10 Bizarre Events That Happened on the Set of Poltergeist

Few horror films have seeped into our cultural nightmares quite like Poltergeist. This 1982 supernatural thriller about a suburban family tormented by angry spirits still gives people the creeps decades later. What many folks don’t realize is that the production itself was just as weird as what ended up on screen — some would say the set was straight-up cursed. While we watched the Freeling family battle creepy TV static and killer clown dolls, the cast and crew were dealing with their own bizarre incidents behind the scenes. From dangerous stunts gone wrong to the absolutely mind-boggling decision to use real human skeletons, the making of Poltergeist was nearly as terrifying as the movie itself.

Related: 10 Terrifying Tales Of Violent Poltergeists

10Real Human Skeletons Used in Swimming Pool Scene

In what has to be the most unsettling production choice ever, JoBeth Williams (who played mom Diane Freeling) found out years after filming that those skeletons in the swimming pool scene? Yeah, actual human remains. “I always assumed that the skeletons were made by the prop department,” Williams said, clearly freaked out when she learned the truth. During that gross pool scene where corpses pop up from the old graveyard beneath their house, Williams was swimming around with real dead people. She later described the water as “rank and unappealing,” adding, “I’d have to scream, and I’d think, ‘Oh, God, I don’t want to get this water in my mouth because I’m sure I’ll get terrible diseases.’” No kidding! This macabre decision has fueled the legendary “Poltergeist curse” talk for decades.

9The Killer Clown Doll Nearly Strangled Robbie For Real

That terrifying clown doll scene wasn’t just scary for viewers—it nearly killed young actor Oliver Robbins. While filming the bit where the evil toy attacks Robbie Freeling, the mechanical doll malfunctioned and actually started choking the kid. Spielberg thought Robbins was just crushing the performance until he noticed the poor kid turning purple. The producer had to jump in and pry the doll’s hands off the boy’s neck. Talk about method acting gone horribly wrong! The line between movie horror and real-life danger got way too blurry that day.

8The Rotating Bedroom Set

Remember when JoBeth Williams gets tossed around her bedroom like a rag doll by invisible forces? That scene wasn’t CGI magic—they built an actual rotating bedroom set with a fixed camera, making it look like Williams was being flung supernaturally around the room. After being spun upside down for the umpteenth take, Williams dryly remarked, “Let’s just say the charm wore off after about 12 takes.” The old-school practical effect looked amazing on screen, but left the actress feeling like she’d been through a human washing machine.

7Drew Barrymore’s Unsuccessful Audition Led to E.T.

In a weird twist of Hollywood fate, little Drew Barrymore tried out for the role of Carol Anne but lost to Heather O’Rourke. Apparently, producers wanted someone who looked more “angelic” for the kid who chats with ghosts through the TV. But here’s the kicker—Spielberg was so impressed by Barrymore that he cast her in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial instead, which he was cooking up alongside Poltergeist. Talk about a lucky break! Barrymore’s career skyrocketed while creating this strange connection between two of 1982’s biggest blockbusters.

6The One-Take Chair Pyramid

That jaw-dropping scene where kitchen chairs stack themselves into a perfect pyramid? Pure old-fashioned movie magic. Rather than fancy effects, the crew nailed it in one take through clever camera work. As the camera panned away from the table, stagehands rushed in to quickly set up the chair tower. When the camera swung back—boom—supernatural chair pyramid. Sometimes the simplest tricks make the biggest impact. No CGI needed, just some quick-moving crew members and perfect timing.

5The Crawling Steak Scene

That nasty bit of raw steak that slithers across the counter wasn’t stop-motion or any high-tech trick—they literally attached meat to wires and puppeteered it from underneath. Yep, someone’s job that day was “meat puppeteer.” They used similar low-tech approaches for other scenes where objects move by themselves throughout the house. Sometimes the grossest effects are the simplest ones, but that creepy crawling steak has stuck in viewers’ nightmares for forty years.

4The MGM Lion Roar Easter Egg

Unlike most Spielberg flicks from that era, Poltergeist was made under MGM’s banner instead of Universal. The filmmakers snuck in a clever nod by incorporating the famous MGM lion roar during one of the movie’s biggest jump scares. Pretty neat easter egg if you catch it! And speaking of Spielberg’s sneaky involvement—those hands shown ripping flesh off a face in one particularly gruesome scene? Those belonged to the bearded wonder himself, further muddying the waters about who was really calling the shots on set.

3The House Implosion Model

For that mind-blowing finale where the Freeling house gets sucked into oblivion, the effects team built a detailed four-foot model of the family home. They filmed this mini-house with some crazy effects techniques, including a vacuum generator to create that black hole effect. The whole spectacular implosion that caps off the movie? Just two seconds of actual filming. This kind of craftsmanship in the pre-computer era shows why practical effects still hold up decades later while early CGI often looks dated.

2The Psychic Who Played a Psychic

Zelda Rubinstein, who played the unforgettable psychic Tangina, claimed she actually had real psychic abilities in her everyday life. Despite her distinctive voice and perfect casting, she reportedly had to audition four separate times before landing the role. Once on board, she knocked out all her scenes in just six days of filming, though her character left a massive impression on audiences. Rubinstein even claimed she could sense Tobe Hooper’s focus during shoots, adding an extra layer of weirdness to her portrayal of a medium who cleanses haunted houses.

1The Spielberg vs. Hooper Directorial Controversy

The biggest behind-the-scenes mystery of Poltergeist remains: who actually directed this thing? While Tobe Hooper (the guy behind The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) got the official director credit, tons of people involved with the film have hinted—or outright stated—that Spielberg was the one really calling the shots. JoBeth Williams couldn’t help gushing about how “exciting” it was “to work on a movie that Spielberg was involved in.” Many critics point out that the film’s style matches Spielberg’s other work from that period way more than Hooper’s. Though Spielberg publicly backed Hooper as the director, this Hollywood he-said-he-said continues on as one of the film’s most enduring mysteries.