It’s Heeeere: The House From ‘Poltergeist’ Is Up for Sale for the First Time Since 1979

The summer of 1982 was a banner one for director Steven Spielberg, whose family-friendly E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial smashed box office records. But Spielberg’s darker side was on display as well with Poltergeist, another tale of suburban fantasy that saw a family terrorized by paranormal entities.

For people who might enjoy residing in a place where (fictional) horrors took place, the home used in the movie is now on the market for the first time since the film’s release.

Lauren Murdock of Equity Union Real Estate is offering the property, located in Simi Valley, California. Listed at $1,174,999, the 2373-square-foot home has four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, and an in-ground pool. Fans may remember the latter feature as the site where unearthed skeletons terrorized the Freeling family, who didn’t realize the property had been built over a Native American burial ground when they purchased it. (The pool scene was filmed on a sound stage, and legends persist that prop-makers used actual skeletons and invited the production’s supposed curse. The real pool thankfully doesn’t come with human remains.)

According to production designer Jim Spencer, Spielberg chose the house for its normalcy, which would make the ensuing horror all the more shocking. “Steven liked that house because it was the end of the road,” Spencer told Yahoo News in 2015. “It was a two story Valley-type mock Tudor and it just fit everything. The neighborhood [was what] we call ‘Spielbergia,’ where E.T. and a couple of his other films were shot. He always wanted to be in normal residential areas.” (For the most part, only exterior shots of the home were used. Interiors were mainly shot on sets since they often involved property destruction.)

Spielberg co-wrote and produced the film, which was directed by Tobe Hooper (1974’sThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre). At the time, rumors swirled that Spielberg had asserted control on set, essentially taking the directing reins from Hooper. Spielberg and Hooper have danced around the question over the years. In 2022, co-star JoBeth Williams observed that it seemed more like a collaboration.

“I think, in his heart of hearts, [Spielberg] would’ve loved to have directed it,” Williams told Vanity Fair. “He was always there. And Tobe was not as experienced as Steven was. He very much listened to Steven’s ideas about things, because it was Steven’s movie, really. And I’m sure there were times when it drove Tobe crazy to have Steven so actively involved, but he never let on. They were both kind of there on the set. Tobe would give direction, sometimes Steven would add to that or give other direction, but I think it’s fair to say that it was sort of a combo of the two of them, because certainly Steven was actively involved.”

The house was built in 1979 and has been occupied by its original owners ever since. Murdock promises that the home is offered “without the ghostly antics,” which may disappoint some. It is, however, close to the 118 freeway, just in case its occupants need to leave in a hurry.

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