Spring Break
Amityville Horror based on little fact, mostly fiction
Aaron Sakulich
Issue date: 10/21/05 Section: Sci-Tech
Originally, I was going to write something about UFOs this week, since it seems like that's what the people want to read, and something about ghosts not being real next week. On the other hand, it occurred to me that I'd look like one big Halloween party pooper if I did that, so my regular tripe on UFOs will have to wait till next week. This week, I'd like to write about the surprisingly bland truth behind the so-called Amityville Horror. You know, to get you all in the mood for Halloween.
Amityville is a pleasant town on Long Island, to the extent that such a place can exist. In the autumn of 1974, however, it was the scene of a rather grisly killing. A man by the name of Ronald DeFeo went on a late-night rampage, killing his parents and a handful of siblings with a hunting rifle. This is where lovers of the occult are quick to mention that even though he was firing off a high-powered rifle indoors, none of his family woke up as he went from room to room shooting them. In the defense of reasonable people everywhere, I'll just mention that after living 5 years in the city of Philadelphia, nothing short of a mortar attack wakes me up any more. I'm sure native New Yorkers have the same ability - not being able to hear gunshots or see bums and prostitutes is like an evolutionary adaptation to city dwellers.
Anyway, DeFeo did it because he wanted to get at his folks' life insurance money. How he thought he'd get away with it is unclear, but it's clear that he though pleading insanity and claiming that his house was haunted would be a viable defense. It wasn't. He made the claim that the house was under the occupation of an ancient, evil spirit that had taken over his body and made him kill his entire family. The judge found him guilty of 6 counts of murder and gave him 150 years in prison. At least he's got bigger things than poltergeists to worry about now.
Fast-forward a year. A new family, the Lutzes, moved into their dream home, only to find that things were quickly awry. They found a room with red walls in the basement, that did not appear on any plans of the house, that they eventually became convinced was the site of occult devil worshippings. The father, an ex-marine, began hearing a phantom brass band following him around; the daughter began playing with a new friend, an invisible pig named jody; green goo ran down the walls; a devil's face appeared in the ashes above the fireplace; the front door was blown off of its' hinges; locked doors and windows would open of their own accord; so on and so forth. If you can think of something creepy, chances are that the Lutz family claimed it happened in their home. Clouds of flies appeared in the house, the temperature dropped for no reason, they saw ghostly figures, blah blah blah.
Amityville is a pleasant town on Long Island, to the extent that such a place can exist. In the autumn of 1974, however, it was the scene of a rather grisly killing. A man by the name of Ronald DeFeo went on a late-night rampage, killing his parents and a handful of siblings with a hunting rifle. This is where lovers of the occult are quick to mention that even though he was firing off a high-powered rifle indoors, none of his family woke up as he went from room to room shooting them. In the defense of reasonable people everywhere, I'll just mention that after living 5 years in the city of Philadelphia, nothing short of a mortar attack wakes me up any more. I'm sure native New Yorkers have the same ability - not being able to hear gunshots or see bums and prostitutes is like an evolutionary adaptation to city dwellers.
Anyway, DeFeo did it because he wanted to get at his folks' life insurance money. How he thought he'd get away with it is unclear, but it's clear that he though pleading insanity and claiming that his house was haunted would be a viable defense. It wasn't. He made the claim that the house was under the occupation of an ancient, evil spirit that had taken over his body and made him kill his entire family. The judge found him guilty of 6 counts of murder and gave him 150 years in prison. At least he's got bigger things than poltergeists to worry about now.
Fast-forward a year. A new family, the Lutzes, moved into their dream home, only to find that things were quickly awry. They found a room with red walls in the basement, that did not appear on any plans of the house, that they eventually became convinced was the site of occult devil worshippings. The father, an ex-marine, began hearing a phantom brass band following him around; the daughter began playing with a new friend, an invisible pig named jody; green goo ran down the walls; a devil's face appeared in the ashes above the fireplace; the front door was blown off of its' hinges; locked doors and windows would open of their own accord; so on and so forth. If you can think of something creepy, chances are that the Lutz family claimed it happened in their home. Clouds of flies appeared in the house, the temperature dropped for no reason, they saw ghostly figures, blah blah blah.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
jessica
posted 10/28/06 @ 11:47 AM EST
When I first had watched the movie and it said based on a true story I did belive it I knew alot was made up but after researching on it I know now the truth. (Continued…)
jessicabryks
jessica
posted 10/28/06 @ 11:50 AM EST
When I first had watched the movie and it said based on a true story I did belive it I knew alot was made up but after researching on it I know now the truth. (Continued…)
Patrick Atwell
posted 3/21/09 @ 6:39 PM EST
...do some more research. The Lutzes did NOT have a garage sale, they sent back friends and their things were auctioned off. George denies he had any financial problems. (Continued…)
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