With Halloween right around the corner, we're counting down the days by posting five facts about our favorite fright flicks.
Today's featured film is "Poltergeist" (1982).
1. The hands which pull the flesh off of the investigator's face were actually Steven Spielberg's.
2. Heather O'Rourke, who played Carol Anne Freeling, died of intestinal stenosis six years after the film was released. Dominique Dunne, who played the teenage daughter, was strangled by her boyfriend and died in 1982 … the same year as the film's release. Many believe there is a curse associated with the film.
3. Drew Barrymore was up for the role of Carol Anne, but Spielberg wanted someone more "angelic." However, her audition for the role did land her the starring part in "E.T. the Extra Terrestrial."
4. Both the clown and the tree outside the window that scared Robbie Freeling in the flick came from Steven Spielberg's real-life childhood fears.
5. The swirling flashing lights that shot out from the closet during the ending rescue scene were actually created using an aquarium full of water in front of a spotlight.
