Henry Kane is the antagonist in the Poltergeist franchise. He was a cult leader in his past life.
Biography[]
Backstory[]
Kane claims to be a Reverend, likely from the American South, who started and became leader of a utopian cult in the early 19th century. However, Kane simply wanted to harvest the energy of his followers' spirits in the Afterlife to gain supernatural power. He led his "flock" across a desert t southern California into an underground cavern under the premise that the world was about to end, but in truth Kane simply wanted to kill his disciples and himself and then harvest their souls in death. It is implied in Poltergeist II: The Other Side that Kane became enemies with a Native Shaman known as "Medicine Man" (Medicine Man, the spiritual figure, not the character) who is also known as Taylor. The novelization for Poltergeist II: The Other Side states that Taylor is the reincarnation of a man named Ben Lagou. Lagou was a member of Kane's cult, but when he witnessed Kane's growing evil, he turned against him. Ben Lagou was briefly possessed when he drank tequila, just as Steven Freeling later would be. Ben was able to free himself from the possession, while Kane told his followers that had witnessed this event that Ben Lagou was evil. Kane's cult headed for the cavern and sealed themselves in. Ben tried to find Kane to stop him, but could not find him. He used his shaman abilities to reincarnate himself through lifetime after lifetime until he was reborn as Taylor, who helped the Freeling family defeat Kane.
Poltergeist (1982)[]
After Kane died, his ghost absorbed the energy from his followers and this fused with the power-hungry evil in his heart, transforming Kane into a monstrous apparition that the psychic Tangina Barrons would go on to call "The Beast". Kane/The Beast was able to gain his powers from his followers. However, he desired the energy of more souls which he could not obtain because they kept entering the Light, but when a house was built over his cavern in 1980s and the Freelings moved in, Kane immediately sensed the power of the Freeling's daughter Carol Anne's innocence, and realized that it shone like the Light. As the Beast, Kane persuaded other benign spirits (possibly his followers) to abduct Carol Anne through the screen of a TV set (showing only static) and bring her to their realm, dubbed the "Other Side" where he could use her to attract more souls. Luckily, Carol Anne was rescued by her mother, Diane and brought back to the real world whilst Tangina was able to persuade most of Kane's minions to enter the Light. A vengeful Kane/The Beast used his remaining strength to make the corpses of his followers rise from their graves and eventually consumed the entire Freeling house, but unfortunately for Kane, the Freelings escaped.
Poltergeist 2: The Other Side[]
A year later, Kane tracked Carol Anne to a new house where her grandmother, "Grandma Jess's" clairvoyance was able to forbid him from entering the house without permission. This is the moment that Kane takes his human form and attempts to gain the Freeling's confidence but Carol Anne's father, Steven, manages to see through Kane's lies and Diane even has visions of Kane's life. This is known as the famous "Let Me In" sequence. After Grandma Jess dies, Kane attacks the Freelings but is stopped by the Medicine Man, now calling himself "Taylor". Taylor gives Steven the Smoke Spirit, which has the power to resist Kane's attacks. Kane also manages to possess Steven and in a disturbing scene, it is shown that Kane is also a rapist, as he tries to use Steven's body to rape Diane, this echoes a scene from Poltergeist, where the Beast telepathically drags Diane above her bed and lifts up her top to reveal her undergarments. Luckily, Diane's love for Steven forces Kane out of the body. At the end of the film, the Freelings travel to the "Other Side" and Kane is defeated by Steven using a magical spear that Taylor gave him.
Poltergeist 3[]
Kane manages to trace Carol Anne to her new home at the John Hancock Centre and takes possession of the entire building, using the mirrors as a gateway to their world and getting his minions to take the form of reflections. Once again, Tangina comes to Carol Anne's aid but is captured by Kane. The now defenseless Carol Anne is almost taken by Kane but thanks to Tangina's sacrifice, a softer side to Kane is shown as he is offered redemption if he enters the Light, which he obliges to and moves on to the Afterlife.