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Poltergeist #1
Poltergeist
Antagonistic spirits invade the Freeling family's suburban home and kidnap their youngest daughter, Carol Anne.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
26 people are currently reading
2436 people want to read
About the author
James Kahn
49 books114 followersJames Kahn is an ER doctor, novelist, TV writer-producer, and singer-songwriter. In addition to many original novels (including the sci-fi trilogy World Enough and Time, Time’s Dark Laughter, and Timefall) he authored the novelizations of Return of the Jedi, Poltergeist, The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
His television credits span the genres, from St. Elsewhere, to William Shatner’s TekWar, to Xena: Warrior Princess. He was a Supervising Producer on Star Trek: Voyager, Co-Executive Producer on Melrose Place, Emmy-nominated for his work on All My Children, medical advisor on Spielberg’s ET: The Extraterrestrial; and produced the feature film The Bet, which won Best Feature at the LA Femme Film Festival, 2013.
He’s previously released four Americana music CDs, including Waterline, The 12th Elf, Man Walks Into A Bar, and The Meaning of Life. Matamoros is the first simultaneous novel and CD release, and his first foray into deeply researched historical fiction.
His television credits span the genres, from St. Elsewhere, to William Shatner’s TekWar, to Xena: Warrior Princess. He was a Supervising Producer on Star Trek: Voyager, Co-Executive Producer on Melrose Place, Emmy-nominated for his work on All My Children, medical advisor on Spielberg’s ET: The Extraterrestrial; and produced the feature film The Bet, which won Best Feature at the LA Femme Film Festival, 2013.
He’s previously released four Americana music CDs, including Waterline, The 12th Elf, Man Walks Into A Bar, and The Meaning of Life. Matamoros is the first simultaneous novel and CD release, and his first foray into deeply researched historical fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
October 4, 2022
I watched the movie for many times. The novel didn't come up to the first installment of the Poltergeist movie. The characters, the evil Reverend, Tangina, Carol Anne, the clown doll... everything was directed to the point by Spielberg. Poltergeist is one of the best horror movies ever for me and quintessential 80s. The movie version scared me shitless every time I watched it back then and even now runs shivers down my spine. The novel couldn't top that or give the topic any new direction. It would have been better if I didn't know the movie so well. But so it was an okay summing of the movie with some used details missing. Great cover, great memories but definitely not the quintessential Poltergeist feeling to be honest. I Prefer the movie!
November 19, 2022
رعب المنزل المسكون سيحتل عندي دوما المرتبه الأولى و قد صنع منه سبيلبيرج فزعا منزليا رهيبا بالفعل؛ و وضع بهذا الفيلم القواعد الجديدة لافلام الرعب الحديثة
February 19, 2020
I’ve never seen the film Poltergeist so I can’t compare the movie versus the novel. But what I can say is that this is one hell of a horror story! It had me hooked right from the beginning and I kept getting shivers as I felt the dread mounting. This book made me feel uncomfortable and uneasy and I adored every second of it. This is what horror is all about, that inexplicable feeling of dread and terror that follows you throughout the book and keeps you thinking about it even after you’ve put the book down. This is by far one of my favourite horror books I’ve read this year!
April 11, 2023
Bizarre supernatural events begin to plague the Freeling family when they move into their new house in California. Their electronics are going haywire and a strange energy seems to loom over the place, waiting for the perfect moment to burst with enough force to tear open a portal into another dimension. Troubled spirits begin to communicate with the Freelings, their friendly and playful behavior suddenly taking a menacing turn when the most powerful of the bunch assumes control and attempts to use the youngest member of the family as a conduit to enter their world. After losing their daughter Carol Ann to this dark spirit, her mother Diane and her father Steve enlist the aid of parapsychologists, scientists and a woman who can communicate with the dead to get her back.
A solid horror classic that differs from the movie quite a bit. I heard that this novelization was written while the movie was still in production so many details were changed in the final script. While I think the movie ended up being a tad bit better because it spent more time focusing on the family and cinematic drama, I still enjoyed this for its own merits because the side characters got more time in the spotlight and there was a much higher focus on the spirit world and the supernatural elements.
My favorite character was definitely the wise-cracking spiritual medium Tangina Barrons. She has a lot of sass without ever feeling rude or condescending. The way she handles the constant ridicule and skepticism from her colleagues and the way she fights against nightmarish apparitions of the spirit world through intense psychological battles was pretty damn cool.
My rating: 3.5/5
A solid horror classic that differs from the movie quite a bit. I heard that this novelization was written while the movie was still in production so many details were changed in the final script. While I think the movie ended up being a tad bit better because it spent more time focusing on the family and cinematic drama, I still enjoyed this for its own merits because the side characters got more time in the spotlight and there was a much higher focus on the spirit world and the supernatural elements.
My favorite character was definitely the wise-cracking spiritual medium Tangina Barrons. She has a lot of sass without ever feeling rude or condescending. The way she handles the constant ridicule and skepticism from her colleagues and the way she fights against nightmarish apparitions of the spirit world through intense psychological battles was pretty damn cool.
My rating: 3.5/5
April 28, 2022
Big Poltergeist fan, me. Literally grew up with it, saw the movie when I was 8 years old, I think? Yes, that was much too young, thank you for asking. But as happens with a lot of this kind of scary stuff, it then became a firm favourite when I got older. So I thought it would be interesting to read the novelisation, for the usual novelisation-reading reasons - there's more room to fit in new details and more characterisation.
And that's precisely what we get here, I just don't think it works that well.
Spoilers..? They're heeeeeeere..! (I'm disgusting, sorry for that.) I'm supposing you have at least seen the movie, from here on.
First thing you'll notice is that the paranormal psychologists come into the story much sooner, albeit removed from the Freelings. They start out with a new medium they've met, Tangina Barrons. All of this is fine with me, they're good characters, why not get them in the mix sooner.
Second thing you'll notice that there's whole new mythology at play, that is nowhere to be found in the movie, a whole thing with named extra-dimensional 'spirits', who Carol Anne also interacts with. Most notably there's a whole setpiece with the spirits manifesting inside the Freelings' livingroom (think a dancing shadow, a dancing being made of fire, a tree man!) and riling eachother up. It's.. a lot. And it's at best bewildering, most of the time it's just silly.
The way the parapsychologists come into contact with the Freelings is also.. different. They basically use Tangina as a radar, stuffing her in a van while she's in a trance, and locating the place where psychic commotion is going on. It's mildly bizarre, to say the least, but it's really bizarre how quickly the Freelings accept them in their midsts.
Luckily, we still get The Beast, although it's not the reverend Kane we'll get to know in Poltergeist II, there's a different mythology at play here.
It's an interesting read, Kahn sure can write a nice thriller, but it comes down to this - yet another novelisation where the movie is better than the book.
And that's precisely what we get here, I just don't think it works that well.
Spoilers..? They're heeeeeeere..! (I'm disgusting, sorry for that.) I'm supposing you have at least seen the movie, from here on.
First thing you'll notice is that the paranormal psychologists come into the story much sooner, albeit removed from the Freelings. They start out with a new medium they've met, Tangina Barrons. All of this is fine with me, they're good characters, why not get them in the mix sooner.
Second thing you'll notice that there's whole new mythology at play, that is nowhere to be found in the movie, a whole thing with named extra-dimensional 'spirits', who Carol Anne also interacts with. Most notably there's a whole setpiece with the spirits manifesting inside the Freelings' livingroom (think a dancing shadow, a dancing being made of fire, a tree man!) and riling eachother up. It's.. a lot. And it's at best bewildering, most of the time it's just silly.
The way the parapsychologists come into contact with the Freelings is also.. different. They basically use Tangina as a radar, stuffing her in a van while she's in a trance, and locating the place where psychic commotion is going on. It's mildly bizarre, to say the least, but it's really bizarre how quickly the Freelings accept them in their midsts.
Luckily, we still get The Beast, although it's not the reverend Kane we'll get to know in Poltergeist II, there's a different mythology at play here.
It's an interesting read, Kahn sure can write a nice thriller, but it comes down to this - yet another novelisation where the movie is better than the book.
September 20, 2012
Libro basado en la película. La prosa es mala, descuidada, quien sabe si es culpa de la traducción o del material original. Los personajes son planos, cumplen su función como una familia americana de los suburbios. Básicamente el libro es eso: familia de comercial estadounidense en una situación extraordinaria. Es lo de menos si no eres un lector exigente. Es divertido para una lectura sin giros complejos. Se va rápido, es ágil, dura lo mismo que un viaje de dos o tres horas (aunque quizás en estos tiempos hay mejores, y más variadas, opciones).
Hay imágenes interesantes como Marty y la situación de la cocina, y del espejo en el baño. Es mi capítulo preferido (remite a los diseños que hizo H.R. Giger de los espíritus para la película). El mundo espiritual en el libro es lo más intrigante que tiene, sin embargo no hay mucha explicación de ello, sólo imágenes para rellenar un espacio.
Es un complemento entretenido a la película. Si alguien busca eso, este libro lo ofrece.
Hay imágenes interesantes como Marty y la situación de la cocina, y del espejo en el baño. Es mi capítulo preferido (remite a los diseños que hizo H.R. Giger de los espíritus para la película). El mundo espiritual en el libro es lo más intrigante que tiene, sin embargo no hay mucha explicación de ello, sólo imágenes para rellenar un espacio.
Es un complemento entretenido a la película. Si alguien busca eso, este libro lo ofrece.
June 10, 2015
‘Poltergeist’ (1982): The novelization
My novelization binge continues with “Poltergeist” written by James Kahn, one of the all-time best at this particular specialty, with “Return of the Jedi” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” among his credits.
Erase all thoughts about the insipid, half-baked, cynical cash grab bastardization “remake” currently infesting movie theaters around the world. I am talking here about the Steven Spielberg produced/Toby Hooper directed classic from the fabled summer of 1982. Ahhhh….to have been there back on June 4th 1982 and witnessed this spellbinding horror film when it first opened—it was an exhilarating experience that I will never forget.
And given the visual nature of the picture, the outstanding (and nuanced) performances, the special effects (which still look fantastic and resonate today)—not to mention an absolutely monumental musical score by Jerry Goldsmith—attempting to turn the cinematic experience of “Poltergeist” into a workable and exciting novel would seem to be a futile, if not downright impossible task.
And yet, author James Kahn (working from a screenplay by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, and Mark Victor), has done just that.
I have three tests that a novelization must pass to be considered a success. One, it has to effectively create the world of the movie using prose. Do I feel like I am in the universe of the movie? Two, it has to add to the story. Is there backstory and character insights that can only be gotten from an effectively written novel? Three, it has to capture the essence of the movie—the heart and soul of the film if you will. In this case, does the novelization capture the horror and spirituality and sense of wonder of the movie?
I am happy to report that James Kahn’s novelization of “Poltergeist” knocks it out of the park on all three accounts. Reading this book is like living inside the world of the film. We get some great character insights, especially when it comes to Tangina (“Children, Children”) and the paranormal investigators, most notably Doctor Lesh. Although there is no way to duplicate with words the soul-stirring combination of the movie’s visuals coupled with Jerry Goldsmith’s powerhouse soundtrack, this novel has a sense of wonder and is downright scary! Even the show-stopper set pieces such as the “Stairway of Souls” and “Into the Light” are effectively rendered in this thrilling novelization.
Bottom line: “Poltergeist” is a rousing novelization that effectively captures the other-worldly horror and wonderment of the classic 1982 film.
My novelization binge continues with “Poltergeist” written by James Kahn, one of the all-time best at this particular specialty, with “Return of the Jedi” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” among his credits.
Erase all thoughts about the insipid, half-baked, cynical cash grab bastardization “remake” currently infesting movie theaters around the world. I am talking here about the Steven Spielberg produced/Toby Hooper directed classic from the fabled summer of 1982. Ahhhh….to have been there back on June 4th 1982 and witnessed this spellbinding horror film when it first opened—it was an exhilarating experience that I will never forget.
And given the visual nature of the picture, the outstanding (and nuanced) performances, the special effects (which still look fantastic and resonate today)—not to mention an absolutely monumental musical score by Jerry Goldsmith—attempting to turn the cinematic experience of “Poltergeist” into a workable and exciting novel would seem to be a futile, if not downright impossible task.
And yet, author James Kahn (working from a screenplay by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, and Mark Victor), has done just that.
I have three tests that a novelization must pass to be considered a success. One, it has to effectively create the world of the movie using prose. Do I feel like I am in the universe of the movie? Two, it has to add to the story. Is there backstory and character insights that can only be gotten from an effectively written novel? Three, it has to capture the essence of the movie—the heart and soul of the film if you will. In this case, does the novelization capture the horror and spirituality and sense of wonder of the movie?
I am happy to report that James Kahn’s novelization of “Poltergeist” knocks it out of the park on all three accounts. Reading this book is like living inside the world of the film. We get some great character insights, especially when it comes to Tangina (“Children, Children”) and the paranormal investigators, most notably Doctor Lesh. Although there is no way to duplicate with words the soul-stirring combination of the movie’s visuals coupled with Jerry Goldsmith’s powerhouse soundtrack, this novel has a sense of wonder and is downright scary! Even the show-stopper set pieces such as the “Stairway of Souls” and “Into the Light” are effectively rendered in this thrilling novelization.
Bottom line: “Poltergeist” is a rousing novelization that effectively captures the other-worldly horror and wonderment of the classic 1982 film.
June 13, 2021
Non ingrana poi molto, forse perché la storia mi sembra familiare (con cosa non saprei proprio), o forse perché è lenta, eppure l'idea di base non è male.
La parte pre-finale, quando c'è la "seconda manche" con la Bestia, fa temere il peggio, ed è il momento della storia più ricco di adrenalina.
Il resto del libro si attesa su un "interessante, ma non abbastanza".
Peccato.
La parte pre-finale, quando c'è la "seconda manche" con la Bestia, fa temere il peggio, ed è il momento della storia più ricco di adrenalina.
Il resto del libro si attesa su un "interessante, ma non abbastanza".
Peccato.
May 30, 2017
Por incrível que pareça este filme fez parte do terror da minha adolescência, perdi a conta das vezes que o vi (ainda no auge das videocassetes), quem vir este filme agora, com toda a certeza vai chamar-me maluca, mas só eu sei quantas noites espreitei debaixo da cama antes de adormecer, quantas vezes ficava em pânico quando a televisão assumia aquele estado de formigueiro sem imagem, quantas vezes contei para avaliar a distância de uma tempestade.
Opinião completa aqui: baudatanocas.blogs.sapo.pt/poltergeis...
Opinião completa aqui: baudatanocas.blogs.sapo.pt/poltergeis...
April 15, 2019
Ясно е, че романизираните филмови сценарии не са някакви възвишени четива, но тук хептен плоска излезе работата...
February 9, 2015
I truly enjoyed this one. The novel is less than 200 pages it added a lot of depth to the characters and while the phenomena was explained in the movie, the book had a more thorough explanation that felt more satisfying than the story presented on the screen.
Even if you have no interest in seeing the movie, you might enjoy the book if you like to read horror/ghost stories.
Even if you have no interest in seeing the movie, you might enjoy the book if you like to read horror/ghost stories.
August 31, 2016
Has extra scenes left out from the movie and they do show why as they are the weaker parts of the story, making me rate it as 4 while I rate the movie as 5.
May 23, 2022
If you have seen the movie, there's no need to read the book. It's literally the same, with the exception of a more descriptive literature on "the other side" where Carole Ann was being held captive by "the beast". I do have a better understanding of the movie after reading this. It was a good read so I do give it 5 stars.
July 17, 2018
If this book is any indication, POLTERGEIST is a movie I need to re-visit. Enough time has passed that I no longer remember why I didn't care for it the first time around; all I can say is, if it's anything like this novel, I can't imagine it not being great.
As a teenager, I read some of James Kahn's other movie novelizations, like RETURN OF THE JEDI and INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. I don't remember them being anything other than typical generic fluff, so I was quite taken aback by what a masterful piece of storytelling POLTERGEIST is. Even as someone without any affection for the original film, I found the novel to be legitimately captivating: suspenseful, satisfying, and even a bit creepy in an over-the-top sort of way. At no point did I feel I was reading a fleshed-out screenplay. In fact, much of this story is so trippy and bizarre that I might've ironically thought it unfilmable. (I can't wait to see which scenes made it into the movie and which didn't.)
James Kahn's POLTERGEIST novelization reads a bit like THE EXORCIST by way of Dean Koontz. Unlike the PG movie version, this is more squarely aimed at adults, with a couple moments of R-rated violence, a few casually dropped f-bombs, and a scene of inter-dimensional sexual assault. Kahn has a medical background that he puts to very good use here, giving POLTERGEIST a level of scientific plausibility that keeps the story (mostly) grounded in something akin to reality. Sure, the whole thing is a bit silly and dated, but that should in no way spoil the fun.
As a teenager, I read some of James Kahn's other movie novelizations, like RETURN OF THE JEDI and INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. I don't remember them being anything other than typical generic fluff, so I was quite taken aback by what a masterful piece of storytelling POLTERGEIST is. Even as someone without any affection for the original film, I found the novel to be legitimately captivating: suspenseful, satisfying, and even a bit creepy in an over-the-top sort of way. At no point did I feel I was reading a fleshed-out screenplay. In fact, much of this story is so trippy and bizarre that I might've ironically thought it unfilmable. (I can't wait to see which scenes made it into the movie and which didn't.)
James Kahn's POLTERGEIST novelization reads a bit like THE EXORCIST by way of Dean Koontz. Unlike the PG movie version, this is more squarely aimed at adults, with a couple moments of R-rated violence, a few casually dropped f-bombs, and a scene of inter-dimensional sexual assault. Kahn has a medical background that he puts to very good use here, giving POLTERGEIST a level of scientific plausibility that keeps the story (mostly) grounded in something akin to reality. Sure, the whole thing is a bit silly and dated, but that should in no way spoil the fun.
September 26, 2019
wow , what can I saw this is based on the original movie script , I saw the movie first when I was a kid , I thought it was down right scary , I recently re watched it and thought wow this I supposed to be a PG ? how did they get away with that? ive always wanted to read this so I finally have in the book (well the original script) three quarters of the plot remained the same but a hell of a lot of the scary stuff that happens has especially what happens to Diane towards the end had been cut purely to make it not be rated 18 that's £££££ for you . so even though I really enjoyed the movie , and always will in a lot of they way the book is better as the movie would have been better if those scenes were kept in . the book also makes sense of the terrible scene cut in the movie - where steve finds out whats been happening in the kitchen and carol anne says - now can we have pizza it cuts to steve on the floor looking scared , then the random cut to steve and diane talking to the neighbours asking if they have seen any thing strange going on ? it was supposed to show steve saying - I hate pizza hut ! but they cut it from the movie thinking that they would upset pizza hut . I look forward to reading poltergeist II but first im going to read - who goes there
June 13, 2021
I've seen the movie probably twenty times or more throughout my life, and it's one of my all time favorite horror movies. This novelization of the movie has all the details from the movie, in story form, along with a host of other material and background that was not included in the scenes of the movie. I don't know if any of this other material was filmed but cut from the final product, or if it had only been in the screenplay, but in any case, it all makes the story fuller and even better. I especially love the detailed descriptions of Tangina's travels in the spirit world and her interactions with the paranormal life forms, both good and bad. Great read!
May 9, 2015
Need to be reviewed.
May 8, 2020
This was probably one of the best. Novelizations of a movie but I've ever read and included extra scenes and extended wordings of the characters that were in the movie.
July 26, 2023
'You moved the cemetery!' screamed Steve. 'But you left the bodies, didn't you! You son-of-a-bitch, you left the bodies and only moved the headstones!'
What a classic.
What a classic.
October 17, 2024
Storia adrenalinica piena di suspense!
October 25, 2024
gostei mais de pegar as referências que outras obras fazem sobre doq o livro em si, mas não é ruim não. Talvez o filme seja melhor.
May 19, 2024
It's no secret that this is one of my favorite movies, one I've seen dozens of times. I don't remember 1982, but there's just something nostalgic about it, a characteristic that many of Spielberg's productions have. It was kind of odd: I actually saw Poltergeist III before I saw the original, back in the late 80s, at a neighbor's house when I was at a slumber party (!). I remember that I wasn't all that terribly fond of the third installment (the second in the series was the worst of the three movies, in my opinion), possibly because I didn't really know the "back story" at that point, so I didn't actually see the original until I was maybe a teenager. That unprecedented movie turned me into an avowed horror movie aficionado.
The fact that a book was released at the same time the movie came out speaks to the expectations that it was going to be a blockbuster hit, which it was. This novel version, which was written after the screenplay, is a fairly faithful adaptation of the movie. There are some differences in events and dialogue, but the latter is definitely recognizable if you're familiar with the film. It also provides more in-depth background material on the characters, especially Zelda Rubenstein's iconic psychic Tangina, which explains some things the movie leaves out. In that case, however, the way in which she first meets the family differs from what appears in the movie. I wonder, in fact, if some of the book's material was written from cut scenes which originally appeared in the script, which never saw the light of day.
Even if this novel had been written as a stand-alone book, it easily could have served as material to base a movie on, as it would have been a very capable novel on its own, reminiscent of other horror classics like "The Amityville Horror" and Stephen King novels (whose movie adaptation are generally awful, truth be told, with a few notable exceptions). This trade paperback was actually published by Warner Books, in May, 1982, so it was the official release facilitated by the movie studio. Actually, it shows that the copyright is per Amblin' Entertainment, Steven Spielberg's production company, so it was clearly released per their approval. I wasn't aware that a movie studio also had a book publishing division, but this was more than forty years ago.
"Poltergeist" probably needs no introduction, but this is a timeless horror classic which tells the story of a young family living in an idyllic (fictional) Southern California town called Cuesta Verde, where real estate developer Steven lives with his wife and three young children. They were the first to move into the area, which is perhaps one reason why the events which unfold fall hardest on them. On just another typical day in Suburbia, daughter Carol Ann begins displaying some strange symptoms, which the family initially takes for sleepwalking, but things progress until the point that it is clear that something supernatural is going on.
The family's suspicions are confirmed when a malevolent force steals Carol Ann away, apparently to some alternate or parallel dimension in the beyond, which is populated with the spirits of those who have died, and the race is on to find her before she is lost forever. Steve and Diane encounter a paranormal research team, along with one of their protege psychic study subjects, who has been having dreams of Carol Ann since her disappearance. Together, the team take on the malevolent force in an attempt to retrieve the couple's missing daughter and to solve the mystery of why their house has experienced such a vicious poltergeist intrusion. The culprit is more horrifying than any of them could imagine.
This movie, in my opinion, essentially established the "haunted house," movie genre, or at least cemented its viability in cinematic history. This one movie also set the canon for generations to come. Few people knew what a poltergeist was before this movie was released, but its tropes have been replicated innumerable times in subsequent horror films. There were certainly movies about the paranormal prior to this one's release, including the aforementioned "The Amityville Horror," which was based on another book involving a family who lives in a reportedly haunted house where a horrific mass murder took place (although, as I have written about elsewhere, the events described have been thoroughly debunked at this point), but "Poltergeist" set the bar and even gave rise to a jargon for those to follow, which have included the wildly successful "The Conjuring" and "Paranormal Activity" series, but I think it also just brought the paranormal into the mainstream. I would even attribute the highly successful "ghost hunting" TV shows, on the order of Zac Bagans's "Ghost Adventures" show, to the popularity garnered by the original Poltergeist.
That said, the additional two films in the series were, as many Spielberg production franchise films tend to be, ridiculously bad, with the second one being the worst of all of them. There was also a recent re-make which generally followed the story line of the original, but it wasn't much better than the others. There was also a short-lived TV series, I believe, which didn't fare too much better than the films in the franchise, aside from the wildly successful original film.
If you're familiar with the series, you are no doubt also at least aware of claims of a "Poltergeist Curse," which took an even darker turn following the tragic, untimely deaths of two of the original film's stars: Dominique Dunne, who played the teenage daughter Dana, and Heather O'Rourke, the film's most notable character, little Carol Ann, who tragically passed away at the age of twelve.
This film certainly seemed to take on a life of its own. It didn't help matters that there were reports of strange occurrences on all of the three movies during filming. One of the more freaky happenings on set was in the scene where Diane falls in the unfinished swimming pool during the movie's climax. Perhaps it wasn't actually an odd occurrence, but for her, it was an unsettling one: she later discovered that the skeletons which appear in the scene... were real. The actress Jo Beth Williams claimed that years later she ran into one of the prop guys, and mentioned the scene and the skeletons, whereupon he told her that they were actually real. At the time, cadaver skeletons were reportedly cheaper than manufacturing plastic ones.
The worst of the tragedies associated with "Poltergeist" involved the death of the two "Freeling" daughters. Dominique Dunne, the daughter of Hollywood producer Dominick Dunne and sister to fellow actor Griffin Dunne, was murdered by her boyfriend John Sweeney (who later changed his name to John Maura and disappeared) in Nov., 1982, shortly after "Poltergeist" premiered. His only real claim to fame was that he was once a sous chef at the popular LA nightspot "Ma Maison" - that, and the fact that he had a criminal record. He had a history of severe domestic violence, having severely beaten another of his prior girlfriends so badly that he ruptured one of her lungs. He had reportedly met Dominique at a party, and shortly thereafter, they began a relationship, wherein she, too, began to experience numerous bouts of domestic violence at his hands. On one occasion, his assault was so severe that she did not require makeup when she played a domestic abuse survivor on the popular '80s police procedural drama "Hill Street Blues" in 1981. The shocking, visible bruises, split lip and swelling on her face were real.
Ultimately, after she finally ended her relationship with him, he stalked her, and upon seeing her rehearsing a scene with another male actor for the upcoming TV series "V" at her home, Sweeney dragged her outside and strangled her in her driveway. She survived for a brief time but was declared brain dead, and was removed from life support five days later. After Sweeney was convicted of manslaughter rather than murder, due at least in part to the judge's refusal to allow the testimony of Sweeney's previous abuse victim whom he nearly killed, he was sentenced to only a few years in prison, and ended up serving less than half of that sentence. Dominique's father then worked tirelessly and became a vocal advocate for victim's rights after his daughter's untimely passing and the grave miscarriage of justice in essentially seeing her murderer go unpunished. Dominick Dunne passed away in New York in 2009.
Heather O'Rourke will forever be remembered for her portrayal as the lovely little blonde-haired girl in Poltergeist, and her iconic, eerie line, "they're heeeeeere...." She passed away on Feb. 1, 1988 in San Diego of cardiac arrest due to intestinal stenosis, an undiagnosed congenital birth defect, which resulted in a ruptured bowel and septic shock. She had begun to experience symptoms as early as January, 1987, more than a year before. She was eventually diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, a chronic inflammation of the intestine, and was put on steroids to try to decrease the inflammation. Many moviegoers noticed her "chipmunk" cheeks in the third installation of Poltergeist, which was a side effect of the medication, although she reportedly never complained while working on the set of the third film. She was reportedly doing well, until Jan. 31, 1988, which was Super Bowl Sunday, when she was unable to keep anything down. By the next morning, her hands and fingers had turned blue, and she later passed out at the breakfast table. She tragically suffered a cardiac arrest in the ambulance on the way to the hospital and died on the operating table that afternoon. In a tragic twist of fate, she and Dominique are buried in the same cemetery in Los Angeles.
In addition to the two beloved actresses who passed away at a young age, there were apparently additional unexpected deaths associated with the movies, including that of Will Sampson, who played the Native American shaman in the second movie. As it turns out, he was a REAL shaman and stated to both cast and crew his belief that the set was haunted, to the degree that he performed a cleansing ritual to repel any malevolent energies which might be lurking. This was in response to some unsettling mishaps which had occurred during filming; after his ritual cleansing, no additional untoward events occurred during filming.
There are few moviegoers who haven't seen the original "Poltergeist," which is all the more poignant after the death of two of its beloved stars. This is a great book, but it's somewhat difficult to find, as it was not reprinted after the first run, and trade paperbacks aren't known for their longevity. It's now forty years old, but it's well worth the read if you can find a copy.
The fact that a book was released at the same time the movie came out speaks to the expectations that it was going to be a blockbuster hit, which it was. This novel version, which was written after the screenplay, is a fairly faithful adaptation of the movie. There are some differences in events and dialogue, but the latter is definitely recognizable if you're familiar with the film. It also provides more in-depth background material on the characters, especially Zelda Rubenstein's iconic psychic Tangina, which explains some things the movie leaves out. In that case, however, the way in which she first meets the family differs from what appears in the movie. I wonder, in fact, if some of the book's material was written from cut scenes which originally appeared in the script, which never saw the light of day.
Even if this novel had been written as a stand-alone book, it easily could have served as material to base a movie on, as it would have been a very capable novel on its own, reminiscent of other horror classics like "The Amityville Horror" and Stephen King novels (whose movie adaptation are generally awful, truth be told, with a few notable exceptions). This trade paperback was actually published by Warner Books, in May, 1982, so it was the official release facilitated by the movie studio. Actually, it shows that the copyright is per Amblin' Entertainment, Steven Spielberg's production company, so it was clearly released per their approval. I wasn't aware that a movie studio also had a book publishing division, but this was more than forty years ago.
"Poltergeist" probably needs no introduction, but this is a timeless horror classic which tells the story of a young family living in an idyllic (fictional) Southern California town called Cuesta Verde, where real estate developer Steven lives with his wife and three young children. They were the first to move into the area, which is perhaps one reason why the events which unfold fall hardest on them. On just another typical day in Suburbia, daughter Carol Ann begins displaying some strange symptoms, which the family initially takes for sleepwalking, but things progress until the point that it is clear that something supernatural is going on.
The family's suspicions are confirmed when a malevolent force steals Carol Ann away, apparently to some alternate or parallel dimension in the beyond, which is populated with the spirits of those who have died, and the race is on to find her before she is lost forever. Steve and Diane encounter a paranormal research team, along with one of their protege psychic study subjects, who has been having dreams of Carol Ann since her disappearance. Together, the team take on the malevolent force in an attempt to retrieve the couple's missing daughter and to solve the mystery of why their house has experienced such a vicious poltergeist intrusion. The culprit is more horrifying than any of them could imagine.
This movie, in my opinion, essentially established the "haunted house," movie genre, or at least cemented its viability in cinematic history. This one movie also set the canon for generations to come. Few people knew what a poltergeist was before this movie was released, but its tropes have been replicated innumerable times in subsequent horror films. There were certainly movies about the paranormal prior to this one's release, including the aforementioned "The Amityville Horror," which was based on another book involving a family who lives in a reportedly haunted house where a horrific mass murder took place (although, as I have written about elsewhere, the events described have been thoroughly debunked at this point), but "Poltergeist" set the bar and even gave rise to a jargon for those to follow, which have included the wildly successful "The Conjuring" and "Paranormal Activity" series, but I think it also just brought the paranormal into the mainstream. I would even attribute the highly successful "ghost hunting" TV shows, on the order of Zac Bagans's "Ghost Adventures" show, to the popularity garnered by the original Poltergeist.
That said, the additional two films in the series were, as many Spielberg production franchise films tend to be, ridiculously bad, with the second one being the worst of all of them. There was also a recent re-make which generally followed the story line of the original, but it wasn't much better than the others. There was also a short-lived TV series, I believe, which didn't fare too much better than the films in the franchise, aside from the wildly successful original film.
If you're familiar with the series, you are no doubt also at least aware of claims of a "Poltergeist Curse," which took an even darker turn following the tragic, untimely deaths of two of the original film's stars: Dominique Dunne, who played the teenage daughter Dana, and Heather O'Rourke, the film's most notable character, little Carol Ann, who tragically passed away at the age of twelve.
This film certainly seemed to take on a life of its own. It didn't help matters that there were reports of strange occurrences on all of the three movies during filming. One of the more freaky happenings on set was in the scene where Diane falls in the unfinished swimming pool during the movie's climax. Perhaps it wasn't actually an odd occurrence, but for her, it was an unsettling one: she later discovered that the skeletons which appear in the scene... were real. The actress Jo Beth Williams claimed that years later she ran into one of the prop guys, and mentioned the scene and the skeletons, whereupon he told her that they were actually real. At the time, cadaver skeletons were reportedly cheaper than manufacturing plastic ones.
The worst of the tragedies associated with "Poltergeist" involved the death of the two "Freeling" daughters. Dominique Dunne, the daughter of Hollywood producer Dominick Dunne and sister to fellow actor Griffin Dunne, was murdered by her boyfriend John Sweeney (who later changed his name to John Maura and disappeared) in Nov., 1982, shortly after "Poltergeist" premiered. His only real claim to fame was that he was once a sous chef at the popular LA nightspot "Ma Maison" - that, and the fact that he had a criminal record. He had a history of severe domestic violence, having severely beaten another of his prior girlfriends so badly that he ruptured one of her lungs. He had reportedly met Dominique at a party, and shortly thereafter, they began a relationship, wherein she, too, began to experience numerous bouts of domestic violence at his hands. On one occasion, his assault was so severe that she did not require makeup when she played a domestic abuse survivor on the popular '80s police procedural drama "Hill Street Blues" in 1981. The shocking, visible bruises, split lip and swelling on her face were real.
Ultimately, after she finally ended her relationship with him, he stalked her, and upon seeing her rehearsing a scene with another male actor for the upcoming TV series "V" at her home, Sweeney dragged her outside and strangled her in her driveway. She survived for a brief time but was declared brain dead, and was removed from life support five days later. After Sweeney was convicted of manslaughter rather than murder, due at least in part to the judge's refusal to allow the testimony of Sweeney's previous abuse victim whom he nearly killed, he was sentenced to only a few years in prison, and ended up serving less than half of that sentence. Dominique's father then worked tirelessly and became a vocal advocate for victim's rights after his daughter's untimely passing and the grave miscarriage of justice in essentially seeing her murderer go unpunished. Dominick Dunne passed away in New York in 2009.
Heather O'Rourke will forever be remembered for her portrayal as the lovely little blonde-haired girl in Poltergeist, and her iconic, eerie line, "they're heeeeeere...." She passed away on Feb. 1, 1988 in San Diego of cardiac arrest due to intestinal stenosis, an undiagnosed congenital birth defect, which resulted in a ruptured bowel and septic shock. She had begun to experience symptoms as early as January, 1987, more than a year before. She was eventually diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, a chronic inflammation of the intestine, and was put on steroids to try to decrease the inflammation. Many moviegoers noticed her "chipmunk" cheeks in the third installation of Poltergeist, which was a side effect of the medication, although she reportedly never complained while working on the set of the third film. She was reportedly doing well, until Jan. 31, 1988, which was Super Bowl Sunday, when she was unable to keep anything down. By the next morning, her hands and fingers had turned blue, and she later passed out at the breakfast table. She tragically suffered a cardiac arrest in the ambulance on the way to the hospital and died on the operating table that afternoon. In a tragic twist of fate, she and Dominique are buried in the same cemetery in Los Angeles.
In addition to the two beloved actresses who passed away at a young age, there were apparently additional unexpected deaths associated with the movies, including that of Will Sampson, who played the Native American shaman in the second movie. As it turns out, he was a REAL shaman and stated to both cast and crew his belief that the set was haunted, to the degree that he performed a cleansing ritual to repel any malevolent energies which might be lurking. This was in response to some unsettling mishaps which had occurred during filming; after his ritual cleansing, no additional untoward events occurred during filming.
There are few moviegoers who haven't seen the original "Poltergeist," which is all the more poignant after the death of two of its beloved stars. This is a great book, but it's somewhat difficult to find, as it was not reprinted after the first run, and trade paperbacks aren't known for their longevity. It's now forty years old, but it's well worth the read if you can find a copy.
November 18, 2021
I found this book to be scarier then the movie! It did tend to drag on in places, otherwise a great read!
September 9, 2021
4 out of 5
February 23, 2020
Rated 3.5 stars
I really enjoyed this book based off one of my favorite horror movies.
I really enjoyed this book based off one of my favorite horror movies.
May 6, 2020
No, even all the elements was in there I just couldn't take it. It was good to read which is true but I felt like something not exactly for me in here that I always looking for in horror book. So, yeah kind of disappointing read for me...
Freeling family moves in to Cuesta Verde Estates, father Steve and stay-at-home mother, Diane are living the typical American dream. They have a new house, live in a safe neighborhood, are financially successful, and have three healthy kids: 15-year-old Dana, seven-year-old Robbie, and five-year-old Carole Anne. It's all started when little Carole Anne starts speaking to the television after the late night news ends at midnight and static fills the screen. There's nothing in the tv screen after the news but she seemed occupied with the screen. Soon there's more problems occurred as Carole suddenly disappeared from the house wll of a sudden and Meanwhile a creepy clown doll sits at the end of Robbie’s bed and just grins...
A team of “ghost busters”, headed by Dr. Lesh is called in to investigate. With their EMF detectors and EVP recorders, they camp out at the house look into the problem. Like that they continues to find out what's in the behind of disappearing of little Carole. They had to go a long process to rescue her...
That's it but somehow it didn't match my expectations as what I hope. Anyway can say it's decent horror read...
Freeling family moves in to Cuesta Verde Estates, father Steve and stay-at-home mother, Diane are living the typical American dream. They have a new house, live in a safe neighborhood, are financially successful, and have three healthy kids: 15-year-old Dana, seven-year-old Robbie, and five-year-old Carole Anne. It's all started when little Carole Anne starts speaking to the television after the late night news ends at midnight and static fills the screen. There's nothing in the tv screen after the news but she seemed occupied with the screen. Soon there's more problems occurred as Carole suddenly disappeared from the house wll of a sudden and Meanwhile a creepy clown doll sits at the end of Robbie’s bed and just grins...
A team of “ghost busters”, headed by Dr. Lesh is called in to investigate. With their EMF detectors and EVP recorders, they camp out at the house look into the problem. Like that they continues to find out what's in the behind of disappearing of little Carole. They had to go a long process to rescue her...
That's it but somehow it didn't match my expectations as what I hope. Anyway can say it's decent horror read...
July 3, 2021
From a dimension beyond the living, a terror to scare you to death. From the imageless eye of the TV set, from the flickering snowy light, it calls to Carol Anne, six years old and innocent. From beyond the world of the living, reaches out in unholy anger, ripping her from the arms of her family, into the thrall of the POLTERGEIST.
I have a lot of time for James Kahn (his novelisations for “Return Of The Jedi” and “Temple Of Doom” have stuck with me since childhood) and the film itself (one of the first grown-up horror films I ever saw, on VHS with friends) and this works perfectly. His style is breezy and, like the film, sucks you into the real world early on - at one point, Steven (the dad) “grabs a beer and a feel” - with a great sense of the location and atmosphere. Working from a shooting script, the length obviously fell well short and, unfortunately, the book falls over slightly with Tangina’s adventures in the spiritworld (I found it difficult to get what we were supposed to be seeing), though the rest of it runs at a good pace. If you loved the film or love Kahn’s work, I’d very much recommend it.
I have a lot of time for James Kahn (his novelisations for “Return Of The Jedi” and “Temple Of Doom” have stuck with me since childhood) and the film itself (one of the first grown-up horror films I ever saw, on VHS with friends) and this works perfectly. His style is breezy and, like the film, sucks you into the real world early on - at one point, Steven (the dad) “grabs a beer and a feel” - with a great sense of the location and atmosphere. Working from a shooting script, the length obviously fell well short and, unfortunately, the book falls over slightly with Tangina’s adventures in the spiritworld (I found it difficult to get what we were supposed to be seeing), though the rest of it runs at a good pace. If you loved the film or love Kahn’s work, I’d very much recommend it.
November 28, 2017
"Poltergeist" was a fascinating movie- the unusual imagery, the twists on the haunted house storyline, and (of course) the rumored curse. But what stuck out to me the most were always the stories that the movie we saw wasn't the movie they had planned, and that Spielberg had pared away the weirdness and more explicit horror elements to create a family story first, a horror story second. This novel, as far as I can tell, depicts the film as it was written and planned before Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg both compromised to create an in-between genre. With a distinctly more adult tone and more genre element, this version blends domestic life with fantasy, horror and sci-fi. Tangina's cosmic journey into the other realm is strongly reminiscent of both Lovecraft and "Doctor Strange," and would have been nearly impossible to film.
October 2, 2020
3.5 stars
The movie is definitely superior but the book was still great on its own. I listened to the audiobook free on YouTube which definitely saved a lot of time, I’d be on it for days otherwise. Lots of scary moments just like the film. The one including the spiders being the scariest in my opinion. As a huge arachnophobic, I just got the chills. A few scenes with Tangina and the doctors I personally found myself tuning out a bit quite frequently and I’d have to keep rewinding, turning this what could’ve been 4 star rating to a 3.5. A solid literary interpretation of the classic movie, definitely recommend.
The movie is definitely superior but the book was still great on its own. I listened to the audiobook free on YouTube which definitely saved a lot of time, I’d be on it for days otherwise. Lots of scary moments just like the film. The one including the spiders being the scariest in my opinion. As a huge arachnophobic, I just got the chills. A few scenes with Tangina and the doctors I personally found myself tuning out a bit quite frequently and I’d have to keep rewinding, turning this what could’ve been 4 star rating to a 3.5. A solid literary interpretation of the classic movie, definitely recommend.
January 7, 2018
Poltergeist is and will always the best horror-based novel of all time. No wonder they made a movie and received so many awards. People may disagree for some reason but this book could be the only thing to bring if your plane crashes and you are stuck on an island by yourself. The reason is because of all of its freight and chills in the book that can be passed from the book to you only by reading it. It gave me chills up and down my spine the whole time. I recommend this book to anybody that is looking for some scare in there life. Especially the stories written by the James Khan.
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