There are posts and articles on the network, which claims that the authors of the 1982 horror used real human remains on the set. It is reported that the producers were cheaper to get real bodies than to make props. We checked whether such publications correspond to reality.

In December 2023, Telegram channel "KB +18"(378,000 views at the time of writing this analysis) outlined a viral story as follows:“ In the mass of 1982, real dead were starred in the mass of the 1982 Poltergeist. There was a reservoir scene with skeletons, and it turned out that the real remains of people could be purchased much cheaper than making a high -quality props. They thought for a long time whether to warn actress Jobeth Williams about this in advance, but in the end they decided that it was not worth it. Whoever analyzes them, these women would still panic, tore off. So she thought to the end that it was all a props. ” Similar posts at the same time came out in the channels "The goat screamed"(73,000 views),"R/relay"(70,000),"Knife"(19,000) and"Drank tin 18+"(19,000), as well as in public in VKontakte, among which Dankest (21,000 views) and others (examples here, here And here).

Often in such records a screenshot of English -speaking tweet, which gained more than 1 million views, with the same story and a frame from the corresponding scene of the film, gives a screenshot as an illustration. In the comments, some users were surprised how actors Not turned attention to the cadaveric smell, and wondered who allowed The creators of the picture use the half -rotten remains. In some articles bring The opinion that such an attitude to the bodies of the deceased could cause a curse, because of which the members of the film crew subsequently persecuted misfortunes. You can also meet versionWhat for the reliability of the story of evil spirits on the use of real remains was insisted by Stephen Spielberg, who was one of the creators of the film.

Photo: screenshots of posts from the service TGSTAT And from the site vk.com

"Poltergeist»Director Tube Hooper I went out on screens in 1982, one of the scriptwriters and producers of the project He performed Stephen Spielberg. By plot The family whose house was built on the site of the old cemetery is persecuted by evil spirits. The tape quickly acquired the status of a religious horror film: the picture has become one of the most box office tapes that time, was nominated for the Academy Award in three categories and Received Two sequels and the same remake. Because of the deaths of several actors and actresses of the franchise, including the original stars Hezer O’RURK (died due to improper diagnosis of intestinal stenosis) and her screen sister Dominic Dunn (strangled by his boyfriend), "Poltergeist" became It is sadly known as a damned series of films.

According to the popular theory, this curse, as in the film itself, is explained by the disrespectful attitude of the creators of the tape to the deceased. So, according to the plot, the developers erected the building over the graves, and the filmmakers reportedly used real dead. There is a “poltergeist” sceneWhen the heroine of actress Jobet Williams falls into a pool hole during a rainfall and the dead break out of the ground. Personnel from the filming of this particular fragment are given in most viral publications.

Video: Excerpt from the movie "Poltergeist"

Williams herself over the past years has repeatedly stated that real human skeletons were used during the filming of the episode. “You must understand that the shooting of this scene was probably four or five days. So during this time I was constantly in the mud and slurry with the skeletons surrounding me and screamed. In my innocence and naivety, I believed that these were not real skeletons. I suggested that they are fake and made of plastic or rubber. I, like the entire film crew, found out that real skeletons were used, because making fakes made of rubber too expensive. And I think everyone was terribly from one thought about it, ” - told Actress in 2008 in the program TV Land: Myths and Legends.

In the episode of the podcast Hot Flashes & Cool Topicspublished in 2023, Williams Repeated Almost the same thing: “I thought that skeletons were a props and that they made a requisite department. But a few years later, I found out that these were actually real skeletons, and thought: if I knew this, I was not sure if I could get into this story. ” That is, one of the main stars of the film as a whole confirms information from the distributed posts.

However, another version adheres to Craig Rirdon - The artist in special effects who worked on Poltergeist and many other famous films. In 2017, on the thematic site Bloody Good Horror It turned out An interview in which Rirdon was asked about the curse of the film and the alleged connection of misfortunes that fell upon actors with real skeletons.

“Now I will very simply describe what these real skeletons were. The skeletons that I ordered in 1981 were presented in the catalog of the company supplies biomaterials. They were collected for demonstration in the classroom and went along with a metal stand and vinyl coating. I ordered 12 or 13 pieces (in the 1980s a couple of scriptwriters Submitted lawsuit against the studio, as part of the hearing. gave And Rirton. Then he also talked about the purchase of real skeletons, which, according to him, were 13. He believed that the bones arrived from India. - approx. Ed.). Please try to restrain your horror from the number 13! As an alternative, the company offered plastic skeletons for the same purpose: study in the classroom. The disadvantage was that all plastic skeletons were copies of one original sculpture or cast, while real skeletons differed. This was indicated in the catalog. In addition, plastic skeletons were more expensive, presumably due to materials and labor costs necessary for the manufacture of one of them. For these reasons, buying real skeletons was obvious, which I did. In the "Poltergeist" I did not have a huge budget if someone is interested in reality outside the fictional curses.

Real skeletons, when they were delivered, turned out to be an ideal choice, since they were all really “personalities” (because they were once really personalities) and were very different from each other in many respects. This was perfect for the task. These were not “real dead”, as stated in the description I saw on the Internet. Very pure skeletons for the class that I received were turned into semi -realistic "corpses" (we strove for an exaggerated species from EC Comics, that is, "shock from the crypt", and not to strict realism). My co -author Michael McCherken has achieved this with the help of sculpture, as well as exaggerated textures and flowers. ”

In the same conversation, Rirdon said that he did not believe in any curses and believes that there is no connection between the deaths of four performers and performers of roles in the franchise and using skeletons on the set. According to him, the idea of the curse imposed on the “poltergeist” “cynically capitalizes several tragedies from real life”. In addition, he said that the use of training skeletons from real bones is quite common in cinema: this was done, for example, on the filming of the film "Frankenstein"(1931). According to Rirdon, a skeleton hanging in medical college, over which Laughed Students at the beginning of that picture were real.

Video: Excerpt from the movie "Frankenstein"

In 2015, in the article on the website of the Blumhouse studio Given words Bruce Kasson, presented there as an assistant to the requiser of the film "Poltergeist". He also said that the skeletons were real, but his words contradict the interview of Rirdon a little. “They arrived from Carolina Biological (The company is a supplier of medical and scientific goods for educational institutions. - Approx. Ed.). As far as I remember, there were no copies of skeletons at that time. Now they are common and relatively cheap. And the race for profit will dictate its conditions. As for the curse, those shootings were no different from the rest in which I took part, ”said Cashxon. However, c Titers He was not indicated.

In 2020, the documentary series "Damned Films", one of episodes which was dedicated to the "Poltstergeist." Some participants in the show also voiced the version that the misfortunes associated with the franchise could happen due to the fact that the skeletons used on the set from India were allegedly cursed. Nevertheless, the authors of the series also interviewed Rirdon, who called the online mythology about the curse of the ridiculous, offending the memory of the deceased actresses and his personally. He repeated again that real skeletons have been used in the cinema for decades. So, in addition to the above -mentioned “Frankenstein” (1931), the artist gave as an example the film “House of Night Ghosts"(1959).

“Not a single [creator] of a low-budget film of category B will pay someone for creating a human skeleton, when all that needs to be done is to go to a biological product store and buy a human skeleton. How to wake up and smell the budget, ”Rirdon added.

Photo: frame from the documentary series Cursed Films

Thus, viral posts mislead readers. In fact, not “real deceased” were bought for the filming of the “poltergeist”, but the real pure white skeletons, originally intended for studying anatomy in educational institutions. In addition, the authors of such publications argue that real human remains could be bought much cheaper than making high -quality props. However, according to one of the artists in special effects, the reason for this purchase was the difference in the price between real skeletons and plastic ones. Subsequently, the bones were additionally “made up” to give them the form of decomposed corpses, that is, the manufacture of the props was still required.

Photo on the cover: frame From the film / Kinopoisk.ru / Metro-goldwyn- Mayer