1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,300 Speaker 1: Happy Monday, everyone out there in Hollywoodland. It's the good doctor, Dr. 2 00:00:06,340 --> 00:00:09,549 Speaker 1: Lundy Esquire. And welcome to The Working Week, which means 3 00:00:09,670 --> 00:00:12,570 Speaker 1: another peek into our archive of stories at the intersection 4 00:00:12,950 --> 00:00:16,270 Speaker 1: of Hollywood and true crime. Today, we've got our episode 5 00:00:16,470 --> 00:00:20,490 Speaker 1: on the poltergeist curse for you. Four different actors from 6 00:00:20,510 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: the 1980s horror franchise Poltergeist died within a six-year span. 7 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 1: Dominique Dunne was murdered. Julian Beck succumbed to stomach cancer. 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,940 Speaker 1: Will Sampson suffered from a degenerative disease. and Heather O'Rourke's 9 00:00:32,979 --> 00:00:36,740 Speaker 1: death at the age of 12 was deemed distinctly unusual. 10 00:00:37,020 --> 00:00:40,860 Speaker 1: Was it all an eerie coincidence or something more sinister? 11 00:00:40,940 --> 00:00:43,659 Speaker 1: I hope you guys dig this episode on the so-called 12 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,239 Speaker 1: poltergeist curse, and I hope you join me again on 13 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: Wednesday for the wrap party, where we hear from you, 14 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:51,660 Speaker 1: the people, and then again on Friday for a deep 15 00:00:51,700 --> 00:00:54,620 Speaker 1: dive into the 2017 film, A Ghost Story. 16 00:00:55,940 --> 00:00:59,100 Speaker 2: This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. 17 00:00:59,660 --> 00:01:03,770 Speaker 2: Please check the show notes for more information. Hollywoodland is 18 00:01:03,810 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 2: a production of Double Elvis. The stories surrounding the legend 19 00:01:16,500 --> 00:01:22,540 Speaker 2: of the so-called Poltergeist Curse are insane. Freakish events were 20 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,780 Speaker 2: reported on the sets of the original three horror films, 21 00:01:26,340 --> 00:01:31,490 Speaker 2: including a strangulation and an exorcism. The real-life haunting that 22 00:01:31,530 --> 00:01:36,050 Speaker 2: inspired the first movie was a paranormal event so bizarre 23 00:01:36,090 --> 00:01:41,450 Speaker 2: that it stumped detectives and parapsychologists alike. An actress from 24 00:01:41,470 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 2: the first Poltergeist was brutally murdered outside her own home 25 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:48,700 Speaker 2: while the film was still scaring up business in movie theaters. 26 00:01:49,660 --> 00:01:52,900 Speaker 2: Two more actors died unexpectedly around the release of the 27 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,980 Speaker 2: second film. Yet another found himself an unlucky passenger on 28 00:01:57,020 --> 00:02:00,250 Speaker 2: a flight that ended in a horrible crash that claimed 29 00:02:00,270 --> 00:02:03,870 Speaker 2: the lives of 27 people. Whether you believe in the 30 00:02:03,910 --> 00:02:06,690 Speaker 2: curse or not, you've got to admit that the Poltergeist 31 00:02:06,750 --> 00:02:10,790 Speaker 2: Trilogy are great films. Well, okay, the first one at least. 32 00:02:11,550 --> 00:02:13,470 Speaker 2: Unlike that clip I played for you at the top 33 00:02:13,510 --> 00:02:16,780 Speaker 2: of the show that wasn't from a great film. That 34 00:02:16,790 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 2: was a fair use sample from the Library of Congress 35 00:02:20,139 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 2: of the Imperial Marimba Band performing 12th Street Rag in 1921. 36 00:02:23,820 --> 00:02:28,740 Speaker 2: I played you that clip because I can't afford the 37 00:02:28,820 --> 00:02:32,350 Speaker 2: rights to a clip from Barry Levinson's Good Morning Vietnam. 38 00:02:33,230 --> 00:02:35,910 Speaker 2: And why would I play you that specific slice of 39 00:02:36,030 --> 00:02:39,910 Speaker 2: Viva Da Nang cheese? Could I afford it? Because that 40 00:02:40,389 --> 00:02:45,589 Speaker 2: was the number one movie in America on February 1st, 1988. 41 00:02:45,590 --> 00:02:49,230 Speaker 2: And that was the day that Poltergeist actress Heather O'Rourke 42 00:02:49,650 --> 00:02:53,500 Speaker 2: mysteriously died at the age of 12, sending rumors of 43 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:59,660 Speaker 2: a curse into overdrive. On this episode, a real-life haunting, 44 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:04,930 Speaker 2: a brutal murder, a horrible plane crash, and the poltergeist curse. 45 00:03:06,090 --> 00:03:37,820 Speaker 2: I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Hollywoodland. Richard Lawson thought 46 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 2: it was his lucky day. First, he had been able 47 00:03:40,780 --> 00:03:43,860 Speaker 2: to beat the incoming snowstorm by switching his flight from 48 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 2: Monday to Sunday, which meant that he'd be able to 49 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:49,220 Speaker 2: escape New York and make it to Cleveland, where he 50 00:03:49,260 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 2: could honor his commitment to the Cleveland Cavaliers. As a 51 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:57,620 Speaker 2: drug counselor for the NBA, Richard often extolled the virtues 52 00:03:57,700 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 2: of simply showing up. And if he needed a little 53 00:04:00,660 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 2: luck so that he could show up, well, he'd gladly 54 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:07,410 Speaker 2: take it. And then more luck. the ticket agent at 55 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,530 Speaker 2: LaGuardia recognized him. Not from his work with the NBA, which, 56 00:04:11,670 --> 00:04:16,070 Speaker 2: despite being real, honest work, was actually his side hustle. 57 00:04:16,910 --> 00:04:20,690 Speaker 2: Because Richard Lawson's day job was as an actor, with 58 00:04:20,730 --> 00:04:25,530 Speaker 2: appearances in recurring roles on everything from Remington Steel to Dynasty, 59 00:04:26,190 --> 00:04:29,210 Speaker 2: and most recently, as a regular cast member on the 60 00:04:29,270 --> 00:04:34,289 Speaker 2: daytime soap All My Children. The ticket agent noticed that 61 00:04:34,390 --> 00:04:38,170 Speaker 2: Richard was sitting in coach, seat 6A, and as a 62 00:04:38,210 --> 00:04:42,150 Speaker 2: diehard All My Children devotee, quickly upgraded the actor to 63 00:04:42,210 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 2: seat 1F in first class. But now, from the leathery 64 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:51,099 Speaker 2: comfort of his spacious first class seat, Richard had a sudden, 65 00:04:51,300 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 2: inexplicable feeling that his luck was about to change. The 66 00:04:56,300 --> 00:04:59,900 Speaker 2: snow was already coming down. Flights had been delayed all 67 00:04:59,940 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 2: day long. As crews worked to thaw out the side 68 00:05:03,460 --> 00:05:06,480 Speaker 2: of the plane, Richard thought he could actually feel the 69 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 2: warm chemical blast of de-icing fluid. And then, he felt 70 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:17,230 Speaker 2: something else. A chill. His stomach went upside down. The 71 00:05:17,290 --> 00:05:23,469 Speaker 2: plane wasn't even moving, but something was off. Something was wrong. 72 00:05:24,450 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 2: Richard felt it deep in his gut. He had to 73 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:31,270 Speaker 2: get off the plane. Now. Now. Hold up. He took 74 00:05:31,310 --> 00:05:34,809 Speaker 2: a deep breath. Calm down. The basketball team was waiting 75 00:05:34,850 --> 00:05:37,830 Speaker 2: in Cleveland. He had to show up. He needed to 76 00:05:37,860 --> 00:05:40,679 Speaker 2: chill the fuck out. Everything was going to be fine. 77 00:05:41,420 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 2: Richard convinced himself that there was nothing to worry about. 78 00:05:45,260 --> 00:05:48,300 Speaker 2: The plane took its place behind several others on the runway. 79 00:05:48,980 --> 00:05:53,330 Speaker 2: Minutes passed. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. The snow began to 80 00:05:53,390 --> 00:05:57,830 Speaker 2: come down harder. Thirty minutes. The plane slowly ambled down 81 00:05:57,870 --> 00:06:01,240 Speaker 2: the tarmac. and the wind blew stinging wet against the 82 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:06,659 Speaker 2: cabin windows. As the plane was cleared for takeoff, Richard 83 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,510 Speaker 2: started to worry again. All that de-icing had happened 30 84 00:06:10,510 --> 00:06:13,789 Speaker 2: minutes ago. What if the plane was covered in ice again? 85 00:06:14,610 --> 00:06:18,310 Speaker 2: Richard's anxiety began to increase in direct proportion to the 86 00:06:18,390 --> 00:06:22,580 Speaker 2: plane's increase in speed as it taxied down the runway. 87 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 2: And then, they were airborne. The plane was barely 50 88 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:31,900 Speaker 2: feet in the air when it began to roll to 89 00:06:31,940 --> 00:06:35,430 Speaker 2: the right. It rolled some more, hard, and then the 90 00:06:35,490 --> 00:06:38,850 Speaker 2: nose pointed down, like it was a magnet being pulled 91 00:06:38,890 --> 00:06:42,890 Speaker 2: down to a steel tarmac. Passengers screamed, and the plane 92 00:06:42,950 --> 00:06:46,410 Speaker 2: was nearly sideways when it hit the ground. The crunch 93 00:06:46,490 --> 00:06:49,790 Speaker 2: was deafening. They caught air again briefly, and then once 94 00:06:49,850 --> 00:06:53,710 Speaker 2: more came down, hard, and the nauseating screech of metal 95 00:06:53,770 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 2: on asphalt rang out. Flames licked the windows from outside, 96 00:06:57,900 --> 00:06:59,980 Speaker 2: It was impossible for anyone to tell where the plane 97 00:07:00,020 --> 00:07:01,990 Speaker 2: was at or what direction it was headed in. It 98 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:06,690 Speaker 2: was rolling over on itself, tumbling towards oblivion, literally splitting 99 00:07:06,750 --> 00:07:13,290 Speaker 2: apart at the seams. And suddenly, everything went black. The 100 00:07:13,350 --> 00:07:16,690 Speaker 2: noises stopped, and the passengers could barely see a thing, 101 00:07:16,730 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 2: but they knew they were upside down, held in place 102 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,580 Speaker 2: only by their safety belts. And the sound of bubbles 103 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,420 Speaker 2: began to percolate from all sides. Goddamn thing was underwater. 104 00:07:27,930 --> 00:07:30,770 Speaker 2: The plane had landed in Flushing Bay, and it was 105 00:07:30,930 --> 00:07:35,110 Speaker 2: slowly sinking to the bottom. But Richard Lawson knew he 106 00:07:35,130 --> 00:07:38,510 Speaker 2: was going to die. He was trapped. His body was 107 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 2: pinned between two unseen objects. He began to panic for real. 108 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 2: This was luck, all right. Bad luck. Maybe he shouldn't 109 00:07:46,700 --> 00:07:49,380 Speaker 2: have taken that upgrade to first class. Maybe he shouldn't 110 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:52,300 Speaker 2: have switched flights. Maybe one of his minor decisions that 111 00:07:52,340 --> 00:07:56,180 Speaker 2: day had jinxed it. Maybe his bad luck was bigger 112 00:07:56,220 --> 00:08:00,300 Speaker 2: than his choices that day. As the plane cabin began 113 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:04,650 Speaker 2: to fill with ice-cold salt water, Richard's mind flashed back 114 00:08:04,750 --> 00:08:07,750 Speaker 2: to that one movie he had made ten years earlier 115 00:08:08,330 --> 00:08:13,370 Speaker 2: in 1982. The legacy of Poltergeist and its sequels was infamous. 116 00:08:14,380 --> 00:08:17,900 Speaker 2: Four actors dead in their wake. Some said the productions 117 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:20,520 Speaker 2: were ill-fated and that the actors were the ones paying 118 00:08:20,540 --> 00:08:25,120 Speaker 2: the ultimate price, one by one. Richard Lawson struggled to 119 00:08:25,180 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 2: free himself from the overturned airport. as it was swallowed 120 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:32,160 Speaker 2: by Flushing Bay. He knew it was futile. His fate 121 00:08:32,220 --> 00:08:35,679 Speaker 2: was clear. He was about to become the latest tragedy 122 00:08:36,220 --> 00:08:45,550 Speaker 2: in the poltergeist's curse. The skeletons weren't supposed to be real. 123 00:08:46,230 --> 00:08:50,449 Speaker 2: Or that's what actress Jo Beth Williams assumed. Real skeletons 124 00:08:50,470 --> 00:08:54,670 Speaker 2: would be too creepy, too gross. But fake skeletons cost 125 00:08:54,710 --> 00:08:58,580 Speaker 2: too much and took too much time to manufacture. Real 126 00:08:58,620 --> 00:09:02,240 Speaker 2: skeletons were cheap and easy to come by. So it 127 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,420 Speaker 2: was real skeletons that bobbed up in the muddy water 128 00:09:05,460 --> 00:09:08,730 Speaker 2: and brushed elbows with Jo Beth Williams in the iconic 129 00:09:08,790 --> 00:09:12,790 Speaker 2: pool scene from the original Poltergeist, Toby Hooper's 1982 horror classic. 130 00:09:15,530 --> 00:09:19,030 Speaker 2: Jo Beth's authentic reaction to her close encounter with actual 131 00:09:19,110 --> 00:09:23,270 Speaker 2: human bones helped make Poltergeist not only the highest-grossing horror 132 00:09:23,309 --> 00:09:27,990 Speaker 2: movie of 1982, but the eighth-highest-grossing movie of the entire year. 133 00:09:28,830 --> 00:09:31,710 Speaker 2: And it wasn't the only authentic reaction in the movie. 134 00:09:32,770 --> 00:09:37,220 Speaker 2: Eleven-year-old Oliver Robbins, who played Jo Beth's son, was reportedly 135 00:09:37,300 --> 00:09:40,900 Speaker 2: nearly choked to death by his character's toy clown. as 136 00:09:40,980 --> 00:09:44,300 Speaker 2: the possessed toy wrapped a long arm around his neck 137 00:09:44,380 --> 00:09:48,150 Speaker 2: and tried to strangle him. According to Oliver, while they 138 00:09:48,170 --> 00:09:51,910 Speaker 2: were shooting the scene, the animatronic clown malfunctioned and the 139 00:09:52,010 --> 00:09:56,650 Speaker 2: arm actually constricted his airway. He struggled, his eyes bugged out, 140 00:09:56,910 --> 00:09:59,650 Speaker 2: he gasped for air, and the crew of adults thought 141 00:09:59,690 --> 00:10:03,020 Speaker 2: that Oliver was simply delivering a knockdown drag out performance. 142 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:06,750 Speaker 2: It wasn't until his face began to turn blue that 143 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:13,210 Speaker 2: they realized something was terribly wrong. None of these terrifying 144 00:10:13,429 --> 00:10:17,790 Speaker 2: on-set mishaps fazed child actress Heather O'Rourke. who was all 145 00:10:17,809 --> 00:10:20,710 Speaker 2: of five years old when she was first cast as 146 00:10:20,830 --> 00:10:24,620 Speaker 2: Carol Ann, the youngest member of the Freeling family and 147 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:28,620 Speaker 2: the character who makes contact with and later is abducted 148 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:33,620 Speaker 2: by the malevolent spirits haunting her family's house. Heather was 149 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:36,339 Speaker 2: told there was nothing to fear. In fact, she had 150 00:10:36,380 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 2: been taught how to pretend she was afraid. She hadn't 151 00:10:39,620 --> 00:10:42,479 Speaker 2: acted before, but she knew the business of making movies, 152 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:47,650 Speaker 2: the make-believe business. Her older sister made movies. In fact, 153 00:10:47,700 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 2: Heather was lunching in the MGM commissary with her mother 154 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:52,820 Speaker 2: one day, waiting for her sister to wrap a scene, 155 00:10:53,260 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 2: when Steven Spielberg spotted her. Spielberg was Poltergeist's writer and producer, 156 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:02,140 Speaker 2: and Heather fit his vision for Carol Ann Freeling to 157 00:11:02,179 --> 00:11:05,820 Speaker 2: a T. Spielberg was in the middle of making his 158 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:11,819 Speaker 2: latest masterpiece, E.T. The Extraterrestrial, and was therefore contractually prohibited 159 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,920 Speaker 2: from directing another movie at the same time, which is 160 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:19,890 Speaker 2: why MGM hired Toby Hooper Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame to 161 00:11:19,929 --> 00:11:24,850 Speaker 2: direct Spielberg's Poltergeist script. But Spielberg couldn't divorce himself from 162 00:11:24,870 --> 00:11:28,150 Speaker 2: the production. He was on set just as much as Hooper. 163 00:11:28,890 --> 00:11:31,390 Speaker 2: And according to which cast or crew members you ask, 164 00:11:31,750 --> 00:11:34,600 Speaker 2: he was the one who was actually really calling the shots. 165 00:11:35,820 --> 00:11:38,960 Speaker 2: What Spielberg and Hooper did and didn't do, where one 166 00:11:38,980 --> 00:11:41,580 Speaker 2: of them ended and the other began, well, that was 167 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:44,079 Speaker 2: just a little bit of Hollywood magic. It was all 168 00:11:44,140 --> 00:11:47,090 Speaker 2: part of the larger sleight of hand as Heather O'Rourke 169 00:11:47,110 --> 00:11:50,450 Speaker 2: would learn. It was how movies got made. It was 170 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:56,240 Speaker 2: all make-believe. Just like the scary bits were make-believe. But 171 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:00,300 Speaker 2: that wasn't entirely true. That was just something that adults 172 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:04,550 Speaker 2: said to make children less frightened. The truth was, there 173 00:12:04,630 --> 00:12:08,810 Speaker 2: were things out there. Unexplainable things. Things that made the 174 00:12:08,870 --> 00:12:10,970 Speaker 2: hair stand up on the back of your neck and 175 00:12:10,990 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 2: the skin on your arms tink. Who or what those 176 00:12:14,580 --> 00:12:18,650 Speaker 2: things were, it was sometimes impossible to know. But one 177 00:12:18,690 --> 00:12:24,809 Speaker 2: thing was for sure. They're here. They had always been here. 178 00:12:48,660 --> 00:12:51,780 Speaker 2: James Herman stood in the doorway to the bathroom speaking 179 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:54,800 Speaker 2: to his son who was brushing his teeth. It was 180 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:59,329 Speaker 2: a perfectly normal moment, downright prosaic actually, one that happened 181 00:12:59,350 --> 00:13:02,290 Speaker 2: nearly every day. But it was about to be disrupted 182 00:13:02,390 --> 00:13:06,350 Speaker 2: by a very abnormal occurrence, the kind that was beginning 183 00:13:06,390 --> 00:13:10,790 Speaker 2: to happen with alarming frequency at the family's three-bedroom single-story house. 184 00:13:12,309 --> 00:13:17,510 Speaker 2: It was around 11 in the morning, Sunday, February 9th, 1958. 185 00:13:18,130 --> 00:13:20,689 Speaker 2: Strange things had been happening in the Herman's home at 186 00:13:20,690 --> 00:13:25,860 Speaker 2: 1648 Redwood Path in Seaford, Long Island, for nearly a week. 187 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,260 Speaker 2: Bottles all throughout the house were popping open on their 188 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:33,300 Speaker 2: own and falling to the floor. Shampoo, medicine, liquid starch 189 00:13:33,340 --> 00:13:36,160 Speaker 2: in the kitchen, bleach in the basement, a bottle of 190 00:13:36,220 --> 00:13:39,140 Speaker 2: holy water in the master bedroom. And none of the 191 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:42,590 Speaker 2: bottles were sealed with corks or pop-tops. They all had 192 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:48,930 Speaker 2: screw caps, which required several rotations to remove. James and Lucille, 193 00:13:49,350 --> 00:13:53,370 Speaker 2: along with their children, 12-year-old James Jr. and a 13-year-old 194 00:13:53,429 --> 00:13:58,170 Speaker 2: daughter also named Lucille, listened in varying degrees of confusion 195 00:13:58,230 --> 00:14:01,410 Speaker 2: and fear as the bottles popped and fell from nearby 196 00:14:01,490 --> 00:14:05,700 Speaker 2: rooms all week long. But they hadn't witnessed it firsthand 197 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:11,280 Speaker 2: until now. As James Jr. worked the toothbrush back and 198 00:14:11,340 --> 00:14:14,580 Speaker 2: forth on his molars, James Sr. stood in the doorway 199 00:14:14,620 --> 00:14:17,770 Speaker 2: of the bathroom and watched in horror as a glass 200 00:14:17,870 --> 00:14:21,630 Speaker 2: medicine bottle moved shakily across the top of the sink, 201 00:14:21,630 --> 00:14:25,870 Speaker 2: 18 inches, give or take, entirely on its own. And 202 00:14:25,930 --> 00:14:30,810 Speaker 2: then it crashed and shattered into the sink basin. James Jr. jumped, 203 00:14:30,930 --> 00:14:34,550 Speaker 2: his toothbrush hit the floor. James Herman couldn't explain it. 204 00:14:35,250 --> 00:14:38,670 Speaker 2: The sink top was level. The medicine bottle shattered with 205 00:14:38,750 --> 00:14:41,410 Speaker 2: such force that it must have been shoved. But by whom? 206 00:14:41,980 --> 00:14:42,410 Speaker 3: Or what? 207 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:47,070 Speaker 2: When Nassau County Detective Joseph Tauzzi arrived at the Herman's 208 00:14:47,110 --> 00:14:49,870 Speaker 2: house to investigate. He made it clear that he didn't 209 00:14:49,910 --> 00:14:55,670 Speaker 2: believe in the supernatural. Ghosts, spirit specters, all horseshit. Surely 210 00:14:55,710 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 2: there was a reasonable logical explanation for what was going on. 211 00:14:59,180 --> 00:15:03,980 Speaker 2: Perhaps a high-frequency radio transmission, a downdraft in the home's chimney. 212 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:09,860 Speaker 2: But unexplainable things continued to happen. The bottle of holy 213 00:15:09,900 --> 00:15:13,430 Speaker 2: water once again fell from the master bedroom bureau. When 214 00:15:13,500 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 2: James ran to retrieve it, seconds after hearing it fall, 215 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:20,380 Speaker 2: he found it hot to the touch. Later that same day, 216 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,660 Speaker 2: James Jr. and Lucille were watching TV when a porcelain 217 00:15:23,780 --> 00:15:27,200 Speaker 2: figure rose from a table, moved three feet through the air, 218 00:15:27,260 --> 00:15:33,500 Speaker 2: and fell to the floor. Detective Tozzi himself bore witness 219 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:39,070 Speaker 2: to some truly weird shit. It challenged his logical just-the-facts mind. 220 00:15:39,870 --> 00:15:41,950 Speaker 2: He went home each night and thought about all the 221 00:15:41,990 --> 00:15:43,860 Speaker 2: ways he could try to explain what he had seen. 222 00:15:44,460 --> 00:15:47,460 Speaker 2: And the Hermans, on the other hand, had seen too much. 223 00:15:48,020 --> 00:15:50,900 Speaker 2: And they were freaked the fuck out. So they got 224 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:55,540 Speaker 2: the fuck out. On February 21st, a little over two 225 00:15:55,580 --> 00:15:59,130 Speaker 2: weeks since they had begun to experience the inexplicable, they 226 00:15:59,190 --> 00:16:01,630 Speaker 2: packed their bags and went to stay with a relative. 227 00:16:02,390 --> 00:16:06,190 Speaker 2: And they were gone for two days. No supernatural activity 228 00:16:06,250 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 2: was detected at their home while they were away. and 229 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:11,300 Speaker 2: neither did anything out of the ordinary happen at the 230 00:16:11,340 --> 00:16:15,610 Speaker 2: relative's house where they were staying. When they returned to 231 00:16:15,610 --> 00:16:20,150 Speaker 2: 1648 Redwood Path on the evening of February 23rd, they 232 00:16:20,190 --> 00:16:24,870 Speaker 2: were greeted by a flying sugar bowl. An 18-inch statue 233 00:16:24,890 --> 00:16:27,610 Speaker 2: of the Virgin Mary rose from a bureau and soared 234 00:16:27,610 --> 00:16:30,770 Speaker 2: 12 feet through the air. A large bureau tipped over 235 00:16:30,810 --> 00:16:33,930 Speaker 2: in James Jr. 's room. A record player weighing 10 236 00:16:33,930 --> 00:16:38,070 Speaker 2: pounds rose from a table and traveled 15 feet across 237 00:16:38,130 --> 00:16:44,680 Speaker 2: the room. The Herman's predicament became a local, even national, sensation. 238 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,260 Speaker 2: People all over the country wrote letters, made phone calls, 239 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:52,120 Speaker 2: even showed up at the Herman's home to play armchair Ghostbuster. 240 00:16:53,020 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 2: A priest performed a blessing. Another so-called holy man conducted 241 00:16:56,940 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 2: a ritual to cleanse the house. Some people blamed aliens, 242 00:17:00,860 --> 00:17:05,639 Speaker 2: others said it was communists. A March 1958 profile of 243 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:10,210 Speaker 2: the Hermans in Life magazine raised another possible suspect, James Jr. 244 00:17:11,420 --> 00:17:14,520 Speaker 2: The article reported that, quote, In the annals of Poltergeist, 245 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:17,540 Speaker 2: it has been consistently noted that the mysterious motion of 246 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:23,060 Speaker 2: objects has taken place in households containing adolescent children. It 247 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:26,740 Speaker 2: further reported that James Jr. was often nearby when bottles 248 00:17:26,820 --> 00:17:31,780 Speaker 2: popped and porcelain figures hovered midair. Dr. Jay Pratt, a 249 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 2: psychologist from Duke University's parapsychology laboratory, made the trip to 250 00:17:36,780 --> 00:17:40,210 Speaker 2: New York from North Carolina to investigate whether or not 251 00:17:40,270 --> 00:17:46,330 Speaker 2: James Jr. 's mind was indeed influencing matter. Like Detective Tozzi, Dr. 252 00:17:46,369 --> 00:17:49,410 Speaker 2: Pratt didn't believe in ghosts, but he did believe that 253 00:17:49,470 --> 00:17:53,070 Speaker 2: some people were able to, let's say, animate otherwise inanimate 254 00:17:53,150 --> 00:17:56,639 Speaker 2: objects with their own minds without even knowing it. It 255 00:17:56,740 --> 00:17:59,800 Speaker 2: is within the realm of possibility, Dr. Pratt once said, 256 00:18:00,140 --> 00:18:03,420 Speaker 2: that if 8 million New Yorkers at one time concentrated 257 00:18:03,500 --> 00:18:08,070 Speaker 2: on moving the Empire State Building, it might move a bit. Dr. 258 00:18:08,109 --> 00:18:11,530 Speaker 2: Pratt was in Seaford for three days, and nothing moved 259 00:18:11,609 --> 00:18:13,930 Speaker 2: on its own, not the Empire State Building, not even 260 00:18:13,990 --> 00:18:18,400 Speaker 2: a decorative porcelain figurine. But as soon as he left 261 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,180 Speaker 2: to return to North Carolina, it all started up again. 262 00:18:23,940 --> 00:18:27,300 Speaker 2: Unlike the movies, there was no tidy ending to explain 263 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:30,670 Speaker 2: the paranormal activity occurring in the Hermann's Long Island home. 264 00:18:31,369 --> 00:18:34,369 Speaker 2: There was no discovery of an ancient burial ground beneath 265 00:18:34,430 --> 00:18:39,850 Speaker 2: the house's foundation, No 4'3 spiritual medium named Tangina who 266 00:18:39,890 --> 00:18:43,650 Speaker 2: was able to detect an unsettling dark presence called the Beast. 267 00:18:44,230 --> 00:18:48,070 Speaker 2: No portal to another sphere of consciousness that douses those 268 00:18:48,109 --> 00:18:52,449 Speaker 2: who pass through it with a sloppy layer of ectoplasm. Those, 269 00:18:52,510 --> 00:18:56,290 Speaker 2: of course, were Hollywood embellishments to the true story of 270 00:18:56,330 --> 00:19:01,649 Speaker 2: the Hermanns' 1958 haunting. And that true story was used 271 00:19:01,970 --> 00:19:06,179 Speaker 2: nearly 25 years later as the basis for the poltergeist 272 00:19:06,220 --> 00:19:10,520 Speaker 2: screenplay written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Graess, and Mark Victor. 273 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:15,550 Speaker 2: In the movie, Carol Ann Freeling, played by five-year-old newcomer 274 00:19:15,609 --> 00:19:19,410 Speaker 2: Heather O'Rourke, the one Spielberg met in the MGM commissary, 275 00:19:19,970 --> 00:19:24,680 Speaker 2: is the manifestation of Life magazine's psychokinetic child. She doesn't 276 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,859 Speaker 2: move objects with her mind, but she is clairvoyant and 277 00:19:27,900 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 2: communicates with ghosts directly through the family's TV set. Heather 278 00:19:32,340 --> 00:19:34,500 Speaker 2: talked to the TV set the way she talked to 279 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:38,620 Speaker 2: her stuffed animals and dolls. It was make-believe. She knew 280 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:43,010 Speaker 2: not to be scared for real. Her performance, however, in 281 00:19:43,030 --> 00:19:46,450 Speaker 2: the movie as a whole, scared the pants off audiences 282 00:19:46,510 --> 00:19:50,109 Speaker 2: in the summer of 1982. It also scared others. up 283 00:19:50,190 --> 00:19:54,470 Speaker 2: some serious box office bucks. Throughout the summer of 82 284 00:19:54,470 --> 00:19:58,480 Speaker 2: and well into the fall, for 24 weeks, Poltergeist raked 285 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:03,240 Speaker 2: in more than $ 75 million in domestic gross. That said, 286 00:20:03,750 --> 00:20:06,030 Speaker 2: The number was peanuts compared to the money that the 287 00:20:06,250 --> 00:20:10,690 Speaker 2: other out-of-this-world Steven Spielberg blockbuster made when E.T. was released 288 00:20:10,750 --> 00:20:15,189 Speaker 2: the very next week. One cast member in particular was 289 00:20:15,270 --> 00:20:18,990 Speaker 2: never able to see Poltergeist reach its full box office potential. 290 00:20:19,890 --> 00:20:23,210 Speaker 2: When she was cast as the eldest Freelink sibling, Dominique 291 00:20:23,260 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 2: Dunn was a 22-year-old actress with a handful of TV 292 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:31,119 Speaker 2: roles under her belt. Poltergeist was Dominique's first movie role 293 00:20:31,180 --> 00:20:34,520 Speaker 2: in her big Hollywood break. Her potential as one of 294 00:20:34,540 --> 00:20:39,010 Speaker 2: the decade's defining scream queens was palpable. Audiences loved her. 295 00:20:40,109 --> 00:20:43,230 Speaker 2: One person in particular professed to love her more than 296 00:20:43,450 --> 00:20:47,750 Speaker 2: anyone else. But Dominique knew that John Thomas Sweeney was 297 00:20:47,869 --> 00:20:51,649 Speaker 2: confusing love with obsession, which was why she broke their 298 00:20:51,690 --> 00:20:56,109 Speaker 2: relationship off. Sweeney was more than just jealous and possessive. 299 00:20:56,570 --> 00:21:01,290 Speaker 2: He was volatile, unhinged even. In August, when Poltergeist was 300 00:21:01,350 --> 00:21:04,830 Speaker 2: putting fear in the hearts of moviegoers, Dominique was busy 301 00:21:04,890 --> 00:21:08,350 Speaker 2: dealing with the horror film that was her life. During 302 00:21:08,390 --> 00:21:12,129 Speaker 2: an argument, Sweeney grabbed Dominique by the hair and pulled 303 00:21:12,270 --> 00:21:14,869 Speaker 2: so hard that he ripped out a chunk by the roots. 304 00:21:15,770 --> 00:21:19,189 Speaker 2: Dominique wrote Sweeney a letter but never sent it. We 305 00:21:19,260 --> 00:21:22,119 Speaker 2: are not compatible, it read. When we are good, we 306 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:25,199 Speaker 2: are great, but when we are bad, we are horrendous. 307 00:21:25,780 --> 00:21:28,880 Speaker 2: The bad outweighs the good. The whole thing has made 308 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:33,869 Speaker 2: me realize how scared I am of you. A month later, 309 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,990 Speaker 2: against their better judgment, Dominique was living with Sweeney again. 310 00:21:38,010 --> 00:21:43,670 Speaker 2: Around 3 a.m. one night, they fought again. Sweeney wrapped 311 00:21:43,710 --> 00:21:46,830 Speaker 2: his hands around Dominique's neck and the two fell to 312 00:21:46,869 --> 00:21:50,250 Speaker 2: the floor. He was on top of her. He squeezed tight. 313 00:21:50,810 --> 00:21:54,570 Speaker 2: Dominique struggled. She managed to escape. She scrambled out of 314 00:21:54,609 --> 00:21:57,619 Speaker 2: the house through the bathroom window. Sweeney heard her car 315 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:00,420 Speaker 2: start up and ran outside. Suddenly, he was in front 316 00:22:00,460 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 2: of the car, but Dominique smashed her foot into the 317 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,220 Speaker 2: gas pedal. Sweeney jumped out of the way to avoid 318 00:22:05,260 --> 00:22:08,500 Speaker 2: getting hit, and the car sped off into the LA darkness. 319 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,580 Speaker 2: Dominique Dunn escaped with her life, at least that time. 320 00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:17,659 Speaker 2: But there was no escaping the fear she lived with constantly. 321 00:22:18,290 --> 00:22:20,890 Speaker 2: She hid out at a friend's house. She only showed 322 00:22:20,930 --> 00:22:22,649 Speaker 2: her face in town when she was 100% sure that 323 00:22:22,670 --> 00:22:27,590 Speaker 2: Sweeney was at work. It wasn't ghosts or an unsettled 324 00:22:27,710 --> 00:22:30,770 Speaker 2: dark presence that would come for Dominique Dunn, but it 325 00:22:30,810 --> 00:22:38,340 Speaker 2: was a beast, and not a make-believe beast either. We'll 326 00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 2: be right back after this word, word, word. Dominique Dunn 327 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,100 Speaker 2: decided that she had left John Thomas Sweeney for the 328 00:22:47,180 --> 00:22:50,800 Speaker 2: last time. She didn't care that he was the right-hand 329 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,899 Speaker 2: man to famed chef Wolfgang Puck in the kitchen of 330 00:22:53,940 --> 00:22:58,070 Speaker 2: the Chichi Malmaison restaurant on Melrose Avenue, or that he 331 00:22:58,109 --> 00:23:00,990 Speaker 2: continued to profess his undying love and remorse with a 332 00:23:01,030 --> 00:23:05,670 Speaker 2: fistful of flowers. In actuality, he did more evil with 333 00:23:05,710 --> 00:23:10,649 Speaker 2: those fists than prepping food and carrying flowers. Dominique cared 334 00:23:10,690 --> 00:23:13,459 Speaker 2: about her own safety. She cared about the fact that 335 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:15,800 Speaker 2: when she filmed a cameo as a victim of abuse 336 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:19,090 Speaker 2: on the gritty TV cop drama Hill Street Blues, She 337 00:23:19,130 --> 00:23:22,210 Speaker 2: didn't need any makeup to look battered. The black and 338 00:23:22,250 --> 00:23:24,409 Speaker 2: blue bruises on her neck that she wore to set 339 00:23:24,810 --> 00:23:28,070 Speaker 2: were real. Every time she looked in the mirror, it 340 00:23:28,109 --> 00:23:30,530 Speaker 2: was a reminder of that cycle of violence that she 341 00:23:30,570 --> 00:23:38,500 Speaker 2: continued to fall into. And she wanted out. October 30th, 1982, 342 00:23:38,500 --> 00:23:43,600 Speaker 2: 8.30 p.m. Poltergeist was still showing well at movie theaters 343 00:23:43,660 --> 00:23:46,340 Speaker 2: across the country. even if it had slipped from the 344 00:23:46,380 --> 00:23:49,090 Speaker 2: upper echelon of the box office while movies like First 345 00:23:49,140 --> 00:23:52,629 Speaker 2: Blood and An Officer and a Gentleman dominated. Not to 346 00:23:52,690 --> 00:23:55,929 Speaker 2: mention Spielberg's E.T., which was well on its way to 347 00:23:55,990 --> 00:24:00,550 Speaker 2: becoming the year's runaway smash. Didn't matter much to Dominique Dunn. 348 00:24:01,090 --> 00:24:03,990 Speaker 2: She was already moving on, prepping for the next thing, 349 00:24:04,170 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 2: the next big success. Dominique was at her one-bedroom home 350 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 2: on Rangeley Avenue in West Hollywood, the same one she 351 00:24:12,340 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 2: had once shared with John Thomas Sweeney, She was running 352 00:24:15,820 --> 00:24:18,790 Speaker 2: lines with fellow actor David Packer for the pilot of 353 00:24:18,830 --> 00:24:24,050 Speaker 2: a new TV miniseries called V. Dominique and David paused 354 00:24:24,090 --> 00:24:26,470 Speaker 2: when they heard a car pull up outside the house. 355 00:24:27,250 --> 00:24:32,430 Speaker 2: A car door opened and slammed shut. A voice, a knock. Fuck. 356 00:24:32,890 --> 00:24:38,490 Speaker 2: She knew it was Sweeney. Again. Always fucking Sweeney. Dominique 357 00:24:38,530 --> 00:24:40,909 Speaker 2: opened the front door but left the door chain attached. 358 00:24:41,450 --> 00:24:44,090 Speaker 2: She looked through the two-inch gap and saw Sweeney staring 359 00:24:44,170 --> 00:24:46,800 Speaker 2: back at her. He said he wanted to talk. He 360 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,139 Speaker 2: was worked up, out of breath. She wasn't about to 361 00:24:50,180 --> 00:24:52,270 Speaker 2: let him inside, but she knew she had to get 362 00:24:52,330 --> 00:24:54,570 Speaker 2: rid of him. She hoped she could reason with him. 363 00:24:54,950 --> 00:24:58,689 Speaker 2: She told David to wait inside. She undid the door chain, 364 00:24:58,750 --> 00:25:01,790 Speaker 2: walked out onto the porch, and closed the door behind her. 365 00:25:02,930 --> 00:25:05,270 Speaker 2: David looked over the script in his hand to begin 366 00:25:05,310 --> 00:25:08,030 Speaker 2: to run lines on his own. He could hear Dominique 367 00:25:08,130 --> 00:25:13,020 Speaker 2: and Sweeney talking outside. Their voices slowly began to escalate. 368 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:17,679 Speaker 2: Sweeney's voice erupted. It dominated the argument with aggressive force. 369 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:22,070 Speaker 2: David could no longer concentrate on memorizing lines. He couldn't 370 00:25:22,109 --> 00:25:24,250 Speaker 2: make out what they were saying, but he knew it 371 00:25:24,290 --> 00:25:28,230 Speaker 2: wasn't good. A loud smacking sound made David jump and 372 00:25:28,290 --> 00:25:31,530 Speaker 2: send chills down his spine. And another one. And the 373 00:25:31,570 --> 00:25:34,190 Speaker 2: front of the house shook with each thud. David couldn't 374 00:25:34,230 --> 00:25:36,500 Speaker 2: see what was happening, but he knew someone or something 375 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:40,120 Speaker 2: was hitting the house. It was rattling the windows. Then, 376 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:44,399 Speaker 2: a scream. Another scream. This one more blood-curdling than the last. 377 00:25:44,980 --> 00:25:48,850 Speaker 2: It horrified David. The screams were followed by more thuds. 378 00:25:49,530 --> 00:25:52,450 Speaker 2: David panicked. He picked up the phone and called the police. 379 00:25:53,090 --> 00:25:56,970 Speaker 2: LAPD responded and told him that Rangeley Avenue, West Hollywood, 380 00:25:57,190 --> 00:25:59,890 Speaker 2: that was out of their jurisdiction. Nothing they could do. 381 00:26:00,730 --> 00:26:04,140 Speaker 2: Out of their jurisdiction? David couldn't believe it. He didn't 382 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,660 Speaker 2: have the number for the sheriff's department offhand. LAPD wasn't 383 00:26:07,700 --> 00:26:11,179 Speaker 2: in a call-forwarding kind of mood, and David was terrified 384 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,719 Speaker 2: to open the front door. He decided to slip out 385 00:26:13,770 --> 00:26:15,880 Speaker 2: the back door. And as he came up the side 386 00:26:15,900 --> 00:26:19,140 Speaker 2: of the house and approached the driveway, he saw Sweeney 387 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:23,000 Speaker 2: trying to blend in with the bushes, but failing, crouching, 388 00:26:23,330 --> 00:26:26,629 Speaker 2: hiding like the cowardly piece of shit animal that he was. 389 00:26:28,470 --> 00:26:33,330 Speaker 2: And then, David saw Dominique lying lifeless in the driveway. 390 00:26:36,070 --> 00:26:39,560 Speaker 2: On November 4th, Dominique Dunn was taken off life support 391 00:26:39,619 --> 00:26:46,159 Speaker 2: at Cedars-Sinai. Her funeral was two days later. Four to 392 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:50,459 Speaker 2: six minutes. That's how long medical examiners estimated John Thomas 393 00:26:50,550 --> 00:26:55,429 Speaker 2: Sweeney strangled Dominique Dunn outside her West Hollywood house. Four 394 00:26:55,990 --> 00:27:01,609 Speaker 2: to six minutes. The prosecuting attorney opened Sweeney's murder trial 395 00:27:01,670 --> 00:27:05,210 Speaker 2: by letting a stopwatch run for an agonizing four minutes 396 00:27:05,290 --> 00:27:09,830 Speaker 2: to drive the point home. But despite those chilling four 397 00:27:09,890 --> 00:27:15,270 Speaker 2: minutes of silence, justice did not prevail. First, the judge 398 00:27:15,310 --> 00:27:18,369 Speaker 2: would not allow another of Sweeney's former live-in girlfriends to 399 00:27:18,450 --> 00:27:21,870 Speaker 2: testify about the ten times he had beaten her during 400 00:27:21,930 --> 00:27:26,580 Speaker 2: their relationship, about how Sweeney broke her nose, punctured her eardrum, 401 00:27:26,660 --> 00:27:30,240 Speaker 2: collapsed her lung. The judge said, To make matters even worse, 402 00:27:30,260 --> 00:27:32,960 Speaker 2: the judge then granted the defense's motion to reduce the 403 00:27:32,980 --> 00:27:45,540 Speaker 2: charge from first-degree murder to manslaughter. In the defense's eyes, 404 00:27:45,910 --> 00:27:48,760 Speaker 2: the killing was not premeditated. It was committed in the 405 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:52,060 Speaker 2: heat of passion. Despite their personal views on the matter, 406 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:54,879 Speaker 2: members of the jury had to deliver a verdict within 407 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:59,290 Speaker 2: the strict confines they were being presented. Sweeney was saved 408 00:27:59,369 --> 00:28:01,949 Speaker 2: by the law. He got a max of six years, 409 00:28:02,330 --> 00:28:05,169 Speaker 2: but wound up serving slightly less than three years, eight months. 410 00:28:05,830 --> 00:28:10,240 Speaker 2: To Dominique's family, it was a miscarriage of justice. The trial, 411 00:28:10,300 --> 00:28:13,000 Speaker 2: the sentence, the time, all of it, it defiled the 412 00:28:13,060 --> 00:28:16,560 Speaker 2: memory of their daughter The tragic loss of Dominique Dunn 413 00:28:16,580 --> 00:28:19,540 Speaker 2: and the travesty of justice would haunt them for the 414 00:28:19,580 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 2: rest of their lives. When John Thomas Sweeney was released 415 00:28:25,359 --> 00:28:30,060 Speaker 2: from his appallingly short prison stay in 1986, coincidentally perhaps 416 00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:32,419 Speaker 2: it was around the same time that the sequel to 417 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:37,110 Speaker 2: Poltergeist hit movie theaters. Steven Spielberg didn't return to co-write 418 00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:40,050 Speaker 2: or produce Poltergeist II The Other Side, but the other 419 00:28:40,110 --> 00:28:43,690 Speaker 2: original screenwriters did return. as did the majority of the 420 00:28:43,730 --> 00:28:48,090 Speaker 2: original cast. Heather O'Rourke, now 10 years old, was back 421 00:28:48,170 --> 00:28:50,910 Speaker 2: as Carol Ann. Since she was so young and her 422 00:28:50,970 --> 00:28:53,360 Speaker 2: exposure to the media was kept to a bare minimum, 423 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:57,280 Speaker 2: there was very little documentation of how much Dominique Dunn's 424 00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:01,700 Speaker 2: death impacted Heather on or off the set. There's also 425 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 2: little documentation to back up the rumors about strange occurrences 426 00:29:05,660 --> 00:29:08,320 Speaker 2: that once again were reported to have happened during the 427 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:12,709 Speaker 2: sequel's production. like the one that an actual exorcism was 428 00:29:12,790 --> 00:29:16,330 Speaker 2: performed in order to cleanse the set of evil spirits. 429 00:29:17,980 --> 00:29:22,240 Speaker 2: While Poltergeist II retains a cult status among diehard movie fans, 430 00:29:22,860 --> 00:29:25,940 Speaker 2: it certainly wasn't the same phenomenon the second time around. 431 00:29:26,660 --> 00:29:28,760 Speaker 2: It barely made half the amount of money as the 432 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:33,170 Speaker 2: first installment. But there was one eerie similarity between the 433 00:29:33,270 --> 00:29:37,990 Speaker 2: first and second Poltergeist. A few months before Poltergeist II 434 00:29:38,050 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 2: was released, Julian Beck, the veteran actor who co-starred in 435 00:29:42,220 --> 00:29:47,760 Speaker 2: the sequel as Reverend Harry Kane, a.k.a. Evil Incarnate, succumbed 436 00:29:47,780 --> 00:29:51,140 Speaker 2: to stomach cancer at the age of 60. And then, 437 00:29:51,700 --> 00:29:55,060 Speaker 2: in June 1987, a little over a year after the 438 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:59,230 Speaker 2: sequel came out, another of its co-stars, Will Sampson, who 439 00:29:59,290 --> 00:30:02,670 Speaker 2: played the Native American shaman protecting the family from Harry 440 00:30:02,730 --> 00:30:07,860 Speaker 2: Kane's paranormal voodoo, died at 53 from post-operative kidney failure. 441 00:30:10,660 --> 00:30:13,960 Speaker 2: Like the unexplained activity that had taken place nearly 30 442 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,880 Speaker 2: years earlier at the Herman family home in Long Island, 443 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:21,240 Speaker 2: the fact that three actors died shortly after making poltergeist 444 00:30:21,300 --> 00:30:24,680 Speaker 2: films began to make people wonder. Was it all just 445 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:28,990 Speaker 2: a coincidence? A random tragedy? Or was there something more? 446 00:30:29,650 --> 00:30:34,460 Speaker 2: Something that couldn't be seen. When principal photography wrapped up 447 00:30:34,540 --> 00:30:38,620 Speaker 2: for Poltergeist III in the summer of 1987, Heather O'Rourke 448 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,260 Speaker 2: went home to Big Bear Lake in California. That winter, 449 00:30:42,420 --> 00:30:45,430 Speaker 2: she turned 12 years old. She began to prepare for 450 00:30:45,470 --> 00:30:48,650 Speaker 2: the press junket that would precede the third movie's Hollywood premiere. 451 00:30:49,630 --> 00:30:53,070 Speaker 2: But Heather O'Rourke never made it to the premiere. She 452 00:30:53,130 --> 00:30:55,610 Speaker 2: never even got a chance to see the finished movie. 453 00:30:56,860 --> 00:31:01,020 Speaker 2: What happened next? turned a series of strange coincidences into 454 00:31:01,060 --> 00:31:06,020 Speaker 2: a widespread theory that the Poltergeist movie franchise, just like 455 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:31,690 Speaker 2: the Hermann's Long Island home, was cursed. March 22nd, 1992. 456 00:31:31,970 --> 00:31:36,070 Speaker 2: Richard Lawson was still upside down. The entire plane was 457 00:31:36,130 --> 00:31:37,110 Speaker 2: still upside down. 458 00:31:38,070 --> 00:31:38,390 Speaker 3: U.S. 459 00:31:38,470 --> 00:31:43,270 Speaker 2: Air Flight 405 was currently inverted in Flushing Bay. The 460 00:31:43,310 --> 00:31:46,670 Speaker 2: runway lights of LaGuardia flashed in the rear distance, and 461 00:31:46,690 --> 00:31:51,150 Speaker 2: the snow continued to fall sideways. Inside the plane, it 462 00:31:51,210 --> 00:31:55,180 Speaker 2: was all blackness. The water was on its way in. 463 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:58,460 Speaker 2: The oxygen was on its way out. It was all 464 00:31:58,580 --> 00:32:03,210 Speaker 2: happening way too fast. Richard struggled to free himself, but 465 00:32:03,550 --> 00:32:06,709 Speaker 2: he couldn't move. His head was stuck. What were these 466 00:32:06,770 --> 00:32:10,709 Speaker 2: two objects pinning his body down? Seats, maybe? Other passengers? 467 00:32:12,090 --> 00:32:15,690 Speaker 2: He was trapped. He was going to die. Up until 468 00:32:15,730 --> 00:32:18,720 Speaker 2: this moment, he thought it was all bullshit. All that 469 00:32:18,820 --> 00:32:21,740 Speaker 2: stuff about the so-called poltergeist curse. The one that had 470 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:25,780 Speaker 2: claimed four actors from the three films. Fuck that. Curses 471 00:32:25,820 --> 00:32:29,930 Speaker 2: were make-believe. Those tragedies were real. Dominique Dunn died at 472 00:32:29,970 --> 00:32:33,410 Speaker 2: the hands of a violent abuser. Julian Sands had cancer. 473 00:32:33,770 --> 00:32:39,440 Speaker 2: Will Sampson suffered complications from surgery. Heather O'Rourke, well, that 474 00:32:39,500 --> 00:32:43,560 Speaker 2: had come out of left field. Shocked everyone. They all 475 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:47,000 Speaker 2: thought she had a nasty case of the flu. Her family, 476 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:50,030 Speaker 2: the doctors. But her heart stopped on the way to 477 00:32:50,070 --> 00:32:52,800 Speaker 2: the hospital. They were able to revive her and life 478 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:56,260 Speaker 2: flighted her to the Children's Hospital in San Diego. She 479 00:32:56,340 --> 00:32:58,920 Speaker 2: died on the operating table before the doctors could help. 480 00:32:59,460 --> 00:33:01,920 Speaker 2: They didn't even know where to begin. No one knew 481 00:33:02,030 --> 00:33:03,930 Speaker 2: that she had been born with a birth defect that 482 00:33:04,030 --> 00:33:07,790 Speaker 2: made a section of her intestine abnormally narrow. She didn't 483 00:33:07,810 --> 00:33:10,710 Speaker 2: have the flu. She suffered a bowel obstruction that sent 484 00:33:10,770 --> 00:33:14,750 Speaker 2: bacterial toxins into her bloodstream. She died from a shock 485 00:33:14,870 --> 00:33:19,459 Speaker 2: caused by infection of her blood. The doctors said that 486 00:33:19,500 --> 00:33:22,920 Speaker 2: Heather's death was very unusual because she never exhibited symptoms 487 00:33:22,940 --> 00:33:25,560 Speaker 2: that anything was amiss at any point in her life. 488 00:33:26,180 --> 00:33:30,310 Speaker 2: The problems seemed to have come from nowhere. Insights like 489 00:33:30,370 --> 00:33:34,630 Speaker 2: those drove the cursed conspiracy theorist wild. But Richard Lawson 490 00:33:34,710 --> 00:33:38,410 Speaker 2: put little credence into any conspiracy theory, especially one that 491 00:33:38,450 --> 00:33:44,590 Speaker 2: connected all of these tragedies. Until now. Because even though 492 00:33:44,610 --> 00:33:47,610 Speaker 2: his role as a parapsychologist in the first Poltergeist movie 493 00:33:47,630 --> 00:33:50,930 Speaker 2: was a small role Richard had nonetheless acted in a 494 00:33:50,970 --> 00:33:54,790 Speaker 2: poltergeist movie. And like four other actors before him, he 495 00:33:54,850 --> 00:33:59,190 Speaker 2: now found himself staring down an unexpected death. This was 496 00:33:59,250 --> 00:34:02,330 Speaker 2: his fate. He knew it now. He had been foolish 497 00:34:02,370 --> 00:34:05,209 Speaker 2: to doubt it in the past. He accepted what was 498 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,620 Speaker 2: about to happen. He ceased to struggle. He wanted to 499 00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:11,560 Speaker 2: die with a spirit of peace. He wanted the people 500 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:13,360 Speaker 2: who loved him on the other side of the wreckage 501 00:34:13,380 --> 00:34:16,600 Speaker 2: to know that he was okay. That he hadn't died afraid. 502 00:34:17,890 --> 00:34:20,549 Speaker 2: He continued to hold his breath underwater and was about 503 00:34:20,570 --> 00:34:24,259 Speaker 2: to finally let it all go. One giant exhale and 504 00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:29,080 Speaker 2: done when something came over him. He felt a sensation 505 00:34:29,100 --> 00:34:33,820 Speaker 2: take over his body. It was warm, friendly, the opposite 506 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:38,239 Speaker 2: of fear. The sensation enveloped his entire body, from the 507 00:34:38,300 --> 00:34:40,430 Speaker 2: top of his head to the bottom of his toes. 508 00:34:41,130 --> 00:34:44,029 Speaker 2: And he heard a voice say, Get out of here. 509 00:34:44,650 --> 00:34:50,940 Speaker 2: Take your seatbelt off and get out of here. Richard 510 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:53,219 Speaker 2: put his hands on his belt buckle and released it. 511 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:57,060 Speaker 2: He felt the seatbelt release from around his waist. Get 512 00:34:57,140 --> 00:35:00,060 Speaker 2: out of here now, Richard. He put his hands on 513 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:02,060 Speaker 2: the things that had trapped him in place for minutes, 514 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:06,020 Speaker 2: things that had been unmovable before. Now they easily moved 515 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:08,950 Speaker 2: to the side with the gentlest of touches from his hands. 516 00:35:09,590 --> 00:35:12,510 Speaker 2: He could hardly believe it. His body began to move. 517 00:35:12,969 --> 00:35:14,930 Speaker 2: He didn't know if it was up or down. He 518 00:35:14,950 --> 00:35:19,330 Speaker 2: just wanted to find an airport. When his head finally surfaced, 519 00:35:19,690 --> 00:35:23,069 Speaker 2: the twisted wreckage below his feet, kicking and thrusting him 520 00:35:23,150 --> 00:35:27,469 Speaker 2: toward salvation, he took a deep breath. He inhaled bay 521 00:35:27,530 --> 00:35:31,069 Speaker 2: water and jet fuel and spat it back out. He 522 00:35:31,110 --> 00:35:33,310 Speaker 2: looked up and an arm had reached down through a 523 00:35:33,370 --> 00:35:35,930 Speaker 2: hole in the side of the plane. He couldn't see 524 00:35:36,010 --> 00:35:38,320 Speaker 2: who it was attached to, if it was a man 525 00:35:38,390 --> 00:35:41,950 Speaker 2: or a woman, a first responder or another passenger. He 526 00:35:42,010 --> 00:35:44,460 Speaker 2: just saw the arm, and the hand at the end 527 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:47,860 Speaker 2: of that arm was reaching out just for him. Let 528 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:51,480 Speaker 2: me help you, a voice said. And with that, Richard 529 00:35:51,540 --> 00:35:54,359 Speaker 2: was hoisted from a watery grave to a place where 530 00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:57,960 Speaker 2: the snow and wind were so cold you knew you 531 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:03,640 Speaker 2: were alive. 27 people died in the crash of U.S. 532 00:36:03,719 --> 00:36:07,950 Speaker 2: Air Flight 405 that day. Richard Lawson later learned that 533 00:36:07,989 --> 00:36:10,550 Speaker 2: at least one of those deaths had been a passenger 534 00:36:10,610 --> 00:36:13,750 Speaker 2: sitting in row 6 back in coach, where he was 535 00:36:13,830 --> 00:36:18,020 Speaker 2: originally assigned. If that wasn't a sign, He didn't know 536 00:36:18,060 --> 00:36:23,530 Speaker 2: what was. His life hadn't been taken by some evil spirit. 537 00:36:23,989 --> 00:36:27,950 Speaker 2: It had been saved by a benevolent force. Something unexplainable. 538 00:36:28,410 --> 00:36:30,870 Speaker 2: The kind of thing that made the hair stand up 539 00:36:30,910 --> 00:36:32,640 Speaker 2: on the back of your neck and the skin on 540 00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:36,440 Speaker 2: your arms tingle. Who or what that thing was, it 541 00:36:36,500 --> 00:36:42,560 Speaker 2: was impossible to know. But curses? Bullshit. Curses weren't real. 542 00:36:43,219 --> 00:36:47,510 Speaker 2: Just ask the Herman family in Long Island back in 1958. 543 00:36:47,510 --> 00:36:50,290 Speaker 2: They eventually moved out of their supposedly haunted house and 544 00:36:50,350 --> 00:36:55,450 Speaker 2: never experienced another paranormal event again. Evil spirits didn't follow them. 545 00:36:56,210 --> 00:36:59,270 Speaker 2: Maybe it was just some easily explained natural phenomenon that 546 00:36:59,290 --> 00:37:02,090 Speaker 2: had eluded the experts. But it was not a curse. 547 00:37:02,770 --> 00:37:08,049 Speaker 2: Curses were just make-believe. And make-believe stuff, well, everyone knows, 548 00:37:08,950 --> 00:37:14,259 Speaker 2: it ought to be in pictures. I'm Jake Brennan, and 549 00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:16,320 Speaker 2: this is Hollywoodland. 550 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:33,680 Speaker 3: Hollywood Land was created by Years Truly and is produced 551 00:37:33,719 --> 00:37:37,610 Speaker 3: in partnership with Double Elvis. Follow, like, rate, and review 552 00:37:37,660 --> 00:37:39,910 Speaker 3: Hollywood Land wherever you get your podcasts and get in 553 00:37:39,930 --> 00:37:43,230 Speaker 3: touch with us on social media at Double Elvis. If 554 00:37:43,270 --> 00:37:45,110 Speaker 3: you like Hollywood Land, check out my other show, the 555 00:37:45,150 --> 00:37:47,130 Speaker 3: award-winning Disgraceland, which. 556 00:37:47,050 --> 00:37:48,790 Speaker 2: Looks at the world of music through the lens of 557 00:37:48,870 --> 00:37:52,240 Speaker 2: true crime. Just search for Disgraceland wherever you get your podcasts.