Post by bluefedish on Jun 24, 2007 14:21:18 GMT -5
A True Story is a best-selling book by the author Jay Anson which was published in September 1977. The book has also formed the basis of a series of films made between 1979 and 2005. The story is said to be based on actual paranormal events, but has been the subject of controversy and lawsuits regarding its accuracy.
In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into a large Dutch Colonial house in Amityville, a suburban neighborhood located on the south shore of Long Island, New York. Thirteen months before the Lutzes moved in, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. had shot dead six members of his family at the house. After 28 days the Lutzes left the house, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena while living there.
The house remained empty for thirteen months after the DeFeo murders until December 1975, when the Lutz family bought the house for what was considered to be a bargain price. The six-bedroomed house was built in the Dutch Colonial style, and had a distinctive gambrel roof. It also had a swimming pool and a boathouse, since it overlooked a river. The Lutzes had married in July 1975 and had their own homes, but wanted to start afresh with a new property. They also owned a crossbreed malamute/labrador dog. During their first inspection of the house, the real estate broker told them about the DeFeo murders the previous November, and asked if this changed their opinion about wanting to buy it. After discussing the matter, they decided that it was not an issue.
The Lutz family moved in on December 18, 1975. Much of the furniture of the DeFeo family was still in the house, since it had been included as part of the deal. A friend of the family learned about the past history of the house, and insisted on having it blessed. A Catholic priest named Father Mancuso agreed to carry out the house blessing.
He arrived to perform the blessing on December 18, 1975. When the priest flicked the first holy water and began to pray, he heard a masculine voice say clearly Get out! On December 24, 1975 Father Mancuso telephoned the Lutzes and advised him to stay out of the room where he had heard the unearthly voice telling him to get out. This was a room on the second floor, formerly been the bedroom of Marc and John Matthew DeFeo. The telephone call was cut dead by static, and following his visit to the house, Father Mancuso allegedly developed a high fever and blisters on his hands similar to stigmata.
At first, the Lutzes experienced nothing unusual in the house. Some of the experiences of the Lutz family at the house have been described as follows:
* Waking up around 3:15 every morning and would go out to check the boathouse. Later he would learn that this was the estimated time of the DeFeo killings.
* The house was plagued by swarms of flies despite the winter weather.
* Vivid nightmares about the murders and discovered the order in which they occurred, and the rooms where they took place. The Lutzes' children also began sleeping on their stomachs, in the same way that the dead bodies in the DeFeo murders had been found.
* They discovered a small hidden room (around four feet by five feet) behind shelving in the basement. The walls were painted red and the room did not appear in the blueprints of the house. The room came to be known as "The Red Room." This room had a profound effect on their dog, who refused to go near it and cowered as if sensing something negative.
* There were cold spots and odors of perfume and excrement in areas of the house where no wind drafts or piping would explain the source.
* Waking up by the sound of the front door slamming.
* Mr. Lutz realized that he had a strong resemblance to Ronald DeFeo, Jr., and began drinking at The Witches' Brew, the bar where DeFeo was once a regular customer.
* While in bed, Mrs. Lutz received red welts on her chest caused by an unseen force and was levitated two feet off the bed.
* Cloven hoofprints attributed to an enormous pig appeared in the snow outside the house on January 1, 1976.
By mid-January of 1976, and after another attempt at a house blessing by Mr. & Mrs. Lutz, they experienced what would turn out to be their final night in the house. The Lutzes declined to give a full account of the events that took place on this occasion, describing them as "too frightening."
After getting in touch with Father Mancuso, the Lutzes decided to take some belongings and stay at Mrs. Lutzs' mother’s house nearby until they had sorted out the problems with the house. On January 14, 1976 the Lutz family, left the house leaving most of their possessions behind. The next day, a mover came in to remove all of the possessions to send to the Lutzes. He reported no paranormal phenomena while inside the house.
The book was written after Tam Mossman, an editor at the publishing house Prentice Hall, introduced the Lutzes to Jay Anson. The Lutzes did not work directly with Anson, but submitted around 45 hours of tape recorded recollections to him which were used as the basis of the book. Estimates of the sales of the book are up to ten million copies from its numerous editions. Anson is said to have based the title of The Amityville Horror on The Dunwich Horror by H.P. Lovecraft, which was published in 1929.
The story of The Amityville Horror has been continued in a series of books by John G. Jones. These are The Amityville Horror Part II (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.
Selected Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amityville_Horror
www.rrove.com
In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into a large Dutch Colonial house in Amityville, a suburban neighborhood located on the south shore of Long Island, New York. Thirteen months before the Lutzes moved in, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. had shot dead six members of his family at the house. After 28 days the Lutzes left the house, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena while living there.
The house remained empty for thirteen months after the DeFeo murders until December 1975, when the Lutz family bought the house for what was considered to be a bargain price. The six-bedroomed house was built in the Dutch Colonial style, and had a distinctive gambrel roof. It also had a swimming pool and a boathouse, since it overlooked a river. The Lutzes had married in July 1975 and had their own homes, but wanted to start afresh with a new property. They also owned a crossbreed malamute/labrador dog. During their first inspection of the house, the real estate broker told them about the DeFeo murders the previous November, and asked if this changed their opinion about wanting to buy it. After discussing the matter, they decided that it was not an issue.
The Lutz family moved in on December 18, 1975. Much of the furniture of the DeFeo family was still in the house, since it had been included as part of the deal. A friend of the family learned about the past history of the house, and insisted on having it blessed. A Catholic priest named Father Mancuso agreed to carry out the house blessing.
He arrived to perform the blessing on December 18, 1975. When the priest flicked the first holy water and began to pray, he heard a masculine voice say clearly Get out! On December 24, 1975 Father Mancuso telephoned the Lutzes and advised him to stay out of the room where he had heard the unearthly voice telling him to get out. This was a room on the second floor, formerly been the bedroom of Marc and John Matthew DeFeo. The telephone call was cut dead by static, and following his visit to the house, Father Mancuso allegedly developed a high fever and blisters on his hands similar to stigmata.
At first, the Lutzes experienced nothing unusual in the house. Some of the experiences of the Lutz family at the house have been described as follows:
* Waking up around 3:15 every morning and would go out to check the boathouse. Later he would learn that this was the estimated time of the DeFeo killings.
* The house was plagued by swarms of flies despite the winter weather.
* Vivid nightmares about the murders and discovered the order in which they occurred, and the rooms where they took place. The Lutzes' children also began sleeping on their stomachs, in the same way that the dead bodies in the DeFeo murders had been found.
* They discovered a small hidden room (around four feet by five feet) behind shelving in the basement. The walls were painted red and the room did not appear in the blueprints of the house. The room came to be known as "The Red Room." This room had a profound effect on their dog, who refused to go near it and cowered as if sensing something negative.
* There were cold spots and odors of perfume and excrement in areas of the house where no wind drafts or piping would explain the source.
* Waking up by the sound of the front door slamming.
* Mr. Lutz realized that he had a strong resemblance to Ronald DeFeo, Jr., and began drinking at The Witches' Brew, the bar where DeFeo was once a regular customer.
* While in bed, Mrs. Lutz received red welts on her chest caused by an unseen force and was levitated two feet off the bed.
* Cloven hoofprints attributed to an enormous pig appeared in the snow outside the house on January 1, 1976.
By mid-January of 1976, and after another attempt at a house blessing by Mr. & Mrs. Lutz, they experienced what would turn out to be their final night in the house. The Lutzes declined to give a full account of the events that took place on this occasion, describing them as "too frightening."
After getting in touch with Father Mancuso, the Lutzes decided to take some belongings and stay at Mrs. Lutzs' mother’s house nearby until they had sorted out the problems with the house. On January 14, 1976 the Lutz family, left the house leaving most of their possessions behind. The next day, a mover came in to remove all of the possessions to send to the Lutzes. He reported no paranormal phenomena while inside the house.
The book was written after Tam Mossman, an editor at the publishing house Prentice Hall, introduced the Lutzes to Jay Anson. The Lutzes did not work directly with Anson, but submitted around 45 hours of tape recorded recollections to him which were used as the basis of the book. Estimates of the sales of the book are up to ten million copies from its numerous editions. Anson is said to have based the title of The Amityville Horror on The Dunwich Horror by H.P. Lovecraft, which was published in 1929.
The story of The Amityville Horror has been continued in a series of books by John G. Jones. These are The Amityville Horror Part II (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.
Selected Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amityville_Horror
www.rrove.com
