We’re about to break down the door to the dimension of Tobe Hooper and Stephen Spielberg’s 1982 horror classic Poltergeist with a newly emerged scene that was cut from the original film-never before seen by the eyes of the general public and has been hidden away for years. Until now, that is.

Poltergeist is relatively infamous for having rumored footage out there that was cut from the film. The most famous perhaps could arguably be Diane being “manhandled” on the ceiling by some unforeseen forces-something that would rival The Entity, none of which has ever really surfaced. However, today via the fan-dedicated Instagram page of Poltergeist run by Matt Knowles, we finally get one lost screen-room cut scene that almost NO ONE knew ever even existed!

The scene, which will premiere exclusively on the PoltergeistFilm Instagram page August 18th, 2023 revolves around the actress of Beatrice Straight, who plays the paranormal expert Dr. Lesh and a colleague (Edward Ashley) going over the documented incidents at the Freeling residence and flirting with the idea of involving the likes of Tangina Barrons. According to PoltergeistFilm who spoke exclusively with me, they mentioned, “It (the scene) comes after another scene where the videotapes have been displayed to an audience. This clip shows the audience walking out because they think it’s a hoax”

How the footage came into possession of PoltergeistFilm is fairly straight forward, but with an interesting backstory attached:

The story is that the actor in the deleted scene (Edward Ashley) was upset about his scene being cut and write a letter to Steven Spielberg asking for a copy of it and had that ok’d with Beatrice Straight.

Spielberg responded and sent him a tape with the scene in question for the actor’s records and preservation. The tape then went into his estate after his passing and left the relic to a friend who sold it to PoltergeistFilm.

“He has been big on keeping it all secret and not leak the video to retain the value of the item, but I’m a big believer in sharing Poltergeist and celebrating it.”

Matt Knowles is an avid fan of Poltergeist since the tender age of eight when he first saw the film:

“I started this Instagram page just to really celebrate the movie and it’s achievements. That’s why after buying the deleted scene for a few thousand, rather than just keep it locked away, I wanted to share it with all the fans because there’s been so little out there about Poltergeist. It kinda seems like Spielberg’s unloved child. Maybe this will push WB to release more deleted scenes. I doubt it. But everything on this Instagram is free for people to use and share to keep Poltergeist alive and celebrate the movie. I was mentioned in a Bloody Disgusting article a few years back because I had negatives of another deleted scene. That’s my only other claim to fame. It’s all about Poltergeist tho and this deleted scene is the first we’ve ever seen from the poltergeist cutting room.“

And now the entire world can enjoy this long-lost footage that was kept in the dark dimensions of cutting floor footage purgatory. Make sure you’re following POLTERGEISTFILM on Instagram to catch the world premiere! Thanks to Matt Knowles for keeping the legacy of this gorgeous film alive and bringing us new insight!