‘Poltergeist’ Child Star to Hand Out Halloween Candy at Iconic House From 1982 Film
What To Know
- Oliver Robins, who played Robbie Freeling in the 1982 film “Poltergeist,” will hand out Halloween candy at the movie’s iconic Simi Valley house, now owned and renovated by Rachel Powers.
- Powers has restored the home to closely resemble its appearance in the film and plans to decorate it as a tribute to the movie’s final scene for Halloween.
- Robins addressed the long-standing rumors of a “Poltergeist curse,” attributing the cast’s tragedies to unrelated causes and emphasizing the film’s enduring popularity.
Poltergeist child star Oliver Robins is set to hand out Halloween candy at the iconic house from the 1982 horror film.
On October 23, Robins, now 54 — who portrayed Robbie Freeling in the beloved movie — told TMZ that he will pass out sweets to trick-or-treaters from the Simi Valley, California, house.
The current homeowner, Rachel Powers, reportedly invited the actor to join in handing out candy on Halloween. After purchasing the property in October 2024 for $1.28 million, she dropped $165,000 to renovate the home into a short-term rental. It comes complete with a TV resembling the one in the infamous Poltergeist scene and practically identical furnishings and decor to what viewers saw in Poltergeist.
For the October 31 holiday, Powers reportedly plans to decorate the exterior of the home as an ode to the final scene of Poltergeist. (So, expect skeletons!)
Craig T. Nelson, Heather O’Rourke, Jobeth Williams in ‘Poltergeist’ (Everett)
Poltergeist also starred JoBeth Williams as Diane Freeling and Craig T. Nelson as Steve Freeling, Robins’ onscreen parents, in addition to Dominique Dunne as his onscreen sister, Dana, and Heather O’Rourke as his onscreen younger sister, Carol Anne.
In 2022, Robins opened up to Yahoo! Entertainment about the “Poltergeist curse,” in light of Dunne’s 1988 murder and O’Rourke’s death at 12.
“I hope there isn’t a curse, because I’m still around,” he told the outlet.
“I do believe in the paranormal to some degree, but I don’t think there’s a curse because those deaths can be explained,” he continued . “You had these tragedies happen, but they were going to happen whether [the actors] were in the movie or not. Like with Heather, she had a medical condition for which she wasn’t treated. So I don’t think they are interconnected.”
Still, Robins acknowledged that the rumored curse is a reason the film attracts new viewers after all these years.
“I really believe that if you’ve heard about the curse and it gets you to see the film, you’re not going to be on the edge of your seat because of curses — it’s because it’s a great movie,” he shared. “I like to look at the positive side of even the darkest thing.”
The 1982 horror flick inspired two sequels: Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) and Poltergeist III (1988).
Poltergeist is available to stream on HBO Max.