Kingdom of Knuffel

Dominique Dunne (who played Dana, the older sister of the Freeling family) was the first of the cast to die in an untimely fashion. Dunne broke up with an abusive boyfriend, who later returned to her house to pressure her into getting back together with him. She refused, and an argument ensued. As the argument escalated, the ex-boyfriend choked her until she passed out and ultimately fell into a coma.

Even worse, the ex-boyfriend was released after serving only half of his prison sentence. Like Heather O'Rourke, Dunne's untimely death has made many people believers in the curse.

Heather O'Rourke, who played Carol Anne in the film franchise, is one of the people most commonly said to be a victim of the Poltergeist curse. She'd been diagnosed with Crohn's disease earlier in life, but that turned out to be a misdiagnosis. In fact, O'Rourke had a bowel obstruction that caused septic shock. Unfortunately, the symptoms were misattributed to the flu and not immediately treated, and she died at just 12 years old as the obstruction released toxins into her bloodstream.

O'Rourke's character was the one most frequently targeted by the film franchise's many spirits and demons. Though she wasn't the first person to die during Poltergeist's lifespan, the unexpected, shocking nature of her death made many believe that the curse was real.

Like Will Sampson, Julian Beck's death is not usually attributed to the Poltergeist curse. Beck had been battling stomach cancer all through the filming of Poltergeist II, in which he played the evil preacher Kane.

Still, Beck adds to the number of untimely deaths. If he were the only person to die after appearing in the franchise, it wouldn't seem to be connected. But because he, like many others who acted in Poltergeist, suffered from an illness or incurred other misfortune, he's often counted as evidence nonetheless.

Richard Lawson, who played Ryan in the original Poltergeist film, is believed to be another victim of the curse. Lawson is still alive and well, but in 1992, he boarded flight 405 to Cleveland. Many passengers on board reported feeling uneasy before the flight, including Lawson, who was bumped up to first class after a flight attendant recognized him.

The plane crashed into a bay after a failed takeoff, with its 51 passengers trapped in their seats. 27 of those people died, including someone in Lawson's original assigned row. If he hadn't been bumped up to first class, it might have been him in that seat instead.

Though Lou Perryman didn't play a lead role in Poltergeist, but is often considered to be a victim of the curse nonetheless. Perryman played Pugsley, a construction worker, in the first film, and was known for his roles in other horror films, too.

In 2009, Seth Christopher Tatum, who was on the run from police, entered Lou Perryman's home and attacked him with an axe. Tatum, who later turned himself in, said he'd attacked the man because he needed his car and some other items from his home.

Oliver Robins (who played the middle Freeling child, Robbie) was reportedly attacked on set by a mechanical clown. In a scene in which he was supposed to be struggling with the creepy clown, it malfunctioned and choked him. Because the scene was meant to show a struggle, many members of the cast allegedly thought his reaction was acting and it wasn't until he began to turn blue that they intervened.

Robins survived the attack and is alive and well today and doesn't believe in the Poltergeist curse. Regardless, he's involved with the production of a documentary about the many deaths connected with the franchise as a means to lay the tragedies from this time of his life to rest.

Though Will Sampson (who played Native American shaman Taylor in the second Poltergeist film) did die after the film's release, his death was probably unrelated to the curse. Sampson had a degenerative condition called scleroderma, which caused him to lose weight rapidly and become malnourished. His poor health caused a heart and lung transplant to be riskier than usual, and Sampson died after the surgery.

But whether his death was caused by the curse or not, Sampson played a crucial role in its popularization. He reportedly performed an exorcism on set to clear the bad energy many felt connected to their use of real human remains. After the exorcism, members of the cast claimed to feel better.

JoBeth Williams, who played the mother of the Freeling family, acted in the infamous scene with the reportedly real human skeletons. Though tragedy or accident didn't befall her in the same way that it did many of her costars, Williams did report odd incidents during the filming.

Specifically, Williams recalled an odd, nervous feeling on set that dissipated after Sampson performed the exorcism. Further, she said that she'd often return home from a day's shooting to find all of the pictures in her house tilted. After straightening them, she'd return the next day to find them all crooked again.

James Kahn wrote the novelization of Poltergeist, so he wasn't involved with the film's production. But that doesn't mean he was exempt from strange occurrences. In fact, Kahn reported that, right after writing the line, "Lightning streaked the sky," a freak lightning bolt struck his building.

While that might be just a very strange coincidence, the strike reportedly caused the facing of his air conditioner to shoot off and hit him in the back. If that wasn't enough, Kahn also said that his lights went out, and that video games in his house turned on and started playing.

The Poltergeist curse did not end with the original three films. Gil Kenan, who directed the 2015 franchise reboot, was actually looking for the curse. According to Kenan, he found it - the film was plagued by strange equipment failures on one plot of land, and the director also reported that the house he stayed in while filming was haunted by a female figure in a black dress.

The figure, he said, would follow him to and from set, though it thankfully did not return to Los Angeles with him when filming wrapped.

Dusty and Jamie Lynn, two fans of the Poltergeist franchise, purchased a doll used by Heather O'Rourke. Once they received the doll, they experienced a series of troubling events, including multiple family members experiencing traumatic accidents, financial woes, and marital trouble.

The family cleansed their home, during which time Dusty felt as though something was trying to stop him. He became dizzy and nearly fell and injured himself. Though the family kept the doll, they store it in a blessed glass case to prevent it from doing more harm.