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1977 volume by Jay Anson

The Amityville Horror
Amityvillecover.jpg

The first edition of the book
Writer Jay Anson
State United States
Language English
Genre Horror novel
Publisher Prentice Hall

Publication engagement

 September 13, 1977
Media type Print (hardback & paperback)
Followed past The Amityville Horror Part Two

The Amityville Horror is a volume by American author Jay Anson, published in September 1977. It is likewise the footing of a serial of films released from 1979 onward. The volume is claimed to exist based on the paranormal experiences of the Lutz family, but has led to controversy and lawsuits over its truthfulness.[i]

Historical basis [edit]

On November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. shot and killed 6 members of his family at 112 Sea Avenue, a large Dutch Colonial house situated in a suburban neighborhood in Amityville, on the south shore of Long Isle, New York. He was convicted of second-caste murder in November 1975 and sentenced to six sentences of 25 years to life in prison house. DeFeo died in custody in March 2021.

In Dec 1975, George and Kathy Lutz and their three children moved into the business firm. Subsequently 28 days, the Lutzes fled the house, challenge to have been terrorized past paranormal phenomena while living there.[2]

Plot [edit]

The book, based on an declared truthful story, describes the business firm at 112 Body of water Avenue as remaining empty for 13 months after the DeFeo murders. In December 1975, George and Kathleen Lutz bought the house for what was considered to exist a bargain toll of $80,000. The five-bedroom house was built in Dutch Colonial style, and had a distinctive gambrel roof. Information technology also had a pond pool and a boathouse, as it was located on a culvert. George and Kathy married in July 1975, and each had their own homes, simply they wanted to commencement fresh with a new property. Kathy had three children from a previous union: Daniel, 9, Christopher, 7, and Melissa (Missy), 5. They also endemic a crossbreed Malamute/Labrador domestic dog named Harry. During their outset inspection of the house, the existent estate banker told them about the DeFeo murders and asked if this would affect their decision. After discussing the thing, they decided that it was not a trouble.

The Lutz family moved in December 18, 1975.[a] Much of the DeFeo family's furniture was all the same in the house, considering information technology was included for $400 as part of the deal.[3] A friend of George Lutz learned almost the history of the firm and insisted on having information technology blessed. At the time, George was a non-practicing Methodist and had no feel of what this would entail. Kathy was a not-practicing Catholic and explained the procedure. George knew a Catholic priest named Father Ray who agreed to carry out the house blessing (in Anson's book, existent-life priest Father Ralph J. Pecoraro is referred to as Father Mancuso for privacy reasons).[iv]

Father Mancuso was a lawyer, gauge of the Catholic Courtroom and psychotherapist who lived at the local Sacred Heart Rectory. He arrived to perform the approval while George and Kathy were unpacking their property on the afternoon of December 18, 1975, and went into the edifice to conduct out the rites. When he flicked the get-go holy water and began to pray, he heard a masculine vox demand that he "get out". When leaving the firm, Father Mancuso did not mention this incident to either George or Kathy. On December 24, 1975, Male parent Mancuso called George Lutz and advised him to stay out of the second floor room where he had heard the mysterious phonation, the sometime bedroom of Marc and John Matthew DeFeo, that Kathy planned to use as a sewing room, merely the call was cut brusque by static. Following his visit to the house, Father Mancuso allegedly developed a high fever and blisters on his hands like to stigmata. At first George and Kathy experienced nothing unusual in the firm. Talking almost their experiences subsequently, they reported that it was as if they "were each living in a different house".

By mid-Jan 1976, later on another attempt at a house approving past George and Kathy, they experienced what would turn out to exist their final dark in the business firm. The Lutzes declined to give a full business relationship of the events that took place on this occasion, describing them equally "too frightening".

After getting in touch with Father Mancuso, the Lutzes decided to take some belongings and stay at Kathy's mother's business firm in nearby Deer Park, New York, until they had sorted out the problems with the house. They claimed that the phenomena followed them at that place, with the final scene of Anson's book describing "greenish-black slime" coming upward the staircase towards them. On Jan 14, 1976, George and Kathy Lutz, with their three children and their dog Harry, left 112 Sea Artery, leaving all of their possessions behind. The adjacent day, a mover arrived to remove the possessions to send to the Lutzes. He reported no paranormal phenomena while inside the business firm.[5]

The volume was written after Tam Mossman, an editor at the publishing house Prentice Hall, introduced George and Kathy Lutz to Jay Anson. The Lutzes did not work directly with Anson, merely submitted effectually 45 hours of tape-recorded recollections to him, which were used as the ground of the book. Estimates of the sales of the book are around 10 1000000 copies from its numerous editions. Anson is said to take based the title of The Amityville Horror on "The Dunwich Horror" by H. P. Lovecraft, which was published in 1929.[6]

Other books [edit]

  • The story of The Amityville Horror was continued in a series of books by John Chiliad. Jones, with The Amityville Horror Office 2 (1982), Amityville: The Final Chapter (1985), Amityville: The Evil Escapes (1988) and Amityville: The Horror Returns (1989). In 1991, Amityville: The Nightmare Continues by Robin Karl was published.[vii]
  • Hans Holzer wrote three books relating the story: Murder in Amityville, The Amityville Curse and The Secret of Amityville. Murder in Amityville was used as the footing of the 1982 film Amityville II: The Possession and the 1990 motion picture The Amityville Curse was based on the volume of the same name. William Weber, the defense attorney for Ronald DeFeo, Jr. at his trial, recommended Holzer to DeFeo in 1979 as a fashion for DeFeo to obtain a book deal telling his side of the story.[viii] The 1983 film Amityville 3-D was also turned into a novelization by Gordon McGill. Mentally Ill In Amityville, a factual account of the case by Volition Savive, was published in 2008.

Criticism and controversy [edit]

The role of Father Pecoraro - Father "Mancuso" in the volume - in the story has been given considerable attention. During the form of the lawsuit surrounding the case in the late 1970s, Father Pecoraro stated in an affirmation that his just contact with the Lutzes concerning the matter had been by telephone.[ix] Other accounts say that Father Pecoraro did visit the house but experienced nada unusual there.[10]

The claims of concrete damage to the locks, doors and windows were rejected by Jim and Barbara Cromarty, who bought the house for $55,000 (equivalent to $235,000 in 2020) in March 1977. Barbara Cromarty argued that they appeared to be the original items and had not been repaired. The Cromartys also revealed that the "Red Room" was a pocket-sized cupboard in the basement and would accept been known to the previous owners of the house (the Lutzes) because information technology was not concealed in any way. The claim fabricated in Chapter 11 of the book that the business firm was built on a site where the local Shinnecock Indians had once abased the mentally sick and the dying was rejected by local Native American leaders.[eleven]

The merits of cloven hoof prints in the snow on Jan 1, 1976, was rejected past researchers Rick Moran and Peter Jordan, whose investigation revealed that in that location had been no snowfall at that time.[ane] Neighbors[ who? ] reported zero unusual during the time that the Lutzes were living in that location. Police officers are depicted visiting the house in the book and 1979 film, but records showed that the Lutzes did not call the law during the menses that they were living on Ocean Avenue.[12] There was no bar in Amityville called The Witches' Brew at the fourth dimension.

Critics including Stephen Kaplan have pointed out that changes were made to the book as it was reprinted in different editions.[13] [ folio needed ] In the original hardcover edition, Father Pecoraro'due south motorcar is "an old tan Ford", and he experiences an incident in which the hood flies up against the windshield while he is driving it. In later editions, the motorcar is described as a Chevrolet Vega, before reverting to a Ford.[fourteen] [xv]

In May 1977, George and Kathy Lutz filed a lawsuit against William Weber (the defense lawyer for Ronald DeFeo, Jr. at his trial), Paul Hoffman (a writer working on an account of the hauntings), Bernard Burton and Frederick Mars (both alleged clairvoyants who had examined the business firm), along with Adept Housekeeping magazine, the New York Dominicus News and the Hearst Corporation. The Lutzes alleged misappropriation of names for trade purposes, invasion of privacy and mental distress. The claims against the news corporations were dropped and the remainder of the lawsuit was heard by Brooklyn U.S. District Court judge Jack B. Weinstein. In September 1979, Judge Weinstein dismissed the Lutzes' claims. In the September 17, 1979, issue of People magazine, William Weber wrote: "I know this book is a hoax. We created this horror story over many bottles of wine." This refers to a coming together that Weber is said to have had with George and Kathy Lutz, during which they discussed what would afterwards become the outline of Anson's book. Judge Weinstein likewise expressed business organisation virtually the conduct of William Weber and Bernard Burton relating to the affair, stating: "There is a very serious upstanding question when lawyers become literary agents."[xvi]

George Lutz maintained that events in the book were "mostly true". In June 1979, George and Kathy Lutz took a polygraph test relating to their experiences at the firm. The polygraph tests were performed past Chris Gugas and Michael Rice who, at the time, were reportedly among the top five polygraph experts in America.[17] The results, in Rice's stance, did not indicate lying.[eighteen] [xix] In October 2000, The History Channel circulate Amityville: The Haunting and Amityville: Horror or Hoax?, a two-part documentary made by horror screenwriter/producer Daniel Farrands.

The contend most the accuracy of The Amityville Horror continues. The various owners of the house since the Lutz family unit left in 1976 have reported no bug while living at that place. James Cromarty, who bought the house in 1977 and lived in that location with his married woman Barbara for x years, commented: "Nothing weird e'er happened, except for people coming by because of the volume and the movie."[20] [21] [22]

Films [edit]

The people and events fictionalized in The Amityville Horror have been the subject of a number of films (many of which share no connection other than the reference to Amityville):

  • The Amityville Horror (1979)
  • Amityville II: The Possession (1982)
  • Amityville 3-D (1983) (fabricated in 3-D and has as well been released as Amityville Iii: The Demon)
  • Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes (1989)
  • The Amityville Curse (1990)
  • Amityville: It'south Near Fourth dimension (1992)
  • Amityville: A New Generation (1993)
  • Amityville Dollhouse (1996)
  • The Amityville Horror (2005 remake)
  • The Amityville Haunting (2011)
  • The Amityville Aviary (2013)
  • Amityville Death House (2015)
  • The Amityville Playhouse (2015)
  • Amityville: No Escape (2016)
  • Amityville: Vanishing Bespeak (2016)
  • The Amityville Legacy (2016)
  • The Amityville Terror (2016)
  • Amityville Prison house (2017)
  • Amityville: The Awakening (2017)
  • The Amityville Murders (2018)
  • The Amityville Harvest (2020)
  • An Amityville Poltergeist (2020)
  • Witches of Amityville Academy (2020)
  • Amityville Island (2020)
  • Amityville Vampire (2021)

The 1979 movie, based on Jay Anson'due south novel, is the best known in the series. James Brolin and Margot Kidder portray the couple George and Kathy Lutz. The part of the priest who blesses the house (renamed Father Delaney in the motion picture) was played past Academy Award–winning actor Rod Steiger. The showtime three Amityville films received a theatrical release, while the fourth moving picture was made for telly by NBC. The sequels from the 1990s were released direct to video and comprise virtually no material relating to the Lutz family or the DeFeo murders. Instead, they concentrate on paranormal phenomena caused by cursed items supposedly linked to the house.

Ane of the better known features of the Amityville Horror films is the distinctive pumpkin head appearance of the business firm, which was created by ii quarter round windows on the 3rd floor cranium level. The windows are oft illuminated in the films, giving the appearance of malevolent optics. The kickoff iii films were filmed at a house in Toms River, New Jersey which had been converted to await like 112 Ocean Avenue afterwards the authorities in Amityville denied permission for location filming. Although not all of the films in The Amityville Horror series are set at the onetime Lutz home on Ocean Avenue, the distinctive Dutch Colonial house is traditionally used as the principal epitome in promotional material.

In 2005, a remake of the original Amityville Horror picture show was released, with the tagline Katch em and kill em, referring to the claimed link between the house in Ocean Avenue and John Ketcham, whose proper noun has been linked to witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts but remains a controversial and elusive effigy.[23] This version exaggerates the isolation of 112 Ocean Artery by depicting information technology as a remote house similar to the Overlook Hotel in Stephen Rex's The Shining. In reality, 112 Bounding main Avenue is a suburban house within 50 anxiety (xv m) of other houses in the neighborhood. The house used in the 2005 version was in Silvery Lake, Wisconsin, while other location piece of work was shot in nearby Antioch, Illinois. The child character Jodie DeFeo, appearing in the film, is fictional and was non i of the victims of the shootings by Ronald DeFeo, Jr. in November 1974. George Lutz described the 2005 remake as "drivel" and sued the makers for breach of contract, defamation and libel.[24] He objected specially to the scene in the motion picture where the male lead – named as George Lutz and played by Ryan Reynolds – is shown killing the family dog with an axe. The film also shows the George Lutz grapheme building coffins for members of his own family unit. The defamation claim was dismissed by a Los Angeles court in Nov 2005, while other issues related to the lawsuit remained unresolved at the time of George Lutz's decease.[25]

The documentary My Amityville Horror was released in March 2013. Information technology featured interviews with Daniel Lutz, one of the children who lived in the house during the flow on which the book and films are based. Lutz echos the original story as told by his mother and step-begetter. He likewise makes additional claims that both he and George Lutz were possessed, that George Lutz demonstrated telekinetic abilities and strongly suggests that George'southward dabbling in the occult may accept initiated the demonic events.[26]

Legacy [edit]

Kathleen Theresa Lutz (October thirteen, 1946 – August 17, 2004) died of emphysema and George Lee Lutz (January 1, 1947 – May viii, 2006) died of heart disease. The couple had divorced in the tardily 1980s, but remained on proficient terms.

During the catamenia in which the Lutz family was living at 112 Ocean Avenue, Dr. Stephen Kaplan, a self-styled vampirologist and ghost hunter, was called in to investigate the house. Kaplan and the Lutzes had a falling out subsequently Kaplan said that he would expose whatsoever fraud that was found. Kaplan went on to write a critical book titled The Amityville Horror Conspiracy with his wife Roxanne Salch Kaplan. The book was published in 1995.

On the night of March 6, 1976, the firm was investigated by Ed and Lorraine Warren, a husband and wife team self-described as demonologists, together with a crew from the television station Aqueduct 5 New York and reporter Michael Linder of WNEW-FM. During the form of the investigation Cistron Campbell took a serial of infrared time-lapse photographs. I of the images allegedly showed a "demonic boy" with glowing eyes who was standing at the foot of a staircase.[27] The photo did non emerge into the public domain until 1979, when George and Kathy Lutz and Rod Steiger appeared on The Merv Griffin Bear witness to promote the release of the first film. 112 Body of water Avenue was also investigated past the parapsychologist Hans Holzer. The Warrens and Holzer have suggested that the house is occupied by malevolent spirits due to its history. The Warrens' visit to the house was depicted in the 2016 film The Conjuring 2.[28]

George Lutz registered the phrase The Amityville Horror as a trademark in 2002 and it is referred to as The Amityville Horror™ on his official website.[29] Lutz claimed that the film producers embellished or made events portrayed in the 1979 version and the 2005 remake. He too claimed that the producers of the 2005 film did not involve his family and that they used his name without permission.[30]

112 Ocean Avenue in Dec 2005

The house known every bit 112 Ocean Avenue notwithstanding exists but it has been renovated and the address changed in order to discourage sightseers from visiting it. The quarter round windows have been removed and the house today looks considerably dissimilar from its depiction in the films. The firm in Toms River used as the location for the first 3 films has also been modified for the aforementioned reason. For the 2005 moving picture version, the house was renamed 412 Ocean Avenue. The 2005 motion-picture show remake says that the basement of the Lutz home was built in 1692, but 112 Bounding main Avenue – also known as High Hopes – was built around 1924 for John and Catherine Moynahan.[21]

The local residents and regime in Amityville, New York, are unhappy with the attention that The Amityville Horror brings to the town, and tend to reject requests to hash out it publicly.[31] [32] The website of the Amityville Historical Society makes no mention of the murders by Ronald DeFeo, Jr. in 1974 or the catamenia that the Lutz family lived at 112 Body of water Artery. When the History Channel made its documentary well-nigh The Amityville Horror in 2000, no member of the Historical Society would discuss the matter on camera.[33]

The episode of CSI: NY starting time broadcast on October 31, 2007, was a Halloween edition based on The Amityville Horror. Entitled "Boo", information technology features a house in Amityville where a family has died in circumstances similar to the DeFeo murders.[34]

In May 2010, the house was placed on the market with an asking price of $i.15 1000000. In August 2010, the house was sold to a local resident for $950,000.[35] [36] On August 21, 2010, the parting owner held a moving sale at the business firm and hundreds of people turned up for the event. They were allowed to get inside the house, just not to visit the upstairs rooms or the basement.[37]

See also [edit]

  • Borley Rectory

Notes [edit]

a. ^ The Prologue of The Amityville Horror states that "they moved in on Dec 23". In Affiliate 1, the date is given as December 18. This discrepancy was criticized by Stephen and Roxanne Salch Kaplan in The Amityville Horror Conspiracy.[38] Events in the book dated to the menstruum before December 23 propose that this engagement may exist incorrect.

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b Joe Nickell wrote a summary of the investigative files on The Amityville Horror
  2. ^ "Amityville Horror: Horror or Hoax?". ABC News. Retrieved June xxx, 2015.
  3. ^ Chapter one.
  4. ^ "The Amityville Murders' Reference Material". Amityvillemurders.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June iii, 2011.
  5. ^ "George Lutz interview – Amityville Horror". Ghostvillage.com. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  6. ^ "Interview with George Lutz by Dan Farrands". Horror.com. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  7. ^ "The Hoax in Amityville: Role 5". Chatanuga.org. Retrieved June three, 2011.
  8. ^ "1979 letter from William Weber to Ronald DeFeo, Jr". Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  9. ^ "The Amityville Murders". The Amityville Murders. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June iii, 2011.
  10. ^ "The Real Amityville Horror: The Tragic Murder of the Ronald De Feo Family unit". Crimelibrary.com. February 16, 1976. Archived from the original on April three, 2014. Retrieved June iii, 2011.
  11. ^ "The Amityville Murders". The Amityville Murders. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June iii, 2011.
  12. ^ "Amityville: Horror or Hoax?". Prairieghosts.com. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  13. ^ Kaplan, Stephen (1995). The Amityville horror conspiracy. Roxanne Salch. Laceyville, PA: Tower Books. ISBN0963749803. OCLC 33826221.
  14. ^ "Amityville Horror or Fantasy?". BBC. Retrieved June iii, 2011.
  15. ^ "Amityville Truth". Amityvillefaq.com. October 20, 2005. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  16. ^ "The Amityville Murders". The Amityville Murders. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June iii, 2011.
  17. ^ "Hoax Arguments". Amityville FAQ. July 24, 2000. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  18. ^ Singh, Anita (May 25, 2010). "Original Amityville Horror house on sale for $1.15 meg". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  19. ^ "The Amityville Horror Official Website: Documents". amityvillehorror.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2004.
  20. ^ 'Amityville Horror' house back on market, for $1.15M Newsday, May 24, 2010
  21. ^ a b "The Amityville Murders". The Amityville Murders. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  22. ^ "Archive for May 10, 2006". Las Vegas Sunday. May 10, 2006. Archived from the original on Jan ten, 2008. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  23. ^ "The Amityville Horror Official Website: John Ketcham – Man or Myth?". Amityvillehorror.com. November 13, 1974. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  24. ^ "George Lutz Labels Amityville Remake Drivel". April 21, 2005. Archived from the original on Apr 21, 2005. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  25. ^ Guess tosses haunted house owner's 'Amityville' defamation suit – CourtTV.com
  26. ^ My Amityville Horror IMDb. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  27. ^ "View the "demonic male child" photo". Thedemonologist.cyberspace. Archived from the original on November 8, 2006. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  28. ^ Cook, Tommy (March 26, 2016). "The Conjuring 2: James Wan Reveals the Sequel's Amityville Connectedness at WonderCon". Collider . Retrieved Apr 15, 2016.
  29. ^ "Latest Status Info". Tarr.uspto.gov. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  30. ^ "Exclusive Interview with George Lutz and Dan Farrands". Horror.com. March 6, 1976. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  31. ^ "Why Hollywood's version of DeFeo murders isn't Amityville's". Amityvillerecord.com. Retrieved June iii, 2011.
  32. ^ Mayhew, Malcolm (May 8, 2005). "The reel horror". The San Diego Union-Tribune . Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  33. ^ "The Chronological History of Amityville". Amityvillehistoricalsociety.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  34. ^ Christian Höhne Sparborth (November one, 2007). "'CSI: NY', Episode Guide – "Boo"". Csifiles.com. Retrieved June three, 2011.
  35. ^ Buyer found for 'Amityville Horror' firm Newsday.com, August v, 2010.
  36. ^ New 'Amityville Horror' house owners dread Halloween Newsday.com, September 27, 2010.
  37. ^ Toback, Rebecca (August 21, 2010). "Hundreds come up for 'Amityville Horror' firm moving auction". Newsday. Archived from the original on August 25, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  38. ^ "Amityville – The Existent Horror Story Function Iv". Castleofspirits.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.

Further reading [edit]

  • Holzer, Hans: The Amityville Curse: Fact or Fiction? (a 2007 reprint of Murder in Amityville, The Amityville Expletive and The Secret of Amityville). ISBN 978-0-7607-8535-five
  • Kaplan, Stephen and Roxanne Salch: The Amityville Horror Conspiracy (1995) ISBN 978-0-9637498-0-ii
  • Osuna, Ric: The Night the DeFeos Died (2002) ISBN 978-i-59109-586-six
  • Savive, Will: Mentally Sick in Amityville (2008) ISBN 978-0-595-50312-4

External links [edit]

  • The Amityville Horror – website created by George Lutz and Tim Yancey: contains documents and interviews
  • Amityville FAQ – FAQ on Amityville case with interviews and articles and bulletin forum.
  • The Amityville Files – The largest archive of Amityville-related inquiry on the spider web
  • The Murder of the DeFeo Family from Crime Library on truTV.com
  • Reel or Real? The Truth Behind Two Hollywood Ghost Stories (Skeptical Inquirer)
  • Investigative Files – Amityville: The Horror of It All
  • Amityville: Horror or Hoax?
  • The Amityville Horror: Is The Amityville Horror based on a truthful story? (Snopes.com)

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amityville_Horror

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