Poltergeist movie series

The Poltergeist movies are a trilogy of horror films produced in the 1980s. Steven Spielberg wrote, produced, and some say directed the first Poltergeist although Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) was billed as the director. Poltergeist II: The Other Side and Poltergeist III each had a different writer, producer, and director. Brian Gibson directed Poltergeist II and Gary Sherman Poltergeist III.

In the first movie, a group of sinister ghosts invade a family's home through the television. At first the ghosts appear friendly, playing tricks and amusing the family, then turn malevolent and nasty. The family's 5-year-old daughter, Carol Anne, is then abducted by the ghosts and held hostage in their spirital world. A spiritual healer and a ghost expert are eventually brought in, allowing her mother to step into the "other world" to save her. It is then revealed gruesomely at the end of the movie that the family home (and the entire residental subdivision) was built over a cemetery (that only had the headstones moved to a different location), disturbing the sleep of the dead. The two sequels (1986 and 1988) followed a path of different ghosts stalking Carol Anne and her other family members too.

Some of the stars in the movie suffered unfortunate fates, for which the movie series has been dubbed as having a Poltergeist curse.

Partial credits

• Craig T. Nelson, Steve Freeling
• JoBeth Williams, Diane Freeling
• Dominique Dunne, Dana Freeling
• Heather O'Rourke, Carol Anne Freeling
• Beatrice Straight, Dr Lesh (first film only)

A TV series, Poltergeist: The Legacy, is a spin-off of this movie series.

Movie producers had planned to film more sequels, but those plans were dashed by O'Rourke's death at the age of 12.

See also: Poltergeist