Happy October Crowned Scientists! Let go back to the 80’s…..because let’s be honest it’s a great time in film and when a lot of us 80’s babies entered the world. One of my favorite “horror” films is the Poltergeist. I mean don’t you just love Tangina’s explanation of the soul and how it crosses over after death?

Anyway, back on the environmental side…We initially see this beautiful community drenched in the sun with the mountains in the background. Cuesta Verde is a cookie cutter planned community in California with freshly manicured lawns and stay at home moms. What we don’t see is the dark side of residential development….the developers built house on top of graves and didn’t excavate the bodies! Urban sprawl under deregulation can and will cause environmental problems…. if not immediately then in the future….I’m looking at you Houston (TX) 🤷🏽‍♀️.

While many view this movie through the lens of paranormal horror, the Poltergeist seemly calls out suburban sprawl, corporate shortcut culture, and the arrogance businesses tend to have when they think these actions don’t come without consequences.

The Freeling Family

The Freeling family, lives in a suburban housing development built by the real estate firm the father, Steven, works for. The community of Cuesta Verde represents rapid suburban sprawl by converting open, natural land into uniform, highly monetized neighborhoods. Where many would naturally see an abundance of natural resources, the developer only sees revenue. Ultimately, Mr. Teague, reveals to Steven that Cuesta Verde was built on top of a ancient cemetery. To save his company time and maximize his profits, the company decided to only relocate the headstones to present a clean visual surface. Crazy but I’m sure this was normal practice back in the day.

We are shown in the early 80’s the drive for rapid development, lifestyle convenience, and surface level aesthetic compliance.

The Seen and Unseen Disruptions

When the paranormal activity escalates into full chaos, the film moves beyond the standard ghost story we are accustomed to. We begin to see physical and ethereal surface developments.

Physical: Remember that big scary tree outside the children’s bedroom window? It comes alive and tears through the home. It seems that the sudden, violent thunderstorm mirrors the rising emotional state of the family and physical instability of the home. What do you think?

The Ground Erupts: During the climax and the violent thunderstorm, the ground ruptures and we see sinkholes open up, and the recently dug out backyard pool is left with wet earth and decaying remains.

Subsurface Secrets Revealed : Just as we saw in Crack the World, any deep crust manipulation or unmanaged excavation has the potential to destabilize geological formations. The issue with Cuesta Verde is that they disrespected what or shall I say who slept beneath the subsurface. The bodies of those who had long passed led to the home collapsing and destroying the very property built to generate profit.

The main environmental aspect here is that land is not always an empty canvas. It can possess depth, history, and physical constraints that cannot be erased by simply modifying the appearance of the surface. At its core, Poltergeist reflects anxieties around rapid land development and corporate corner cutting. Mr. Teague represents a familiar modern archetype that I’ve dealt with in the environmental realm and construction…. He is the developer who treats environmental impact and historical preservation as minor regulatory hurdles or red tape rather than constraints that could lead to financial ruin or loss down the line.

Moving the headstones while leaving the bodies is similar to greenwashing and just enough compliance. Many think just because the visual facade is beautiful that the hidden long-term risks can be ignored or passed down to unsuspecting homeowners. This actually sounds like home buying today…

How it Relates to Today

Cultural Resource Preservation: is an important part of natural resources that could cause ethical issues and physical dangers if cultural resources at sacred and historical sites are ignored while developers pursue expansion.

City and Surrounding Vulnerability: we see real world development issues all the time, aka homes built on filled wetlands, unstable hillsides, or unmapped hazard zones (I.e. flooding, fault lines, low sea level, etc.) and the residents are the ones who have to deal with the inevitable environmental reckonings and insurance companies.

I feel like we walk away from this film with the idea that stewardship is nothing without respect. Respect means doing your due diligence and ensuring that the red tape is satisfactorily applied, because the Mother Earth always wins.

As always stay curious….