The "Poltergeist" films, beginning with the first release in 1982, captivated audiences with their story of a suburban family terrorized by supernatural forces. However, the series is also known for the tragic deaths of several cast members, leading to the persistent belief in a "Poltergeist curse".
When you mix a daughter who communicates with spirits living inside a TV set, a backyard that becomes a swimming pool of muddy skeletons, a wolf-beast demon that lives in a closet, and Steven Spielberg’s genius, you get the perfect formula for blockbuster scariness. Released in 1982, the original Poltergeist, directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by Spielberg, was an instant success and is considered to be a masterpiece of American horror cinema. The original movie focuses on the Freelings, a middle-class family led by a youthful, dashing Craig T. Nelson whose life is upturned when a number of paranormal and vicious events occur in their California home. Most petrifying among them is when the Freelings’ daughter Carol Anne is abducted through her bedroom closet by a group of ghosts who are under the control of a monster demon called the “Beast.” The Freelings spend their time attempting to retrieve Carol Anne and all the while stay sane as they get smacked around, terrorized, and ultimately “goobered” on in the bathtub. Eventually, they learn the reason for their house’s haunting.
The family’s story continued in the sequels Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) and Poltergeist III (1988). With Poltergeist’s success came a creepy mystique.
Four cast members died during and soon after the filming of the movies. In total, four actor died during and soon after the filming of the series. The majority of the fuel for the alleged Poltergeist curse stems from the deaths of multiple cast members. Two of these tragic deaths were highly unexpected and puzzling, leading many fans to speculate on the trilogy’s eerie implications.
The Death of Dominique Dunne
Dominique Ellen Dunne (November 23, 1959 - November 4, 1982) was an American actress. Dunne was born in Santa Monica, California, the youngest child of Ellen Beatriz "Lenny" (née Griffin), a ranching heiress, and Dominick Dunne, a writer, producer, and actor.
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Dunne had two older brothers, Alexander "Alex" and Griffin Dunne, who is an actor, producer and director. Dunne attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, and Fountain Valley School in Fountain, Colorado. Dunne's first role was in the 1979 television film, Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker. She then got supporting roles in episodes of popular 1980s television series, such as Lou Grant, Family, Hart to Hart, and Fame. After her television appearances, in 1981, Dunne was cast in the supernatural horror film Poltergeist in the main role of Dana Freeling, the teenaged daughter of a couple whose family is terrorized by malevolent ghosts. The film was produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper, and served as her feature film debut.
Her last on-screen appearance was in the Hill Street Blues episode "Requiem for a Hairbag", which aired on November 18, 1982, only two weeks after her death. Dunne was cast in the miniseries V in 1982; she died during filming, so her role was portrayed by actress Blair Tefkin. Dunne met John Thomas Sweeney, a sous-chef at the restaurant Ma Maison, at a party in 1981.
The first actor to meet a tragic and unforeseen fate was Dominique Dunne, who played the original older sister Dana Freeling. In 1982, the actor separated from her partner John Sweeney. On October 30, 1982, Sweeney strangled Dunne outside of her home. She was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she was placed on life support. She never regained consciousness. On November 4, her parents consented to have her removed from life support. At the request of her mother, Dunne's kidneys and heart were donated to transplant recipients.
That November, he showed up at Dunne’s house pleading for her to take him back. When she refused, Sweeney grabbed Dunne’s neck, choked her until she was unconscious, and left her to die in her Hollywood home’s driveway. Sweeney was sentenced to six and a half years in prison but was released after three years and seven months. (Dunne and her death were recently back in the zeitgeist following the September release of Netflix’s Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story that featured Nathan Lane as journalist Dominick Dunne, who was Dominique’s father.)
The Death of Heather O'Rourke
Heather Michele O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 - February 1, 1988) was an American child actress, best known for her role as Carol Anne Freeling in the "Poltergeist" trilogy. Throughout her career, O'Rourke was nominated for six Young Artist Awards, winning once for her role in Webster.
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Heather Michele O'Rourke was born on December 27, 1975, in San Diego, to Kathleen and Michael O'Rourke. She had an older sister, Tammy O'Rourke, also an actress. In a contemporary interview with American Premiere magazine, producer Steven Spielberg explained that he was looking for a "beatific four-year-old child...every mother's dream" for the lead in his horror film Poltergeist (1982). While eating in the MGM commissary, Spielberg saw five-year-old O'Rourke having lunch with her mother while older sister Tammy O'Rourke was shooting Pennies from Heaven. After his lunch, Spielberg approached the family and offered O'Rourke the Poltergeist role; she was signed the next day over Drew Barrymore, who instead received the role of Gertie in E.T.
In Poltergeist, O'Rourke played Carol Anne Freeling, a young suburban girl who becomes the conduit and target for supernatural entities. In early 1987, O'Rourke became ill with giardiasis, which she contracted from well water at her family's home in Big Bear Lake. She was subsequently diagnosed as having Crohn's disease. On January 31, 1988, O'Rourke began exhibiting flu-like symptoms.
Heather O’Rourke played the Freelings’ other daughter, Carol Anne, who is the young focal point of the movie trilogy. Only 6 years old when the first Poltergeist movie was released, O’Rourke captivated audiences with her stark blond hair, doll-like appearance, and big, inquisitive eyes. In 1987, she was misdiagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. The following year, O’Rourke fell ill again, and her symptoms were casually attributed to the flu. A day later, she collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest. After being airlifted to a children’s hospital in San Diego, O’Rourke died during an operation to correct a bowel obstruction, and it was later believed she had been suffering from a congenital intestinal abnormality. Poltergeist III was released four months after her death.
She survived the surgery, but suffered another cardiac arrest while in the recovery room. Daniel Hollander, the head of gastroenterology at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center stated that O'Rourke's death was "distinctly unusual" as she lacked prior symptoms of the bowel defect. O'Rourke's delivery of the lines "They're here!" in the first film, and "They're baa-aack!" in the second (that film's tagline), placed her in the collective pop culture consciousness of the United States. "They're here!" is ranked No. On the American Film Institute's 2005 list of "100 Movie Quotes".
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Heather O'Rourke's Film and Television Roles
After her work in Poltergeist (1982), O'Rourke secured several television and TV movie roles. She also appeared in CHiPs, Webster, The New Leave It to Beaver, Our House, and had a recurring role on Happy Days as Heather Pfister. For Webster, O'Rourke won her first Young Artist Award. She also appeared in the television movies Massarati and the Brain and Surviving: A Family in Crisis. O'Rourke went on to reprise the role of Carol Anne Freeling in the second and third installments, Poltergeist II: The Other Side in 1986 and Poltergeist III in 1988 respectively.
The following table summarizes Heather O'Rourke's notable film and television appearances:
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poltergeist | 1982 | Carol Anne Freeling | Film |
| Believe You Can...and You Can! | 1983 | Herself | TV Special |
| Webster | TV series | ||
| Poltergeist II: The Other Side | 1986 | Carol Anne Freeling | Film |
| Poltergeist III | 1988 | Carol Anne Freeling | Film |
Other Strange Occurrences on the "Poltergeist" Sets
Cast deaths weren’t the only agents of the curse’s proliferation, as other peculiar and creepy legends surround the film franchise. JoBeth Williams, who played mom Diane Freeling in the first two films, claimed that producer Spielberg insisted on using actual human skeletons as props in an attempt to save money. At the time, they were cheaper than plastic skeletons. Williams’ claim has never been verified, but it persists to this day in the lore surrounding the movies’ curse. Finally, in an effort to further creep out everyone involved, Sampson, who was a real-life medicine man in addition to being an actor, performed an authentic exorcism after shooting wrapped up one night.
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