Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg’s 1982 film Poltergeist showed the world a haunted house like we’d never seen before. The film transplanted the Gothic tradition of ghost stories into the saccharine suburban setting of Reagan-era America. Utilizing themes and aesthetics the filmmakers explored in their disparate work throughout the 1970s, Hooper and Spielberg turned their horror story into a pointed indictment of the suburban American Dream.

But was Poltergeist’s criticism of the suburbs by Spielberg’s design, or by Hooper’s?

Through extensive research into the filmmakers' careers and the incendiary media reports and conflicting accounts from cast and crew that bubbled up during and after the film's production, Jacob Trussell explores how Hooper and Spielberg's aesthetic interests coalesced on Poltergeist before their relationship became mired in rumor and speculation in the aftermath of the film's release. 

In doing so, Trussell aims to offer context to the question horror fans have been debating for decades: Who really deserves credit for the success of Poltergeist?