This is a roster of mistakes in the Poltergeist trilogy. I used the 'Poltergeist' dvd to determine the times (hours:minutes:seconds) when each goof took place. The VCR was used for determining the times for Poltergeist II. There are no times available for Poltergeist III yet.

If you find any new goofs that were not mentioned here, then use this form to send me the goof(s). I'll update this page as soon as possible.

As E. Buzz walks toward Dana Freeling's room, you can see (through her door's crack) someone walking by. (0:02:00)

As Diane prepares to drop Carol Anne's bird into the toilet, the dead bird's shadow appears on the sink counter's side and then on the toilet lid/seat. (0:08:56)

A few seconds before Robbie looks at his clown toy, you can see a Rubik's cube near his head. When the camera angle changes, the cube is gone. (0:16:40)

"When the kids are eating breakfast and Robbie's glass breaks you can see a thin string attached to the bottom of his glass running to either his bowl of cereal or the table. How I noticed this was the milk started running out of the bottom of the glass before it had broke."
This quoted goof was brought to my attention by Brad Opphile.

During the "twisted abduction," Carol Anne is holding on to her headboard. She finally loses her hold on it, but her headboard didn't break off. A few seconds later, you can see Carol Anne holding on to a piece of her headboard as she gets suck into the closet. (0:38:34)

Tangina said that Carol Anne can only hear her mother's voice (1:20:10), but apparently Carol Anne could hear her dad's voice (1:22:58) when the Beast was restraining her. Maybe Tangina was wrong as she was when she said, "This house is clean" (1:32:35) when it wasn't.

In the next scene after Steve throws part of the rope into the closet, you can see the frames don't match as the rope comes out of the ceiling. (1:27:15)

As the Freeling family is escaping through the side of their house, you will notice that Diane is holding a "Carol Anne mannequin." (1:46:36)

The corpse is missing as Steven reverses his car out of the driveway. (1:47:20) During this scene, you can see the garage door with a casket sticking out of it. (1:47:21) Later, the garage door and the casket are missing as the house implodes. (1:48:14)

A few seconds after Steve stops the car for his daughter, Robbie yells. During this brief scene you can see a bluish flannel on Robbie. (1:47:39) About eight seconds later, Robbie's red pajamas reappear. (1:47:47) Previous to these scenes, Robbie was wearing his red pajamas.

Some parts of the newly exposed ground turn black a few seconds after the Freelings' house completely "disappears." (1:48:42)

A few scenes after the jewelry fell out of the ceiling (0:49:56) in the original film, Dr. Lesh said one piece was over a hundred years old and a watch was only a few-years-old. (1:07:48) The few-years-old watch wouldn't make any sense because that watch didn't exist when Henry Kane was alive (the sequel revealed that it was Kane and his followers who were haunting the Freelings in the original). This error belongs here because it was the fault of this sequel, not the original.

Even though Dana wasn't mentioned in the final version (script). Isn't she too young to be out of the house? Her age should be 17 (she was 16 in the original) since the time frame of the sequel was revealed by Steve when he said "Now it's been a full year, the house is not coming back." (0:11:50) Dana was too young to be in college. Most people start college when they are 18 years-old.
This goof was brought to my attention by Alisastro.

When Carol Anne asks her mom for a kitten, Diane said, "E. Buzz will get upset." (0:15:11) A few seconds later, Diane explains "he is not used to other pets around." (0:15:15) This is false because in the original, E. Buzz didn't get upset over Tweety, Tweety 2, and Tweety 3.

There is a goof in the "Robbie's brace" attack scene. Both of the bathroom doors slam shut (0:48:48) and later the left door slams shut again. (0:49:00)

During the "Robbie's brace" attack scene, look closely at Robbie and you will see the frames skip. (0:48:49)

In the scene when Tangina unexpectedly visits Diane, you can see Tangina's height compared to the door. The top of her head is about the same height as the bottom of the door's small window to the floor (0:54:52) and when Diane looks out the door's small window, she couldn't see Tangina. (0:54:14)

When the Beast jumps toward Steve, he falls and lands on his back. (0:57:00) About one scene later, Steve is on his side. (0:57:02)

Watch closely at Robbie's baseball bat when he is sitting on the couch. You can see the frames don't match. (1:02:06)

Pay attention during the scene when the Vomit Creature grins at Steve and Diane, the Vomit Creature's lower lip doesn't have a piece of slime on it. (1:10:13) Four seconds later, there is a piece of slime on its lower lip. (1:10:17)

As the Freelings drive to Cuesta Verde, the wagon is awfully quiet (1:17:22) especially after the chainsaw cut through the roof (1:16:43).

The words "Cavern and Mountaintop set materials by Foam-Tec" doesn't match with the rest of the closing credits. It looks like an add-on. (1:29:43)

After Donna finished putting on her makeup, she walks with Carol Anne down the hall. You can see a camera man in the mirror at the end of the hall.

When Carol Anne steps on the puddle in the garage, you can see that she's standing on a platform.

At the end of the movie, Scott didn't return from the Other Side with the rest of the family.