Welcome to the Attic… they’re baaaack!

That’s right, it’s time for part 2 of my Poltergeist fest. Last week I covered the movies themselves. This week, I want to venture beyond the films and into the Poltergeist curse. Into the real life stories of death and illness that led many to believe the cast and crew were cursed.

1982: The first was the tragic death of Dominique Dunne, who played the oldest sibling in the first film, Dana. She was strangled by her boyfriend just a few months after the release of the movie.

1985: Julian Beck, the genius man who played Kane in Poltergeist II, died at the age of 60 from stomach cancer.

1987: At just 53-years-old, actor and painter Will Sampson, who played Taylor in Poltergeist II, passed away after a heart and lung transplant.

1988: Heather O’Rourke died of a serious and sudden illness at the very young age of 12.

1992: Richard Lawson, who played Ryan in Poltergeist, just barely survived a freak plane crash that killed 27 people.

2004: The director of Poltergeist II, Brian Gibson, died of the rare disease Ewing’s sarcoma, a form of cancer, at the age of 59.

Now let’s go over what may have caused a curse on the cast and crew:

In an interview, JoBeth Williams, who played Diane Freeling, claimed that the skeletons in the muddy pool in the first film were later discovered to be real. She explained that it was cheaper to purchase the real thing for filming than it was to buy realistic prop versions. She did however add that she does not believe any such curse exists on the films, or those involved in the making of them.

One of the alleged “real” skeletons

It is widely claimed that the clown whose arm wraps around Robbie’s neck actually malfunctioned on set and tightened its grip. The young actor began to choke but it wasn’t until his face changed color that they realized he wasn’t just acting and rushed to help free him from the prop clown.

The prop that choked Oliver Robins on set

During the filming of Poltergeist II, real-life shaman Will Sampson performed a ritual on set to exorcise any possible spirits that may have been haunting the set after he heard of the use of real skeletons in the first movie. However it has also been said that real skeletons were used in Poltergeist II as well.

Will Sampson, “Taylor” in Poltergeist II, performed rituals on set to exercise the bad spirits

Obviously I can’t declare these rumors as true or false, but they have been widely accepted as factual over the years. It can’t be determined whether the films, and the people that created them, are cursed or not. However, it is quite strange how many of them were lost in a short period of time. Not to mention the odd things that happened on and off the set. Cursed or not, these movies are classic, and deserve every bit of praise they receive.
Stay scared,
Dark Princess