Inside Hollywood’s Poltergeist House: A Look at the Real Home Behind the Horror

The Tudor-esque home used for exterior shots in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 haunted-house movie Poltergeist is available for purchase, as reported by Wendy Bowman in the Robb Report. 

The infamous dwelling in Simi Valley, Calif., was built in the late 1970s. Unlike its on-screen double, the 4267 Roxbury Street home was not swept away by malevolent spirits upset over an eviction. 

The two-story dwelling features four bedrooms and three baths nestled in just over 2,300 square feet of living space. The front door is rather benign, considering the big-screen horrors that fictitiously unfolded behind it. 

The curved staircase into the living room, which loomed large in the screenplay, was an interior scenic designer’s invention. The actual home’s front room is a bit simpler. 

When placed side-by-side with images from the film, it’s relatively clear that the property’s kitchen—site of chairs balanced on the table and mysteriously scooting children—was used for the on-location shoot. 

The main floor also has a family room with handsome hardwood floors and an impressive stone-hearth fireplace. 

There’s not a ghost of a chance a gathering in a dining room this attractive will not be a success. 

The layout of the on-set bedroom of Diane and Steve Freeling closely matches the actual version, given some variations in furniture placement. Moreover, the cinematographer may have shot from a vantage point 90 degrees from where the real estate photographer captured this still. 

It’s tough to tell whether the fictitious master bathroom was used as the on-camera bathroom. But nonetheless, the on-property version is spacious and lovely. 

Yes, there is a pool out back. And yes, it is free of nightmarish creatures. 

The asking price for 4267 Roxbury Street, Simi Valley, Calif., is $1.1 million. Further details about the real Poltergeist home can be found at the Robb Report. 

Tour our other Haunted High-End Homesteads below:

• The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 
• Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 
• The Exorcist (1973)
• The Shining (1980, 1997)