American Cheerleader

To get into the spooky spirit of things, I’m doing a countdown of my favorite scary movies of all time. Now, these flicks may not be the freakiest or even the most popular or acclaimed of the genre, but they’re MY faves.

Tune in every weekday for another movie, until we get to my favorite scary movie of all time! Now, a recap of my faves so far:

#20: Jaws

#19: The Last House on the Left

#18: The Faculty

#17: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

#16: The Exorcist

#15: The Blair Witch Project

#14: Resident Evil

And coming in at number…

#13

Poltergeist (1982)

directed by Tobe Hooper; written by Steven Spielberg; starring Heather O’Rourke & Craig T. Nelson; Rated PG

You know you’re in for a unique experience when you’ve got the director of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Salem’s Lot and The Mangler teamed up with one of the most celebrated and respected writer/director/producers of all-time. And Poltergeist doesn’t disappoint. When a young girl starts to insist there are ghosts living among her family, no one takes her seriously—until weird things start to happen. But the interactions quickly change from moving objects to more dangerous shenanigans, when the girl begins communicating with the ghost in her TV.

WHY IT’S SCARY: Again, with the innocent young kids being terrorized by an evil being. Personally, what makes this movie so incredibly scary to me, are the rumors that the movie itself was haunted…it’s still one of the most talked-about set curses in Hollywood.

SCARIEST SCENE: It’s a toss up between Heather O’Rourke’s famed line, “They’re heeeere,” the clown snatching her brother and when the skeletons start popping up in the family’s backyard.

SCARY STORY: I have a sister, Jacey, who’s 10 years younger than me. Growing up, she was my partner in crime and we did everything together….and this included watching scary movies (she was the only one in the house that would watch them with me). Even though she was really young, and we weren’t allowed to watch Rated PG-13 movies until we were 13, and Rated R movies until we were 17 (seriously…my parents were THAT strict), I used to sneak her in while I was watching scary movies in my room. Of all the movies I made her watch with me (Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Halloween, etc) this was the one that gave her nightmares. And it’s only rated PG! Go figure.

They're HEEEEEEERRRRE!

FUN & FREAKY FACTS:

* Spielberg was directing E.T. at the same time that Poltergeist was in production.

* There were several accidents and deaths during the filming of the Poltergeist series that led people working on the movies to start believing in “The Poltergeist Curse.” Dominique Dunne, who played Heather O’Rourke’s older sister in the first movie was killed shortly after completing the movie. An abusive ex-boyfriend strangled her in her driveway the day before Halloween and she died 5 days later. Sixty-year-old actor, Julian Beck, died of stomach cancer shortly after shooting the second movie. Will Sampson, who played Taylor the Medicine Man in the second film, died a year after its release, as a result of post-operative kidney failure. Lastly, Heather O’Rourke, the actress who played the young girl haunted by the ghosts, died of intestinal stenosis during production on the final film.

* Both Dominique Dunne and Heather O’Rourke are burried in the same cemetary.

* The skeletons that emerge from the family’s swimming pool were not fake.

You're looking a little thin...

Quit clowning around