Editing Poltergeist (franchise) (section)

=== ''Poltergeist'' (1982) ===
{{main|Poltergeist (1982 film)}}
''[[Poltergeist (1982 film)|Poltergeist]]'' is the original film in the trilogy, directed by [[Tobe Hooper]], co-written by [[Steven Spielberg]] and released on June 4, 1982. The story focuses on the Freeling family, which consists of parents Steve ([[Craig T. Nelson]]) and Diane ([[JoBeth Williams]]); teenage daughter Dana ([[Dominique Dunne]]); eight-year-old Robbie ([[Oliver Robins]]); and five-year-old Carol Anne ([[Heather O'Rourke]]), who live in Cuesta Verde, a California [[housing development]] which comes to be [[Haunted house|haunted by ghosts]]. The apparitions, under the control of a [[demon]] known as the "Beast", communicate through the family's [[television set]] and can only be heard by Carol Anne. Attracted to her [[Energy (esotericism)|life force]] and believing she will help lead them into the "[[afterlife|Light]]", the specters abduct Carol Anne through her bedroom closet, which acts as a portal to their dimension. Much of the film involves the family's efforts to rescue their daughter, aided by a group of [[parapsychology|parapsychologist]]s ([[Beatrice Straight]], Martin Casella, [[Richard Lawson (actor)|Richard Lawson]]) and spiritual [[mediumship|medium]] Tangina Barrons ([[Zelda Rubinstein]]). Carol Anne is eventually rescued from the other side and, following a second attack by the Beast that reveals the ghosts had originated from an improperly relocated cemetery beneath the neighborhood, the Freelings flee Cuesta Verde just before the house implodes and disappears into another dimension.<ref name = "411mania">{{cite web |url=https://411mania.com/movies/columns/84476/A-Bloody-Good-Time-9.04.08:-Poltergeist-Franchise-Breakdown.htm |title=A Bloody Good Time 9.04.08: Poltergeist Franchise Breakdown |last=Lee |first= Joseph |publisher=411mania.com |date = September 4, 2008 |access-date=February 26, 2011}}</ref>