History Film / Poltergeist

* {{Foreshadowing}}: After the immortal statement of, "They're here!", we see a bulldozer tearing up ground for the pool. As it does, it digs up the cigar box Tweetie was buried in. [[spoiler:Previewing the reveal of what the development is built on]].

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: There are some hints during the film, stronger during the second half, that Dana goes on dates with guys and has sex with them, without her parents knowing: just the day after they [[spoiler:recover Carol Anne from the other side of the closet]], Diane tells Dana that later, they'll go to a hotel; when she tells which one, Dana just goes like "oh, yes", and giving some fun smile, looking like she's daydreaming, letting us know that she knows it and that something special for her happened there. Then Dana changes the subject and leaves and we don't know anything of her until the very end of the movie, when she gets out of the car screaming "WHAT'S GOING ON??!!". Look for her neck, to the left and to the right of it, you can see love bites.

* RedHerring: When characters tell there's an Indian burial ground near the Freelings' house, the viewer (and probably the characters themselves, In Universe) would think that that would be the source of the ghostly disturbances. But it turns out it has nothing to do with anything.

* ShooOutTheClowns: The first twenty minutes of this film are very light-hearted, like when Steve and his neighbor and dueling with their remotes. After Carol Ann utters "They're here..." the film becomes considerably darker. The neighbors later reappear in a scene where Steven and Diane go to ask them if they experience any "disturbances" too (to which the neighbors look at them like they're crazy, and which is played for laughs). Once the film turns really dark, the neighbors aren't shown or mentioned again. They actually reappear to [[spoiler:rescue Diane from the pool corpses]], but then it is very brief and they've completely lost their comedic tendencies.

* CreepyDoll: The clown doll was a bit unsettling ''before'' it started grabbing kids, too. Robbie already is scared of it before [[spoiler:it attacks him]], and tries to cover it with a blanket.

* AllThereInTheManual: Spielberg gave James Kahn free rein on the novelization, leading to it having ''tons'' of backstory (including Tangina's battles with demons on the spirit plane, a spectral SouthernBelle who protected Carol-Anne on the Other Side, an even ''more'' nightmarish NightmareFodder sequence of Marty in the kitchen, and--perhaps most critically--a more thorough explanation of why the ghostly activity started ''now'' rather than when the family first moved into the house) that was never even hinted at in the film.

* CollapsingLair: The ghosts fail to take any of the family back to the other side, so they settle for taking the house instead. The entire house collapses and disappears into the Other Dimension. [[note]]Steven later notes in the sequel that he has a very hard time explaining ''that'' to the insurance company[[/note]]

** In the 80's, analog television sets would produce a screen of static when not tuned to a specific channel. Nowadays, not so much. (Although many younger people are likely familiar with static [[PopCulturalOsmosis purely because of shows and movies continuing to show static on nonfunctioning televisions long after they stopped working that way]].)
** In the 80s and earlier, networks would stop broadcasting late at night. Younger generations have grown up with 24 hour television, so they won't catch the significance of the television turning to static, then commonly known as [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything "dead air"]]...

-->'''Diane:''' NO! NOT MY BABIES!!!'''''

** {{Poltergeist}}: ...manifesting like this.

%%ZCE* SoundtrackDissonance

* ShooOutTheClowns: The first twenty minutes of this film are very light-hearted, like when Steve and his neighbor and dueling with their remotes. After Carol Ann utters "They're here..." the film becomes considerably darker. The neighbors later reappear in a scene where Steven and Diane go to ask them if they experience any "disturbances" too (to which the neighbors look at them like they're crazy, and which is played for laughs). Once the film turns really dark, the neighbors aren't shown or mentioned again.
** They actually reappear to [[spoiler:rescue Diane from the pool corpses]], but then it is very brief and they've completely lost their comedic tendencies.

* ThirdActStupidity: Steven and Diane Freeling act with reasonable intelligence throughout most of the movie--not perfectly, but then they didn't have an idea that it could be so dangerous. However, after managing to rescue Carol Anne from a demonic ghost, they decide that Diane, Robbie and Carol Anne will stay in the house overnight. Not only that, but they let Robbie and Carol Anne stay alone in the same room that Carol Anne was originally stolen from. Would you take that kind of risk with ''your'' kids?
** Well, in fairness, Tangina HAD said that the house was "clean". Little did she know...
* TrueBlueFemininity: Carol Anne's pajamas are blue and very feminine.
%%ZCE * VertigoEffect: Helloooo, stretchy hallway of doom...
* WholePlotReference: To "Little Girl Lost", an episode of ''Series/TheTwilightZone''.

* HearingVoices: Carol Anne first hears the ghosts whispering to her through television static in the television set.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: After the immortal statement of, "They're here!", we see a bulldozer tearing up ground for the pool. As it does, it digs up the cigar box Tweetie was buried in. [[spoiler:Previewing the reveal of what the development is built on.

* MonsterClown: A clown doll turn evil and attacks Robbie, [[spoiler:but this is just the ghosts' distraction in order to kidnap Carol Anne.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: After the immortal statement of, "They're here!", we see a bulldozer tearing up ground for the pool. As it does, it digs up the cigar box Tweetie was buried in. [[Previewing the reveal of what the development is built on.

%%ZCE * CreepyChild: Carol Anne has her moments.

* TemptingFate: After [[spoiler:getting back Carol Anne from the Other Side]], Tangina exclaims confidently "This house is clean," thinking that with Carol Anne back on the physical plane, the poltergeist's link to the house was severed. [[spoiler:Nope--it's regrouping... and it's ''pissed''...]]

* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: After [[spoiler:getting back Carol Anne from the Other Side]], Tangina exclaims confidently "This house is clean." [[spoiler:Nope--it's regrouping... and it's ''pissed''...]]

** In a literal sense, albeit with a MonsterClown CreepyDoll that was a plot point early on, attacks Robbie who once he gains the upper hand, [[LieteralMetapor literally beating the stuffing out of it.]]

* LongHairIsFeminine: Carol Anne's long blonde hair (and blue eyes) are iconic and she's definitely a girly girl.

''The sequels have their own pages at ''Film/PoltergeistIITheOtherSide'' and ''Film/PoltergeistIII'' (1988).''

->''They're Here...''

If you are looking for a trope about mischievous ghost vandals, you can see it under the "Main" tab.

* ForgottenTrope:
** In the 80's, analog television sets would produce a screen of static when not tuned to a specific channel. Nowadays, not so much. (Although many younger people are likely familiar with static [[PopCulturalOsmosis purely because of shows and movies continuing to show static on nonfunctioning televisions long after they stopped working that way]].)
** In the 80s and earlier, networks would stop broadcasting late at night. Younger generations have grown up with 24 hour television, so they won't catch the significance of the television turning to static, then commonly known as [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything "dead air"]]...
** Nowadays, hotel televisions are typically tied in place with cables to prevent theft, so the final shot of the father evicting a TV from their hotel room is also dated.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Carol Anne has long golden hair and she is very kind and innocent with a pure heart (she's actually specifically targeted by the evil spirits because of her pureness).
* HeliumSpeech: Tangina has a very high voice, to the point that it sounds artificial, all the time. It is the actress' normal voice though.
* InnocentBlueEyes: Carol Anne has blue eyes and, as explicitly stated in the movie, is especially pure and innocent.
* IronicNurseryTune: The opening theme is a sweet theme sounding like a nursery theme. Soon after the opening scene the movie turns to horror.
* ISeeDeadPeople: Carol Anne can see and hear ghosts and communicate with them, initially through the TV set, later everywhere in the house.
* LastNoteNightmare: The ending theme starts out with children singing... And then, at the very end of the end credits, disturbing laughter is heard.
* LongHairIsFeminine: Carol Anne's long blonde hair (and blue eyes) are iconic and she's definitely a girly girl.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The demon who is the main antagonist is first referred to as only "The Beast".
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: The "angry at the living" type.
** {{Poltergeist}}: ...manifesting like this.
* RapunzelHair: Carol Anne's hair reaches at least down to her waist, sometimes it appears even longer.
* RedHerring: When characters tell there's an Indian burial ground near the Freelings' house, the viewer (and probably the characters themselves, In Universe) would think that that would be the source of the ghostly disturbances. But it turns out it has nothing to do with anything.
* SayMyName: CAROL ANNE! CAROL ANNE! [[RuleOfThree CAROL ANNE!]] Her name is very frequently called or shouted. Probably justifiable because she's missing ''in her own house'' during most of the movie, and her parents want her to come back.
%%ZCE* SoundtrackDissonance

* OneWordTitle: Also an AntagonistTitle.

!! These movies contains examples of:

* BigBad: Reverend Henry Kane / [[spoiler: The Beast]].
* ForgottenTrope: In the 80's, analog television sets would produce a screen of static when not tuned to a specific channel. Nowadays, not so much. (Although many younger people are likely familiar with static [[PopCulturalOsmosis purely because of shows and movies continuing to show static on nonfunctioning televisions long after they stopped working that way]].)
** Also in the 80s and earlier, networks would stop broadcasting late at night. Younger generations have grown up with 24 hour television, so they won't catch the significance of the television turning to static, then commonly known as [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything "dead air"]]...

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Carol Anne has long golden hair and she is very kind and innocent with a pure heart.
* HeliumSpeech: Tangina, all the time.
* InnocentBlueEyes: Carol Anne has these.
* IronicNurseryTune: The opening theme.
** ''God Is In His Holy Temple'' in the second film. [[NightmareFuel Brrrr.]]
* ISeeDeadPeople: Carol Anne can see ghosts and communicate with them from the TV set.
* LastNoteNightmare: The opening theme starts out with children singing... And then, at the end, disturbing laughter is heard.
* LongHairIsFeminine: Carol Anne's long blonde hair (and blue eyes) are iconic.

* RapunzelHair: Carol Anne's hair reached at least down to her waist, sometimes even longer.
* RedHerring: The Indian burial ground has nothing to do with anything.
* SayMyName: CAROL ANNE! CAROL ANNE! [[RuleOfThree CAROL ANNE!]] Especially in the third movie.
* SoundtrackDissonance

* AntagonistTitle: Also a OneWordTitle.

** Robbie has some blood on his face following Carol Ann's disappearance, which is alarmingly gruesome to see on a child.
* CollapsingLair: The ghosts fail to take any of the family back to the other side, so they settle for taking the house instead.

* CreepyChild: Carol Anne has her moments.
* CreepyDoll: The clown doll was a bit unsettling ''before'' it started grabbing kids, too.
* DeadpanSnarker: Steven has his moments.
* DissonantSerenity: After Carol Anne is taken, Steven becomes emotionally catatonic, speaking entirely in monotone. in a kind of HeroicBSOD.
** When Carol Anne passes through Diane, Diane laughs and says she can smell her daughter again.
*** Can't really call it "serenity," though-- her laughter has a hysterical edge and then she immediately collapses into sobs.
* TheDollEpisode: The clown doll again.
* DownTheRabbitHole: Carol Anne's sojourn to the other side.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: There are some hints during the film, stronger during the second half, that Dana goes on dates with guys and has sex with them, without her parents knowing: Just the day after they [[spoiler: recover Carol Anne from the other side of the closet]], Diane tells Dana that later, they'll go to a hotel, when she tells which one, Dana just goes like "oh, yes", and giving some fun smile, looking like she's daydreaming, letting us know that she knows it and that something special for her happened there and Diane saying "what is it?", or something like that. Then Dana changes subject and leaves and we don't know anything of her until the very end of the movie, when she gets out of the car screaming "WHAT'S GOING ON??!!". Look for her neck, to the left and to the right of it, you can see love bites.

* HappilyMarried: Diane and Steven, which carries into the second movie.

* ImaginaryFriend: ...Nope. The Freelings wished it was, though.
* IndianBurialGround: Averted, but Cuesta Verde ''was'' built on top of an improperly relocated Christian cemetery (the bodies were still there).

* InstantThunder: Averted, the time between the lightning and thunder showed that the storm was getting closer.

* MoodWhiplash: From a horrific scene of exploding raw steak, maggoty chicken and Marty ''tearing his own face off'' ([[spoiler: He's hallucinating]], we segue into a near-mystical manifestation of gracefully-glowing light. [[spoiler: Justified when it's revealed that there's an insanely-malign ghost sharing the house with a bunch of inoffensive/trapped ones.]]
* MonsterClown: The evil clown doll, [[spoiler:one of the ghosts' distractions in order to kidnap Carol Anne.]]
* NoTellMotel: The motel the family heads to at the end of the film has a reputation for being used to fool around, seeing how Diane's eldest daughter chuckles saying "I know that place..." when Diane mentioned it.
* {{Novelization}}: By James Kahn.

* OrpheanRescue: For Carol Anne.
* PeekABooCorpse: Steve has a few things to say to his realtor about his new neighbors.
* ShoutOut: While Diane and Steven are in bed, we see they are watching the film "A Guy Named Joe." This is a movie from 1943 where a dead Air Force pilot comes back to Earth as a ghost to pass his knowledge onto an up and coming rookie. Strangely enough, Spielberg would go on to remake this film later in his career under the title "Always."
* SkunkStripe: See LockedIntoStrangeness, above.

* ShooOutTheClowns: The first twenty minutes of this film are very light-hearted, like when Steve and his neighbor and dueling with their remotes. After Carol Ann utters "They're here." the film becomes considerably darker.
* TheSoulsaver: The psychic Tangina helps a group of [[spoiler: friendly yet lonely]] ghosts (lost souls) trapped in the astral plane go into the Light.
* TemptingFate: After the Freelings rescue Carol Anne from the other side, the spiritual medium Tangina says "This house is clean". A short time later the ghosts re-appear and try to grab Carol Anne again.

* ThirdActStupidity: Steven and Diane Freeling act with reasonable intelligence throughout most of the movie - not perfectly, but then they had idea that it could be so dangerous. However, after managing to rescue Carol Anne from a demonic ghost, they decide that Diane, Robbie and Carol Anne will stay in the house overnight. Not only that, but they let Robbie and Carol Anne stay alone in the same room that Carol Anne was originally stolen from. Would you take that kind of risk with ''your'' kids?

* VertigoEffect: Helloooo, stretchy hallway of doom...

* WhenTreesAttack: It nearly eats Carol Anne's brother.
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: "This house is clean." [[spoiler:Nope - it's regrouping... and it's ''pissed''...]]

* AscendedExtra: He's not really an extra, but Griffin, the counterpart of Robbie from the original film series, is essentially the reboot's main protagonist and [[TheHero hero]]. He has the most focus of the Bowens, and is actually the one who [[spoiler: saves Maddie from the other dimension]], as opposed to the original's Diane (the counterpart of the reboot's Amy).
* BigBrotherInstinct: Griffin to Maddie, especially after [[MyGreatestFailure leaving her to guard herself]] [[spoiler: which causes her to be taken to the other dimension.]] While the others are busy offering themselves to [[spoiler: go to the other dimension and become Maddie's guide]], Griffin wastes no time to do it himself. His mom is apparently very supportive of him to have this instinct, too.

* CassandraTruth: Griffin's pleas about the poltergeists are denied all the time. At least until [[spoiler: Kendra experiences it first-hand and Maddie goes missing.]]

* ChekhovsGunman: Kendra is a fan of Carrigan Burke, an occultist and the host of a paranormal investigation reality show. Carrigan himself is later called by Brooke to help rescue [[spoiler: Maddie]].

* DysfunctionJunction: The Bowens are almost heading to this territory at the start, due to Eric losing his job while continuously preventing Amy from seeking job so she can write a novel. Losing a job means that the family have to move in to a lower-class neighborhood that their children dislike. Ironically, the problem that should have been the worst influence on the relationship, the poltergeists, actually ends up making them reconcile and team up to repel it, though [[spoiler: Maddie's disappearance]] might have something to do with it, too.
* EldritchLocation: [[spoiler: The other dimension.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Knowing that the Bowens will always be hunted by the spirits because of their attraction to Maddie, Carrigan ends up deciding to enter the other dimension to guide them to the light instead. However, the ending implies that he survives, which TheStinger outright confirms.]]

* IfWeGetThroughThis: Surprisingly subverted. Carrigan promises Griffin to reveal how he got the scar on his forehead once Maddie is rescued and if Griffin survive. Since all of them make it through the night, ''Poltergeist'' style, Griffin does indeed reveal how he got that: [[spoiler: it's completely mundane and not related to the supernatural at all.]]
* IWillFindYou: All of the Bowens [[spoiler: after Maddie's gone]] will do everything to have [[spoiler: her]] back. Exemplified best with Griffin when he denies Boyd's suggestion to use the paranormal activity for profit.
--> '''Griffin:''' I just want to have [[spoiler: my sister]] back.

* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: Specifically averted. Because he's unsure whether he will [[spoiler: survive going to the other dimension]], Carrigan says this to Brooke beforehand. [[spoiler: Fortunately, he survives.]]
* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Said ''ad verbatim'' by Maddie to Griffin. He regrets it later, since that's [[spoiler: the last words he heard before Maddie goes to the other dimension.]]

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Rather than tempt fate and spend the night in their "cleaned" house, the Bowens pack up what they can [[spoiler:after they retrieve Maddie from the other side]] and get the hell out of Dodge [[spoiler: only to find the ghosts haven't been exorcised and really want their guide back.]]

* TheStinger: Confirms that [[spoiler: Carrigan does indeed survive after having entered the other dimension.]]

* CreepyChild: Carol Anne has her moments.

* NoTellMotel: The motel the family heads to at the end of the film has a reputation for this, according to Diane's eldest daughter. (Hopefully, said daughter will be able to avoid Diane's fate of [[GenerationXerox becoming a mom at age 16]].)

The franchise is often said to be cursed, because several people associated with it, including stars Dominique Dunne and [[Creator/HeatherORourke Heather O'Rourke]], died prematurely. "The Poltergeist Curse" has been the focus of an E! True Hollywood Story. The first film is also known for persistent rumors that Spielberg directed most of the movie.

* BigWhy: Steve grabs his land-developer boss and screams at him for having relocated the headstones of the cemetery on which his haunted house was built, while ''leaving the bodies''. His rant of accusation ends with a furious double example of this trope.
* CreepyChild: Carol Anne has her moments.

* CoolGate: The ghosts creates one in Carol Anne's closet, with the exit in the living room ceiling.
* CreepyDoll: The clown doll was a bit unsettling ''before'' it starts grabbing kids, too.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: There are some hints during the film, stronger during the second half, that Dana goes on dates with guys and has sex with them, without her parents knowing: Just the day after they [[spoiler: recover Carol Anne from the other side of the closet]], Diane tells Dana that later, they'll go to a hotel, when she tells which one, Dana just goes like "oh, yes", and giving some fun smile, looking like she's daydreaming, letting us know that she knows it and that something special for her happened there and Diane saying "what is it?", or something like that. Then Dana changes subject and leaves and we don't know anything of her until the very end of the movie, when she gets out of the car screaming "WHAT'S GOING ON??!!". Look for her neck, to the left and to the right of it, you can see lovebites.
* GoIntoTheLight: DON'T go into the light! GO into the light! Make up your mind, Tangina!
* HappilyMarried: Diane and Steven which carries into the second movie.

* MonsterClown: The evil clown doll, [[spoiler: One of the ghosts' distractions in order to kidnap Carol Anne.]]

* TearOffYourFace: The psychic's assistant, Marty hallucinates that he pulls off his own face.

* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: "This house is clean." [[spoiler: Nope - it's regrouping... and it's ''pissed''...]]

** ''God Is In His Holy Temple'' in the second film. [[NightmareFuel Brrrr.]]

** When Carol Anne passes through Diane, Diane laughs and says she can smell her daughter again. She's completely unconcerned about how her daughter's terrified at the time.