Thursday, April 23, 2020

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

19 comments:

  1. I think I mentioned on the post you had this listed as a to-read on, that my uncle's sister-in-law lived not far from the house and they had friends who were close neighbors. They said that no one noticed any commotion in or around the house during that time. I wonder if there is any public documentation about Father Mancuso? I'd like to re-read this book at some point. 👹

    Have you seen the movie The Entity? That one scared the begeezus out of me. 😯

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    1. Yea I remember you saying that. I have seen The Entity and hey, you reminded me. I have that book as well. Hmmm, I see it coming up on this future sometime in the near future.

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    2. I think I might re-read The Entity, too. 😅

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  2. Hi :) This post is very interesting

    https://milentry-blog.blogspot.com

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  3. I think I still have the old paperback I bought WAY back when I was first interested in ghosts and the occult, were talking maybe high school? It scared me to death, and at the time I believed every word! Not sure how I feel about it today, though.

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    1. Yea I could research it some more but I guess I'm just not that interested in finding out. Although I will add real or not, you couldn't convince me to stay there for a night. I have no desire to meet Jodie!

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  4. I am going to have to try this, I watched all the movies a long time ago, but to be honest besides knowing it is about a possessed house I don't remember much. I don't think I believe it happened but then I am one of those who has to experience a supernatural encounter to believe in them.... Hey, I live in the Show Me state! I got see to believe. :)

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    1. Haha! I love it. Guess you do live in the right state huh? You do need to read this one.

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  5. I always wanted to read this one. (The movies totally scared the crap out of me.) I have no idea if it's real, or not. But I think something out of the ordinary was going on.

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    1. Yes, the movie is terrifying. Real or not, I wouldn't chance staying there.

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  6. seen the movies and read the book. do i believe? hmmmm....stranger things have happened
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    1. Very true. I think I border on the line that I think some things happened, I just don't know to what extent.

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  7. I'm on the side that believes it was all a stunt.

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    1. I can definitely see why people believe that. I think I'm riding the fence.

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  8. I know I read this many years ago and I have seen the first two films. I pretty much believe that anything is possible but don't recall enough about the book or film to be sure one way or the other!

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    1. I am glad I picked this one up and hey, I managed to work in some non-fiction too!

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  9. I did read this a long time ago and saw the film - I remember being fascinated at the time but then I think I read it was all a stunt or hoax?
    Lynn :D

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    1. I think there's a lot out there to support that.

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  10. I enjoyed this when I read it some time ago. And the movies creeped me out too. Possession always scares me!

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