Poltergeist

Other mistake: In the first shot when Carol Ann is being put to bed, the wicker headboard is backwards. I know this for a fact because I used to have the exact same headboard (queen size), and the large support frame faces the wall. The only thing you're supposed to see is a bunch of single swirls in the front. But they probably turned it that way so Carol Ann would have something to grab onto. White wicker furniture was very popular and cheap in the 1970s.

Other mistake: The night after burying the bird, a lightning strike projects an image of the tree outside onto the bedroom wall. However, the silhouette has nothing to do with the tree's shape.

Sacha ★

More for Poltergeist

Mistakes

Revealing mistake: When the chair moves across the kitchen floor, Craig T. Nelson goes to investigate it (after it has stopped moving). He goes up to the chair and flips it over. If you look closely, Craig almost hits the camera with the chair's legs. You can tell this has happened because the camera moves up very quickly and Craig looks straight at the camera crew with very big guilty eyes. This is more easily visible on the widescreen version of the film. (00:33:30)

More mistakes in Poltergeist

Quotes

Carol Anne Freeling: They're here.

More quotes from Poltergeist

Trivia

Trivia: The scene where the ghosts stacked the chairs on the kitchen table was filmed in one take with no cuts. As the camera followed Diane Freeling to the kitchen sink, the crew members rushed to the table, put an already built pyramid of chairs on the table and then took away the individual chairs.

More trivia for Poltergeist

Questions

Question: What exactly did the ghosts want with Carol Anne?

Answer: They were attracted to her life force. She was such a young child, that it was particularly pure and strong within her.

raywest ★

Answer: They were partly attracted to Carol Anne because she she was born in her house.

She was not literally born inside the house. She was born while the family was living there.

raywest ★

The movie literally says she was born IN the house. When Teague asks, "One of your children was born in your house, huh?" and Steve replies, "Carol Anne."

More questions & answers from Poltergeist