Goofs

(at around 37 mins) Following the scene where the tree comes through the window to take Robbie, the window and bedroom are without damage, as if nothing had happened.

(at around 39 mins) The amount of mud on Robbie's face and clothes changes from scene to scene once he's inside after the tree attack.

(at around 1h 40 mins) Diane falls into the muddy pool, and has mud stains on the back of her T-Shirt. When she runs up the stairs and onto the landing, they are gone.

(at around 37 mins) During the tree/abduction scenes, it is pouring rain in some shots, but not in others.

(at around 1h 7 mins) When Robbie is sent away and put in a cab, he and the dog seem to change places between shots. Furthermore, whilst the dog clearly gets in the back seat of the taxi, in the next shot it is sitting in the front seat.

(at around 46 mins) While attempting to photograph the flashing lights, Marty (Martin Casella) the paranormal investigator, takes two shots with the camera making two obvious auto-film advance sounds, this despite not having any film motor drive attached to the camera body.

(at around 39 mins) When the tornado wipes out half of the neighborhood, their house still has electricity.

The Freelings live in a newly developed community. The giant dead tree in their backyard would have been removed long before the house was built. *Maybe the presence of the evil spirits killed it after the Freelings moved in. Not really a factual mistake.*

Many viewers have pointed out that only one of the houses in the neighborhood is affected by ghosts even though the whole neighborhood and many other houses were built on the same ground. However, there are two sections of the movie that explain this discrepancy: one in which Steven tells a prospective buyer that his family was one of the first to move into their neighborhood, and another in which Steven's boss mentions that Carol Anne was born in the house. The novelization makes the connection more explicit: because Carol Anne was born in the burial ground, the spirits gravitated toward the Freeling household, attracted by her life force.

(at around 1h 5 mins) During the initial investigation, when the ghost comes down the staircase, nothing appears on the monitor, but when reviewed, the tape does appear to have captured the incident. This is part of ghost lore.

(at around 28 mins) When the pool digger "Pugsley" (Lou Perryman) is caught sampling Mrs. Freeling's spaghetti sauce and drinking some coffee, Diane calls him "Bluto", instead of his character's correct name (which is Pugsley). More than likely, she gave him that nickname just to be facetious, and didn't actually believe that was his name.

(at around 29 mins) When Diane is getting cleaning liquid from under the counter top, she pulls out a box of Cheez-Its (a snack food) next to the cleaning supplies

Many unusual things can happen in a family household; one of the kids might have put the crackers in there. The Freelings have a very typical, disorganized house.

(at around 26 mins) At breakfast, when Robbie's glass breaks, you can clearly see a string attached under the glass that pulls the fake bottom off.

(at around 26 mins) At breakfast, the glass that is about to break in Robbie's hand is leaking considerably, but the amount of milk in the glass is unchanging (considering how much milk is leaking and how much is on the table already).

(at around 37 mins) When Carol Anne is being sucked into the closet you can clearly see a fishing line attached to the toy carriage, most likely used to pull it.

(at around 1h 35 mins) Before Diane takes a bath, Robbie and Carol Anne are fighting over a toy truck. Carol Anne is holding onto the truck saying "Gimme it!" to Robbie and jerks the truck towards herself as if Robbie is holding onto it, but he isn't holding it at all.

(at around 1h 29 mins) When Diane enters the portal in the closet, the bedroom is filled with a strong wind, but the curtains behind her are motionless.

(at around 33 mins) When Diane bribes Carol Anne by saying they will eat pizza later, in a close-up Carol Anne says, "I want pepperoni pizza," yet her mouth is not moving.

(at around 24 mins) The first time Carol Anne says, "They're here," in her parents' bedroom, her lips appear to be saying, "They're all here."

(at around 49 mins) When Diane begins talking with Carol Ann for the first time after her abduction, Dana is heard sobbing, but she clearly isn't vocalizing anything.

When the parapsychologists turn the television on we instantly hear a broadcast which is impossible since the screen shows nothing but static.

(at around 29 mins) In the chair stacking scene, just as Diane bends down to get items out of a cupboard, the chrome toaster on the kitchen counter reflects the crew switching the chair arrangement. Moreover, the leaves of the plant in the corner get disturbed.

(at around 2 mins) At the beginning of the movie when the golden retriever is going up to each member of the family, a crew member is seen through a small crack in the door right before the dog goes into Dana's room.

(at around 1h 4 mins) As Ryan is sitting by the monitors listening to music, the camera starts moving. When it comes to the point of facing straight towards the viewer you can see the camera used to film the scene and some of the lights on the set.

(at around 1h 40 mins) Diane is shocked by the front doorknob, when trying to escape to seek help. When she is thrown across the room, behind the staircase, a crewmember's foot can be seen pulling back suddenly in an (unsuccessful) attempt to stay out of the shot.

(at around 32 mins) When Diane is pulling Steve into the house right before the chair sliding scene, the garbage can Steve is holding onto gets stuck in the doorway. The hand and shadow of a crew member is clearly seen grabbing the can as Steve lets go.

(at around 24 mins) When the bulldozer is digging for the pool, Tweety's cigar box is unearthed. This is not possible considering where Tweety was buried and where the pool is being dug.

(at around 1h 30 mins) Diane tells Dana that they will be staying at the Holiday Inn on I-74, and it is implied that this is a local motel. Interstate Highway 74 does not run through California. It runs through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. There are also some disconnected sections in North Carolina.

The second floor of the Freeling's house is completely inconsistent with its exterior. From outside a large window is seen above the front door, but inside is a vaulted ceiling above the front door and the window is not there. Strangely, this window appears only once behind Diane while she's running down the "corridor" to Robbie's and Carol Ann's bedroom, yet this too is impossible because the upstairs hallway isn't above the front door.

(at around 6 mins) In the opening shot immediately following the credit of "Directed by Tobe Hooper": Jeff Shaw on the bicycle pulls out of his drive-way (at the end of a cul-de-sac) on a bicycle with a crate of beer under his arm, and he turns left. Opposite the cul-de-sac is a yellow van parked in its driveway. However after he turns left, there is no yellow van and the texture of the lawns are completely different. It is a different street.

During Steve's interview by Dr. Lesh in her office at the university, Steve reveals the different years old of his family: Diane is 32, Dana is 15, Robbie is 9 and Carol Anne is 5. In the assumption that Steve didn't committed a mistake confusing 32 with the more plausible 42, this would imply that Diane was pregnant of Dana at 16 years old and that Dana was born when she was 17.

(at around 26 mins) When Diane asks Carol Anne about the "TV" people. After the glass breaks and Dana runs out of the kitchen, you can see the boom mic reflecting off the picture frame behind Diane. NOTE: Upper left of frame.

(at around 1h 20 mins) When Tangina is talking to Diane and the others about Carol Anne she tells them that she can only hear her mother's voice, but in the next scene she tells Steven to threaten to spank her if she doesn't answer them.

(at around 52 mins) Dr. Lesh asks "Where was Carol Ann playing when she disappeared?" to which Diane responds (incorrectly) "her bedroom closet." The last time Diane - or anyone - was in the room with Carol Anne before she disappeared, she was sitting in her bed, pulling her covers up.

Characters use odd phrasing often, for example, "sleptwalked", "something's funny going on", "have you ever dove", and of course "whomever might complain". Teague also refers to the large amount of "software" in the Freelings' living room, but almost certainly means the hardware of the video equipment.

During the night of the big storm, Steven and Diane are having intimate couple-time with their bedroom door wide open, despite the kids being in nearby rooms. *Oh, come on-they really aren't doing anything THAT private.*