Poltergeist house goes on sale for US$1.2 million, first time since ghost film’s release

The home where the classic horror movie Poltergeist was filmed is officially for sale, with the property agent promising it is clean of any “ghostly antics”.

Filming locations are always popular for movie fans, but this four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom house in Simi Valley, in the US state of California, was a main character in the 1982 film, coming to life and terrorising a family that moves in.

In the Tobe Hooper-directed film, the family navigates ghosts, a child-snatching tree and hidden portals to a different dimension.

Lauren Murdock, who holds the listing with Equity Union, promises there are no portals and no ghosts. Instead, she says, large windows give the home plenty of natural light, and there is a built-in office space and four spacious upstairs bedrooms.

This is the first time in 45 years that the home along Roxbury Street is for sale, she says, and the listing has already garnered plenty of attention.

The 2,373 sq ft (220-square-metre) home was newly built when it first caught the eye of filmmakers, Murdock says, and the large lot made production easier for the crew with all their equipment.

Now, Murdock says, the 16,000 sq ft lot could be ideal for new homeowners to build a pool house or an accessory dwelling unit for extra income. It could also be enough space for an RV or boat. The house is currently priced at about US$1.17 million.

In the horror film, the backyard is excavated as the family is building a new pool, but the dig reveals the home had been built atop a cemetery.

There is a pool and hot tub there now that, according to the listing, are “ideal for cooling off on hot California days or hosting epic pool parties”.

But unlike in the movie, it was not built atop a cemetery. It is close to schools, parks, shops and dining locations, according to the listing, but not inter-dimensional portals.

Much of the house will still be familiar to fans of the movie, including the kitchen and family room, which were included in several of the movie’s iconic scenes.

Homes made famous in popular films can sometimes be tricky to sell, especially those in the horror genre, but Murdock says she quickly decided to lean into that theme with the Poltergeist house.

“There’s going to be buyers that won’t want to buy it because they think it’s haunted,” she says, but others are drawn to being part of Hollywood history.

“It’s better to tell everyone what it is, and have fun playing with it.”