The “Poltergeist” child star’s family is fighting conspiracy theories 38 years later

It has been 38 years since Heather O’Rourke’s death, but her family continues to endure the shadow of painful rumors that refuse to fade.

The child star, who became famous as Carol Anne Freeling in “Poltergeist” in 1982, died in 1988 as a result of intestinal stenosis. She was just 12 years old and preparing for the release of Poltergeist III.

Now O’Rourke is the subject of a new documentary called “Heather O’Rourke: She Was Here,” which features rare interviews with her family, friends and co-stars. They strongly reject the hurtful conspiracy theories that have persisted in the decades since her death.

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“Rumors have had a big impact on Tammy – she’s Heather’s sister,” filmmaker Nick Bailey told Fox News Digital.

“Tammy was originally on a podcast I had and talked about the pain it had caused her and her daughters. She has two daughters and they would try to defend Heather on the internet.”

The misinformation was overwhelming. A social media post falsely claimed that O’Rourke was killed by a Hollywood pedophile ring. Another claimed that former child star Macaulay Culkin had encountered someone who said their shoes were made from O’Rourke’s skin. The grotesque rumors outraged and deeply shocked her loved ones.

WATCH: HEATHER O’ROURKE’S FAMILY CONFESSES ‘RIDICULOUS’ ABUSE AND ‘CURSES’ RUMORS

“What Heather’s mother, Kathleen, can’t get used to is rumors of abuse,” Bailey said. “Those are the painful ones because they are just so made up and ridiculous. And I want to say for the record that the author of the post has since edited all mentions of these rumors on his website because it was just a made up story to get clicks. After we pointed out how hurtful it was to the family, I think this person thought, ‘Wow, I’m hurting people with my words and maybe I need to be more careful.'”

“That’s our message to everyone, to the people called keyboard warriors, I guess, who just write things and don’t know whether they’re factual or not,” Bailey continued.

“It affects people, and it hurts people. And it makes the pain very real again, from the loss of Heather to now having to deal with these ridiculous stories. These are the things that were forced upon this family that should never have happened, which is why we made the film in the first place.”

“It really takes a toll on the people involved and also on the memory of Heather,” he said. “And for Kathleen, the sadness never goes away.”

A myth that has haunted the family for years is the so-called “poltergeist curse.” The legend spread after four actors associated with the ’80s film trilogy – O’Rourke, Dominique Dunne, Julian Beck and Will Sampson – died during or after filming.

“It’s a lot of unfortunate circumstances,” Bailey said. “So often these things are explained as whether someone was in poor health or it was a very random accident. But when you blame the deaths of actors in a movie on a curse, I think (people) just attribute something supernatural to a horror movie because it’s really easy, right?”

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O’Rourke was originally diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, which was caused by a parasite. However, it took until her death for one Intestinal obstruction was discovered, which Bailey said was due to a birth defect explained in the film.

“About a year before Heather got sick, (her mother) noticed that Heather’s feet were swelling,” Bailey said.

“She would have to go down long mountain ride on the Big Beara 40 minute drive and go to local hospitals. They first noticed a condition in the water and thought it was all due to that.

“But the problems remained,” he noted. “Heather’s stomach hurt. She had swollen feet moved to San Diego to be closer to medical care. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, but did not end up with Crohn’s disease.

In the film, Kathleen tearfully recounts how she desperately sought medical help, determined to find out what was wrong with her child. All the while, O’Rourke kept a brave smile on her face, eager to get on set and lose herself in her fantasy in front of the cameras.

“The only thing I can say about the medical care Heather received compared to what is available today is that technology has obviously advanced in over 30 years,” Bailey said. “If her problems had occurred today, I believe they would have been resolved with modern ultrasounds and MRIs. I’m not a medical professional, but technology has improved so much that something like this probably wouldn’t be missed.”

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“I think they did their best in 1988 to figure out what was wrong with the technology they had,” Bailey added.

In the documentary, Kathleen reveals that for years she felt crushing guilt over her daughter’s death and agonized over whether there was anything she could have done differently to save her. The conspiracy theories have only deepened this wound.

“Kathleen is just a sweet woman who just wants to share her daughter’s story,” Bailey said. “These rumors have really touched the family. The most important thing Kathleen wants is for people to know that they are real people. And when people write things on the internet, they have to think about how it affects the family or anyone who knew Heather. Even now, it’s still very hurtful for Kathleen to talk about Heather. It’s painful to relive the loss of your child every day. And Heather was loved.”

Today, Bailey hopes to set the record straight, but also show what might have been.

“They always said Heather was an old soul,” he said. “She was wise beyond her years. She knew from a very young age that she wanted to be a producer and director. There’s an interview at just seven years old.” we have in the documentation where she talks about exactly what she wants to be. And everyone we spoke to said she would have been a great director one day. She loved holding a camera.

“That’s all she wanted to do in ‘Poltergeist III,'” Bailey said. “Little 12-year-old Heather just wanted to sit in Gary Sherman’s director’s chair and watch him make the movie.

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“It’s sad,” Bailey thought. “I wish Heather was here. I wish we were making this movie with her instead of about her.”

Heather O’Rourke: She Was Here is available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home and Google Play.