6. The 'Poltergeist' Curse
The Poltergeist "curse" is one of the more unsettling and creepy urban legends to abound in Hollywood, a story that began doing the rounds after four cast members from the films died during the six years between the release of the first and third films in the series. While the deaths of Julian Beck and Will Sampson from cancer and medical complications didn't seem too out of the ordinary, it's the sudden, unexpected deaths of two of the first film's youngest stars that really got under people's skin. Firstly, Dominique Dunne, who played eldest daughter Dana in the first film, was strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend following an argument, and then Heather O'Rourke, who played young Carol Anne in all three Poltergeist films, succumbed to a sudden bout of septic shock and died at the age of 12. Two seemingly senseless deaths caused people to begin to wonder whether there was something cursing those who worked on the film, with fans attributing the strange deaths to the fact that real cadavers were utilised as props during the first two films.