A new documentary about the “Poltergeist curse” knows what scares you

There have long been rumors that Poltergeist, much like The Exorcist, was cursed due to its portrayal of the supernatural. Heather O’Rourke, who played Carol Anne in the original Poltergeist trilogy, died suddenly at the age of 12—just before Poltergeist III was released—and her co-star Dominique Dunn was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 1982. Not only that, but Julian Beck and Will Sampson, who both had roles in the second film, died at relatively young ages, and Zelda Rubenstein’s mother died while on the set of the first sequel. (Craig T. Nelson and Jo Beth Williams, on the other hand, are alive and well.) While most of this could be chalked up to coincidence, a 2002 episode of E! True Hollywood Story implied that the use of real skeletons as props in the films were the cause of the curse; to this day, it’s unclear whether the curse should be attributed to Steven Spielberg or Tobe Hooper.

The Curse Of Poltergeist will begin shooting in November.