Poltergeist curse
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The Poltergeist curse is an urban legend that has been attached for years to the Poltergeist movie series and its stars.
The idea that the cast of the movies was in some way "cursed" is a superstition based on these facts: five of the stars on these movies died deaths that can be characterized by the credulous as mysterious or tragic, and only one of these five lived a normal lifespan. It is not clear that this particular film is atypical in the number or nature of the deaths of its actors.
Various urban legends surrounding the film have been attributed to the potential cause of the curse. The most widely blamed is that allegedly real human skeletal remains were used as props in the first film, causing the angry spirits of the deceased to wreak havoc. About this theory, actress JoBeth Williams has pointed out on television interviews that she was actually told that the skeletons used for her part in a swimming pool were real skeletons.
The Poltergeist series is just one of a handful of movies and series that have been said to have been "cursed". Some other movies and series include Rebel Without a Cause, Diff'rent Strokes, The Crow, and In the Heat of the Night.
In Poltergeist's case, the actors and actresses who died prematurely include:
- Dominique Dunne, 22-year-old actress who played the oldest sister Dana in the first movie, died after being stabbed and choked to death by a jealous boyfriend in 1982. The boyfriend was later convicted and sentenced to six years in prison.
- Heather O'Rourke, 12-year-old actress who played Carol Anne in the three Poltergeist movies, died in 1988 after what doctors initially described as an acute form of a flu but later changed it to a septic shock after bacterial toxins invaded her bloodstreams.
- Julian Beck, 60-year-old who played Kane in part 2, died of stomach cancer.
- Will Sampson, 53 years old, Taylor The Medicine Man in part 2, died of post operative kidney failure and preoperative malnutrition problems.
A fifth performer in the movie series died after a normal lifespan:
- Beatrice Straight, 87 years old, Dr. Lesh in the first film, died in 2001 from pneumonia.
Among the other occurrences that have been attributed to the curse have included:
- The "Freling" home in Southern California where the original film was partially shot was damaged by the Northridge earthquake in 1994.
- During a photo session for Poltergeist III, it was discovered that one photo of co-star Zelda Rubenstein had shining light obstructing the view of her face. Rubenstein claims the photo in question was taken at the moment her real-life mother died.
- Also during the making of Poltergeist III, a movie set of a parking garage was completely engulfed by fire during shooting of a fire scene...only one crew member made it without a scratch.