Poltergeist was The Exorcist for my generation. When I saw it for the first time, I felt like I was strapped into a roller coaster and there was no way I was getting off until I had one hell of a ride. This movie preyed on our fears with killer trees, strangling clowns and spirits that made you rip off your own face. Wasn't it a relief when the medium played by Zelda Rubinstein proclaimed that the house was clean?
Except it wasn't.
The house where the film was shot is located in Simi Valley, a community to the northwest of L.A. The address is 4267 Roxbury Street.
I recognized the house as soon as I saw it. Over the past 25 years, there have been some changes (and apparently it was damaged during the 1994 Northridge earthquake) but it is still very recognizable.
At the end of the movie, the Beast threw a complete temper tantrum. Because he couldn't have the little girl, he imploded the entire house and sucked it into another dimension.
At that point, the developer realized that building on top of a burial ground was just not worth it.
HOW TO GET THERE: Take the 405 north and the 118 west and you'll run right into Simi Valley. It's a beautiful area and I wanted to go on two hikes but I couldn't find the trailheads.
WORTH THE TREK? 6/10 The house does have a big role in the movie considering its implosion at the climax. However it is a personal property and sadly I wasn't able to tell if there was the skeletal swimming pool in the backyard.
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