Season 4 · Episode 26 · First aired 7 May 2006

Petergeist

Episode 26 of Family Guy season 4 (S04E26), the 76th Family Guy episode overall. Written by Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild and directed by Sarah Frost. First broadcast on 7 May 2006.

Story

Joe builds a home cinema, so Peter starts digging a multiplex in his back garden out of spite. He unearths a Native American skull, names it Chief Diamond Phillips and keeps it as a toy despite Brian's pleas to rebury it. That night the house turns paranormal: Stewie talks to television static, the kitchen furniture stacks itself, Peter tears his face off to reveal Hank Hill, and a tree attacks Chris until Herbert rescues him. Lois disbelieves it all until Stewie is pulled into his wardrobe. A medium explains that the wardrobe leads into the spirit world and Meg's backside leads out. Lois goes in and brings Stewie back, and the spirits swallow the house. Homeless, the family learn the skull must be reburied, trace it to Carrot Top's mansion and recover it in a hall of mirrors. The house returns, and Peter swaps the television for Meg.

Production and reception

Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild wrote the episode, their third to air after "Petarded" and "PTV"; Sarah Frost directed. Wikipedia, Petergeist
The title and plot draw on the 1982 film Poltergeist, and composer Ron Jones spent months recreating Jerry Goldsmith's score, paying $400 for photocopies of the sheet music. Wikipedia, Petergeist
The orchestra had 55 members, unusually large for the series. Wikipedia, Petergeist
Bob Costas and Carrot Top voiced themselves, with Lori Alan, Phil LaMarr, Adam West and Patrick Warburton among the recurring voices. Wikipedia, Petergeist
The first airing drew 8.4 million viewers, tying The Simpsons for 42nd that week; Bob Sassone of TV Squad praised it, while Michael Drucker of IGN was more critical. Wikipedia, Petergeist

Voices

Voice	Characters
Seth MacFarlane	Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin
Alex Borstein	Lois Griffin, Catherine Bell, Quahog Soup Kitchen Waitress
Seth Green	Chris Griffin, Home Depot Employee
Mila Kunis	Meg Griffin
Lori Alan	Diane Simmons
Scott 'Carrot Top' Thompson	Carrot Top
Bob Costas	Bob Costas
Margaret Easley	Glenn Quagmire's Girlfriend
Ralph Garman	Garbageman
Mike Henry	Cleveland Brown, John Herbert, Bruce the Performance Artist

Principal voice credits as recorded by IMDb, which lists up to ten credits per episode, so recurring characters can be missing here. Guest voices below come from Wikipedia and TVmaze.

Guest voices

Phil LaMarr
Lori Alan as Diane Simmons
Adam West as Mayor Adam West
Carrot Top as himself
Bob Costas as himself
Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson
Mike Henry as Herbert
Adam Carolla as Death
Danny Smith as Big Fat Paulie
Seth Green as Home Supply Employee

Season 4: episode 26 of 30

Season hub with air dates and credits for all 30 episodes

SourceFacts from Wikipedia: Family Guy season 4 and the episode's article (CC BY-SA 4.0). Spotted an error? See corrections.

Provenance

Facts only

Sources: Wikipedia: Petergeist
Wikidata Q4046720
IMDb
TVmaze
Data refreshed: 6 September 2026
Verification: Checked against Wikidata and IMDb: title, date, numbering and credits agree
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Note: The story summary and notes were written for this site from the sources listed, by Claude in Claude Code on 2026-09-08, awaiting editorial review. Facts only; no dialogue is reproduced. Voice credits: Information courtesy of IMDb (https://www.imdb.com). Used with permission. Guest cast data from TVmaze (https://www.tvmaze.com), CC BY-SA.