitch, you left the bodies!
You only moved the headstones!"
Haunted homes
Williams experienced a series of frights in her temporary home during production on the
first installment as well.
She said in her AMA that the picture on her apartment wall kept shifting while she left
to shoot the movie, but she later decided it was her own fault for slamming the front
door.
That's still just her theory, but, hey, whatever helps her sleep at night.
Meanwhile, author James Kahn, who was writing the novelization of the movie, also experienced
a case of the heebie-jeebies at home.
A lightning bolt struck his building as he was finishing up the project and blew the
facing of his air-conditioning unit across the room, which struck him in the back.
After that, the lights came back on and his video games "started playing themselves."
And Director Gil Kenan had perhaps the biggest case of shivers surrounding Poltergeist, while
filming the 2015 remake.
The house he rented for production was the site of some minor inexplicable phenomena,
like lights flickering on and off for no reason, and other equipment only working in certain
portions of the property.
He explained on his own Reddit AMA, "The house that I rented during filming was straight-up
legit haunted by a female spirit dressed in black.
And I became aware of her within the first few days of staying in the house.
And only after I left did I receive a call from the previous owner, who had moved back
in, who was terrified by the goings on in the house, and wanted to see if I had experienced
any of it … she definitely was there.
It didn't follow me back to Los Angeles, but it followed me from set back to where I was
sleeping during filming."
If that story was just some elaborate marketing ploy, it worked, because there are plenty
of people who fully believe there was something truly otherworldly going on with the Poltergeist
movies.
"How do you know that?"
"Cause I am smart."
On-set oddities
Poltergeist II star Will Sampson, who was a real-life shaman and portrayed Taylor the
Medicine Man in the sequel, performed an actual exorcism on the set of the film to rid the
site of "alien spirits."
He died a little over a year after the film's release, from complications associated with
a heart and lung transplant.
And during filming of Poltergeist III, actress Zelda Rubinstein was troubled by a photographic
light blur that occurred during a photo session of the actress, leading her to believe that
the pic was taken at the exact moment her mother passed away.
The production of Part 3 was also an explosive one, as a garage that was to be used for filming
caught fire, after plastic fake ice poured onto prop cars ignited into flames and injured
three crew members.
A fire chief responding to the scene told The Los Angeles Time, "A ball of fire chased
everyone out there.
There was black smoke all over the place … This was all supposed to be done with the best
of taste, but somehow it got away."
The cause of the mishap, he said, was unexplained, since the crew on-set were amply prepared
to pull off the shot correctly when they began working that night.
"I know that there are many dangers you must consider."
Sounds like the choice to use real-life skeletons came back to haunt everyone involved in this
franchise.
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