The Poltergeist movies are a trilogy of horror films produced in the 1980s. Steven Spielberg co-wrote, co-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: The Other Side, whereas Poltergeist III was directed, co-written, co-produced and storyboarded by Gary Sherman. Michael Grais and Mark Victor co-wrote the first film with Spielberg, wrote the second film on their own and also co-produced it. Brian Taggert and an uncredited Steve Feke co-wrote the third film. Spielberg's long-time companions (and then-married couple) Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy co-produced the first film. Freddie Fields and Lynn Arost co-produced the second film, and the third film was co-produced by Barry Bernardi. The scores of the first two films were composed by Jerry Goldsmith. H.R. Giger did conceptual designs for the second film. Jump to: navigation, search DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ... Jump to: navigation, search Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg KBE (born on December 18, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio but raised in the suburbs of Haddonfield, New Jersey and Scottsdale, Arizona) is an Oscar winning Jewish American film director and producer whose films range from science fiction to historical drama to... Jump to: navigation, search Tobe Hooper is an American television and film director best known for his work in the horror film genre. ... Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is a 1994 sequel to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) horror film. ... Brian Gibson (September 22, 1944 _ January 4, 2004) was a film director. ... Michael Grais co-wrote Poltergeist (1982), Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), and Cool World (1992). ... Mark Victor co-wrote Poltergeist (1982), Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), and Cool World (1992). ... Frank Marshall (born September 13, 1946) is an American movie producer and director, often working in collaboration with Kathleen Kennedy. ... Kathleen Kennedy is an American movie industry executive. ... Jump to: navigation, search Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was a famous Jewish-American film score composer from Los Angeles, California. ... Birth machine Hans Ruedi Giger (pronounced: GEE-ger) (born at Chur, Grisons canton, February 5, 1940) is a Swiss painter best known for his design work on the film Alien. ...

In the first movie (released in 1982), a group of sinister ghosts invade a suburban 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 Freeling, is then abducted by the ghosts and held hostage in their spiritual world. A ghost expert, Dr. Lesh, and a spiritual healer, Tangina Barrons, 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 (released in 1986 and 1988) followed Reverend Henry Kane ("The Beast" who kidnapped Carol Anne in the first film) stalking Carol Anne and her other family members too. Jump to: navigation, search Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search Reputed ghost of a monk. ... Illustration of the backyards of a surburban neighbourhood Suburbs are inhabited districts located either on the outer rim of a city or outside the official limits of a city (the term varies from country to country), or the outer elements of a conurbation. ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery or graveyard is a place (usually an enclosed area of land) in which dead bodies are buried. ... Headstones in the Japanese Cemetry in Broome, Western Australia A cemetery in rural Spain A typical late 20th century headstone in the United States A headstone, tombstone or gravestone is a marker, normally carved from stone, placed over or next to the site of a burial. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Some of the stars in the movie suffered unfortunate fates, for which the movie series has been dubbed as having a Poltergeist curse. The Poltergeist curse is an urban legend that has been attached for years to the Poltergeist movie series and its stars. ...

Partial credits

Cast:

• Craig T. Nelson, Steven "Steve" Freeling (first and second films only)
• JoBeth Williams, Diane Freeling (ne Wilson) (first and second films only)
• Jaclyn Bernstein, Young Diane (in the second film)
• Dominique Dunne, Dana Freeling (first film only)
• Oliver Robins, Robert "Robbie" Freeling (first and second films only)
• Heather O'Rourke, Carol Anne Freeling
• Geraldine Fitzgerald, Jessica "Gramma Jess" Wilson (second film only)
• Kelly Jean Peters Young Jess (second film only)
• Tom Skerritt, Bruce Gardner (third film only)
• Nancy Allen, Patricia Wilson-Gardner (third film only)
• Lara Flynn Boyle, Donna Gardner (third film only)
• Zelda Rubinstein, Tangina Barrons, Clarivoyant
• Beatrice Straight, Dr. Lesh (first film only)
• Martin Casella, Dr. Marty Casey (first film only)
• Richard Lawson, Ryan (first film only)
• Will Sampson, Taylor (second film only)
• Richard Fire, Dr. Seaton (third film only)
• Julian Beck, Reverend Henry Kane (in the second film)
• Nathan Davis, Reverend Henry Kane (in the third film)
• Corey Burton, Reverend Henry Kane (in the third film, voice only, uncredited)
• Noble Craig, the Great Beast a.k.a. "Vomit Creature" (second film only)

Craig T. Nelson Craig Theodore Nelson (born April 4, 1944 in Spokane, Washington) is an American actor who has starred in television shows such as Coach and The District. ... JoBeth Williams (born December 6, 1948) is an American film actress. ... Dominique Dunne (born November 23, 1959 in Santa Monica, California – November 4, 1982 in Los Angeles, California) was an American actress. ... Heather Michele ORourke (December 27, 1975 - February 1, 1988) was an American child actress who starred in the Poltergeist movie trilogy. ... Geraldine Fitzgerald Geraldine Fitzgerald (24 November 1913 - 17 July 2005) was an Irish-American actress. ... Tom Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an American actor, born in Detroit, Michigan. ... Nancy Allen is the name of: an actress best known for her roles in films including Dressed to Kill and Blow Out,formerly married to Brian De Palma. ... Lara Flynn Boyle Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24, 1970) is an American actress born in Davenport, Iowa of mostly Irish descent. ... Beatrice Whitney Straight (August 2, 1914 – April 7, 2001) was an American theater and film actress. ... Will Sampson (September 27, 1934 - June 3, 1987), a Native American, was an American actor and painter. ... Julian Beck (March 31, 1925–September 14, 1985) was an American actor, director, poet, and painter. ... Corey Burton (born August 3, 1955), is a voice actor. ...

Other Information

A TV series, Poltergeist: The Legacy, is a spin-off of this movie series. A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... Poltergeist: The Legacy is a 1996 Canadian/American horror television 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
• Stigmatized property
• Night Skies (aborted Spielberg film)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

A poltergeist (German for rumbling ghost) is widely believed to be an invisible ghost that interacts with others by moving and influencing inanimate objects. ... The term stigmatized property is a real estate business jargon that describes a normal house stigmatized because someone has been murdered or committed suicide in it. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a Academy Award-winning 1982 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg that tells the story of a young boy, Elliott, who befriends an alien being called E.T. stranded on Earth and trying to find his way home. ...

External links

• PoltergeistSaga.com
• Poltergeist at the Internet Movie Database
• Poltergeist II: The Other Side at the Internet Movie Database
• Poltergeist III at the Internet Movie Database
• Noise and Talk - Philosophical essay about Poltergeist I and television by Johannes Grenzfurthner of monochrom.
• PoltergeistIII.com