Poltergeist curse
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The Poltergeist curse is the rumor of a supposed curse attached to the Poltergeist motion picture series and its stars.
The rumor is superstition largely derived from the fact that four cast members died in a relatively short span of time (six years) between the release of the first film and the release of the third, with one dying during production of the second film. Two of them died at young ages, 12 and 22. It is not clear that these particular films are atypical in the number or nature of the deaths of their actors, and at least two of the supposed victims had serious health problems before becoming attached to the film series. The actors who are supposed victims of the curse include:
- Dominique Dunne, 22-year-old actress who played the oldest sibling Dana in the first movie, died after being choked by a jealous boyfriend in 1982.[1] The boyfriend John Thomas Sweeney was later convicted and sentenced to six years in prison, though initially he only served two and a half years.[2]
- Julian Beck, 60-year-old actor who played Kane in Poltergeist II: The Other Side, died in 1985 of stomach cancer, with which he was diagnosed before he had accepted the role.[3]
- Will Sampson, 53 years old, who played Taylor the Medicine Man in Poltergeist II, died of post-operative kidney failure and pre-operative malnutrition problems in 1987.[4]
- Heather O'Rourke, 12-year-old actress who played Carol Anne in all three Poltergeist movies, died in 1988 after what doctors initially described as an acute form of influenza but later changed to septic shock after bacterial toxins invaded her bloodstream.[5] At the time, she had suffered acute bowel obstruction, initially diagonsed as Crohn's disease, which may have been the cause of death.
Other rumors related to the film have been claimed as the cause of the curse. The most widely circulated alleges that real human skeletal remains were used as props in the first film, causing the angry spirits of the deceased to wreak havoc. Actress JoBeth Williams has said in television interviews (most notably the E! True Hollywood Story episode "The Curse of Poltergeist") Producers Mark Victor and Michael Grais stated that the skeletons used in Poltergeist II were real and actor Will Sampson had to perform an exorcism to protect the set from the spirits.
Other occurrences that have been attributed to the curse include:
- The house in Simi Valley, California used for exterior shots of the Freeling home was damaged by the Northridge earthquake of 1994.
- JoBeth Williams, who played mother Diane Freeling, claims she returned home from the set each day to find pictures on her wall askew. She would straighten them, only to find them crooked again the next day.
- Actor Will Sampson, a Creek Indian and shaman, performed an exorcism on the set of Poltergeist II to rid it of "alien spirits". A year after Poltergeist II was released, he died.
- During a scene when Robbie Freeling (Oliver Robins) was choked by a toy clown in his room, the mechanical prop malfunctioned and Robins was actually choked.
- During a photography session for Poltergeist III, it was discovered that one shot of co-star Zelda Rubenstein had shining light obstructing the view of her face. Rubenstein claims the photo was taken at the moment the actress's mother died.
- During the fight Dominique Dunne had with her boyfriend that ended in her death, a friend inside Dunne's house turned up the Poltergeist soundtrack to drown out the noise of the two yelling outside.
- During the making of Poltergeist III, a movie set of a parking garage was destroyed by fire during shooting of a fire scene, injuring all but one of the crew.
- Brian Gibson, director of Poltergeist II, died of bone cancer at the age of 59 in 2004.
- One scene in the third film was filmed in the parking lot of the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. This was the home court of the NBA team, the Utah Jazz during the time of the filming. As a result of their old home arena being shown in Poltergiest III, the Utah Jazz have been unable to win any championships, especially the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals against the Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan.
- Heather O'Rourke once starred in a Rainbow Brite commercial with Judith Barsi. After Heather's death, Judith died 5 months and 24 days (aged 10) after Heather died . She was murdered along with her Mother
- The "prop" skeletons emerging from the muddy swimming pool towards the end of the 1st movie were in fact real corpses - the cast and crew found this out later. Craig T Nelson has been interviewed saying they were all very angry when this was disclosed as the prop company's "mistake".
The Poltergeist series is just one of a handful of movies and TV series that have been said to have been cursed. Others include Rebel Without a Cause, The Exorcist, Diff'rent Strokes, Bewitched, The Crow, the In the Heat of the Night TV series, and various Superman-related series and films.
[edit] External links
- http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/poltergeist.asp
- http://www.escendi.com.au/eyescream/movies/polt.html
- http://www.eightyeightynine.com/film/poltergeist.html
- http://www.franksreelreviews.com/shorttakes/dunne.htm
[edit] References
- ^ "Dominique Dunne, Actress, Dies After Being Choked," The New York Times, November 5, 1982; Biography for Dominique Dunne on the Internet Movie Database
- ^ R. Arnold, "Strangled Actress; Did Slayer's Penalty Fit His Crime?" Los Angeles Times, December 3, 1986; Poltergeist Deaths on the Urban Legends Reference Pages
- ^ S. Freedman, "Julien Beck, 60, is Dead; Founded Living Theater," The New York Times, September 17, 1985
- ^ B. Folkart, "Role in Cuckoo's Nest; Will Sampson, Gentle Indian Giant, Dies," Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1987
- ^ "Heather O'Rourke, 12, Dies, San Diego Actress," The San Diego Union-Tribune, February 2, 1988; B. Folkart, "Poltergeist Star Heather O'Rourke Dies at Age of 12," Los Angeles Times, February 3, 1988
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