Photo by MGM

In June 4 1982, was released one classic movie of all time, ‘Poltergeist’. The movie is about a family’s home that is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.

Stars: JoBeth Williams, Heather O’Rourke, Craig T. Nelson
Director: Tobe Hooper

To celebrate the 40th anniversary, here are some of the curiosities about this movie.

  • Dominique Dunne (Dana Freeling) and Heather O’Rourke (Carol Anne Freeling) are buried in the same cemetery: Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles. On October 30, 1982, Dunne was strangled by her ex-boyfriend in the driveway of her West Hollywood home. She died on November 4 at the age of 22 having never regained consciousness. On February 1, 1988, O’Rourke died of intestinal stenosis at the age of 12.
  • Both of the terrors that plague Robbie came from Steven Spielberg’s own fears as a child: a fear of clowns and a tree outside his window.
  • Drew Barrymore was considered for the role of Carol Anne, but producer Steven Spielberg wanted someone more angelic. It was Barrymore’s audition for this role, however, that landed her the part of Gertie in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
  • James Karen at the time was also the commercial spokesman for Pathmark supermarkets. He received hate mail from people saying they would never shop there again because of his character’s treatment of the Freelings.
  • The house used to film this movie is located in Simi Valley, California where it still stands today. The family who owned it sold it in May of 2009.
  • Steven Spielberg hired Tobe Hooper after being impressed with his work on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). But according to rumors and personal accounts, Spielberg ended up directing most of the film.
  • There’s a rumour that real human skeletons were used in the swimming pool scene, since the crew decided it would be too complicated and expensive to get fake ones. JoBeth Williams was not made aware of this until after the scene was finished.
  • The “Poltergeist Curse” is an urban legend based around the fact that there have been several unfortunate deaths of actors who appeared in the franchise, as well as other strange events. It is believed by some to have been caused by the use of real skeletons on-set.
  • JoBeth Williams had a supernatural experience during the making of the film. Whenever she came home from filming, the pictures on the walls of her house were crooked. Every time she fixed them they would hang crooked again. Zelda Rubinstein also had an experience when a vision of her dog came to her and said goodbye to her. Hours later, her mother called her and told Rubinstein that her dog had passed away that very day.
  • Stephen King was briefly approached to write the screenplay. It would have been the first written by King directly for the screen, but the parties could not agree on the terms.

Source: Imdb