Retro Horror Vol 2 - The Amityville Horror

Welcome back to round two of Retro Horror.  Both Stormi and I have picked separate books again this time around so you get double the horror fun.  So read on to see what I thought of my pick this month, and then go see how Stormi's pick worked out for her at Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

TITLE: The Amityville Horror

AUTHOR: Jay Anson

PUBLISHER: Bantum Books

PUBLISHING DATE: September 13, 1977

FROM GOODREADS: 28 Days of Terror in a House Possessed by Evil Spirits .

In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their dream home, the same home where Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers and sisters just one year earlier. 

The psychic phenomena that followed created the most terrifying experience the Lutz family had ever encountered, forcing them to flee the house in 28 days, convinced that it was possessed by evil spirits. 

Their fantastic story, never before disclosed in full detail, makes for an unforgettable book with all the shocks and gripping suspense of The Exorcist, The Omen or Rosemary's Baby, but with one vital difference...the story is true. 

MY THOUGHTS: So I remembers seeing this movie when I was very young, probably preteens.  I also remember the remake that was done several years back.  And both times, the movie REALLY creeped me out.  To be honest, the genre of horror that has always scared me the most is stories about demonic possession, and in this case, it seemed to be the house that was possessed.  So when my library got a copy of this in (long before we all went on lockdown), I grabbed it, thinking it would be perfect for a retro review.

So most of us know the story.  The Lutz family moved up in the world when they obtained the precious Amityville house for a steal after Ronald DeFeo murdered his entire family in it.  They knew the main details, and didn't really care.  Slowly but surely the house began to show its true colors, which in my opinion, were probably red and black.  Weird things began to happen such as cold spots in the home, Kathy Lutz feeling a presence around her in the kitchen and smelling perfume, money going missing, doors getting torn off the home and boathouse, and Missy's "imaginary friend," a pig named Jodie.  There's also a mysterious hidden room in the basement painted completely in red and the fact that George wakes up every night at 3:15 am. 

The book also tells the tale of Father Mancuso, the priest the family called to bless their new home.  While the Lutz's are experiencing issues, Father Mancuso is experiencing his own set of horrors.  So much so that he vows not to return to the home even when the Lutz's request his home. You can only imagine this brings up a whole set of ethical struggles for the Father.

Even though this book is non-fiction, I found it an extremely easy read.  Although sometimes I still found what I was reading rather spooky and disturbing.  I don't feel that the actual account is as horrible as the movie version, although take my word, it's all terrifying.  For example, it doesn't seem like George actually became homicidal and wanted to murder his whole family, even though he did experience personality changes.

So overall, I found this an interesting read.  At just over 200 pages, it was long enough to keep my interest and since I haven't seen the movies in years, it added some new information to what I originally recalled. 

I am also VERY curious.  Those of you who know about this incident, do you believe it really happened?  I know there's a lot of controversy about whether it was a huge publicity stunt.  The books puts a big emphasis on what happened with Father Mancuso because apparently at the time, that information was not shared with the Lutz's.  The author uses this fact to strongly substantiate that the tale is true.  Please let me know what you think!

RATING: 4 PAWS