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Poltergeist 2016 Eau de Parfum

6.4 / 10 59 Ratings
A perfume by Heretic for women and men, released in 2016. The scent is smoky-woody. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Smoky
Woody
Spicy
Green
Earthy

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
FrankincenseFrankincense JuniperJuniper Absinthe wormwoodAbsinthe wormwood PinePine
Heart Notes Heart Notes
ChampacaChampaca
Base Notes Base Notes
Birch tarBirch tar CedarCedar GalbanumGalbanum LabdanumLabdanum Palo SantoPalo Santo PatchouliPatchouli Cade juniperCade juniper VanillaVanilla

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
6.459 Ratings
Longevity
7.949 Ratings
Sillage
7.449 Ratings
Bottle
6.849 Ratings
Value for money
6.316 Ratings
Submitted by WiB · last update on 11/24/2025.
Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Poltergeist (Extrait de Parfum) by Heretic
Poltergeist Extrait de Parfum
Apéro by La Maison Hédonique
Apéro
Bois d'Ascèse by Naomi Goodsir
Bois d'Ascèse

Reviews

11 in-depth fragrance descriptions
3Scent
ozozoz

6 Reviews
ozozoz
ozozoz
2  
I can appreciate this as an art but...
When I first sprayed this on the blotter paper, it gave me nothing but thick black smoke. I couldn’t even attempt to put it close to my nose to try and smell the other elements—I gave it a rating of 1, definitely agreeing with other reviewers interpretations of ham and Vicks vapour rub

Today I revisited it to give it a fair go. Spraying on my skin, I didn’t so much get the overpowering black smoke element this time around, but rather a deeply woody and obscure earthy green scent. It is absolutely not feminine, actually the women around me found it to be very unpleasant.

It somewhat reminds me of birds that are kept in a metal cage that hasn’t been cleaned in a while, or some sort of exotic pet where they use aspen bedding as the floor. And also a mens aftershave. Eucalyptus and citronella-esque elements but not quite those scents in particular.

I can’t say the notes are anything I’ve smelt before to reflect accurately on at what point I smell where, so my interpretation of the dry down a bit peppery, smoky, and earthy. I want to guess the birch tar and Paolo Santo are strong, and there is a fresh herbal, almost medicinal quality to it (fresh and clean like Vicks, but make it smoky). Dare I say it even gets a little bit sweeter as time goes on? Either that or the Poltergeist has taken over me.

I think this would be sexy on an older man on a date night. Emphasis on the night. Or a mysterious business man who doesn’t have your best interest at heart, and will betray you to seal a deal.

So I can appreciate this as an art; because how amazing is it to capture something like this, it’s very unusual. Would I want to wear this? Absolutely not. It’s a very…different scent. But I would recommend smelling it if you ever come across it. Masculine for sure. Absolutely no blind buy PLEASE. But I’ll increase my rating, because while the initial spritz is terrible, I can actually appreciate the dry down.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be washing this off now.
0 Comments
parfumpixie

358 Reviews
parfumpixie
parfumpixie
1  
smoked ham but make it spooky
smells like a sweetly heavy presence following you in the woods, hiding behind trees as you stalk around in the night. This scent is heavy, but very distinctly sweet in an almost bbq/smoked ham sort of way funny enough. It’s stinging, hits the back of your throat, as if you’re screaming over a grill. There’s green elements here too, but in such a heavy way it feels like a blanket of greens and Mother Earth. Such a strange apparition of a fragrance, but so interesting.
0 Comments
DRKSHDW

155 Reviews
DRKSHDW
DRKSHDW
1  
BURNT SALAMI CHAOS
This is a true horror in a bottle. Overspray Poltergeist and watch everyone run screaming. You’ll be the ghost, the haunted house, and the exorcism all in one. The scent opens with a green, minty, slightly nutty chill. There’s a whiff of smoke that starts off intriguing, earthy, almost witchy, and then it mutates into something far less friendly. Like melting trash bags in a bonfire behind a BBQ shack. Dumpster apocalypse. It’s equal parts campfire accident and burning garbage day. No sweetness here, just the kind of acrid, smoky intensity that might cleanse your aura and your sinuses.
There’s also a faint soapy note hiding under the smoke, like someone tried to clean up the chaos before it fully erupted. The opening’s minty shoe-polish vibe is tolerable, even kind of cool in a mad scientist way, but once the drydown hits, it’s pure burnt salami chaos.
Smoke fiends, you might actually love it. As for me, I’ll stick to perfumes that don’t smell like they were made during an exorcism. And here’s the real fright: it performs incredibly well. Long-lasting, powerful, and impossible to ignore, which in this case, is downright dangerous.
0 Comments
ohmygaudrey

3 Reviews
ohmygaudrey
ohmygaudrey
2  
Heavy Healing
Opens very heavy and dark, a difficult thing on the dark late November mornings. This heaviness lasts about a half hour, and then it's just a burning ceremonial and medicinal ritual that isn't overpowering at all - just a comforting hum of smoke. I had this on my neck.

I layered it with Rain [Reserve Blend] by Clean to brighten the opening on my wrists to balance the heaviness and the combination makes it smell more hopeful in a way. It's like I just broke through the scary part of the haunted woods after a downpour, and there are sunshowers in front of me, with the mystery and ritual still lingering
0 Comments
Katzevogel

49 Reviews
Katzevogel
Katzevogel
1  
Cold Fire
This has been one of the more fun fragrances to test in a while, as it brings up so many different scent memories for people! The birch tar is definitely present, but not as meaty/bbq as so many other compositions that use it quickly turn. It's pretty similar to the Cedre 11 home fragrance by Le Labo but with this herbal underbelly that is even more wicked. One coworker described it as an old ice cream shop that still serves soft-serve in styrofoam. Another described it as the scent of electronics overheating.
0 Comments
More reviews

Statements

31 short views on the fragrance
6
The devil calls my name. I say, I’m sorry, I’m busy. I turn back to my work: rubbing Vicks vapor rub onto a smoked ham.
0 Comments
3 months ago
4
Weirdly enough, this is CBD oil rather than smoked ham on my skin - and although "smoky vick's vapor rub" tracks, I actually enjoy that.
0 Comments
2
Melting trash bags in a bonfire behind a BBQ shack. Dumpster apocalypse. Equal parts campfire accident & burning garbage day. A true horror!
0 Comments
2
Though I'd like this but omg. It smells like burning rubber and charred meat. Instant scrubber, but it's so strong it wouldn't come off!
0 Comments
13 days ago
1
Caught off guard by how much I disliked this. Scrubbed twice and the burning rubber/motor oil smell still lingers.
0 Comments
2 months ago
1
One of the rare smoky fragrances that DOESN'T go in a "hickory-smoked meat" direction for me. I really don't find this all that unwearable?
0 Comments
1
i love smelling like a vegan hotdog
0 Comments
1
OMG. I had high hopes for a deliciously funky fragrance, but the reviewer below was right: it’s giving Vick's VapoRub on a smoked ham
0 Comments
1
I did not expect this scent, I smelled like smoked hickory bacon for about 5 hours. When it dries down after those 5 hours it's pleasant.
0 Comments
34
28
The little spirits have been playing with fire and burned everything down.
Herbs, half the forest, the tarred road.
Cedar trees are still in the smoke.
Translated · Show originalShow translation
28 Comments
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