There was once a time in Hollywood when child actors captivated audiences with their innocence and charm on screen. Whatever genre they were in, those kids made a lot of money and earned a lot of fans.

But the price of fame for some seemed to bear a curse. It was difficult for most of them to transition into more mature roles as they aged, and that usually led them to depression and a downward spiral into alcohol and drug use.

These were the child actors of yesteryear who left this life too young all in the hopes of chasing a bigger dream.

Heather O’Rourke

Classic horror movie Poltergeist have many declaring the film and its sequels to be cursed. Both young actresses who played the children of the Freeling family died after.

22-year old Dana actress Dominique Donne was killed in 1982, then there was Carol Anne actress Heather O’Rourke who passed away in 1988 at the age of 12.

O’Rourke was just 5 when she beat out Drew Barrymore to play the young daughter snatched away to the spirit world. She reprised the role of Carol Anne in both sequels, but died just four months before Poltergeist III was released.

O’Rourke was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease the previous year, and she passed away from congenital stenosis of the intestine causing septic shock.