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26th out of 342 books
—
374 voters
The Amityville Horror
by
Jay Anson
The shocking true story of an American dream that turned into a nightmare beyond imagining...
In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their new home on suburban Long Island. George and Kathleen Lutz knew that one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers, and sisters in the house, but the property - complete with boathouse and swimming pool - and th
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
July 26th 2005
by Pocket Star Books
(first published August 1st 1977)
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"Do you think it's haunted?"
"No way, I don't believe in ghosts.”
It seems the reading world is clearly divided about this book.
The common question obviously being: is this actually true? I would like to add another question to the equation: does it actually matter?
To some extent, it does. The extent to which this novel will scare you correlates directly to (a)whether you believe the events depicted here are true and (b) your religious orientation. Personally, I’m still reserving judgement on jus...more
"No way, I don't believe in ghosts.”
It seems the reading world is clearly divided about this book.
The common question obviously being: is this actually true? I would like to add another question to the equation: does it actually matter?
To some extent, it does. The extent to which this novel will scare you correlates directly to (a)whether you believe the events depicted here are true and (b) your religious orientation. Personally, I’m still reserving judgement on jus...more
This book is actually for a group challenge in April, but since I've sworn off re-reads for 2012, I decided to knock it out early.
I first read this back when the movie came out. The first movie. So I was pretty young, maybe 11 or 12. I remember liking it pretty well.
Unfortunately, on this re-read I suspected the author might also have been 11 or 12 when he wrote it. The story is excellent and very creepy. Whether a true story or a hoax, it's very compelling. The flaw in the story telling almost...more
I first read this back when the movie came out. The first movie. So I was pretty young, maybe 11 or 12. I remember liking it pretty well.
Unfortunately, on this re-read I suspected the author might also have been 11 or 12 when he wrote it. The story is excellent and very creepy. Whether a true story or a hoax, it's very compelling. The flaw in the story telling almost...more
OK, folks, for the last time, here's the real story.
1. On 13 November 1974, a murder occurred in the home known as "High Hopes," located at what was then 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York. The victims of the crime were the DeFeo family: Ronald Sr., Louise, and four of their five children; Dawn, Allison, Mark and John.
2. Ronald "Butch" DeFeo, Jr., eldest son of the DeFeo family, burst into a local bar in town that night around 6:30PM, asking for help.
3. Butch DeFeo was later tried for and...more
1. On 13 November 1974, a murder occurred in the home known as "High Hopes," located at what was then 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York. The victims of the crime were the DeFeo family: Ronald Sr., Louise, and four of their five children; Dawn, Allison, Mark and John.
2. Ronald "Butch" DeFeo, Jr., eldest son of the DeFeo family, burst into a local bar in town that night around 6:30PM, asking for help.
3. Butch DeFeo was later tried for and...more
This is bad in so many ways. First, it is fiction masquerading as fact. The story of this hoax is out there enough so I don't have to repeat it but the evidence should convince all but the most ardent true believer that this "true story", with the exception of the original DeFeo murder, was totally fabricated. Second, it is really terrible fiction. I am convinced that Mr. Anson had some kind of encyclopedia on hauntings and as he flipped through it he said, "Swarm of flies? I'll put that on page...more
Nov 15, 2008
Sarah Sammis
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2008,
released
The 1970s seems to have been the decade for the horror genre, especially ones focusing on demonic possessions. Mix horror genre with true crime and you'll end up in a gray area that includes The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson. The book reads like a novel and the Wikipedia entry calls it a novel but the Library of Congress categorizes it as non-fiction, specifically demonology (case-studies) and parapsychology (New York) and it's call number is BF1517.U6 A57.
So what are facts? In December 1975 t...more
So what are facts? In December 1975 t...more
Jul 27, 2010
Tina Rae
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
horror fans
Oh wow. This book is amazing, to say the least. There's something about this story that has always frightened me. Normal ghosts, those of the dearly departed, I can handle. But demonic, evil spirits that have no logical explanation, now that's a different story. Well, actually that's this story. For being only two hundred pages, that's quite a feat and to be a (supposedly, depending on what you believe) true story on top of that. Now that is a match made in heaven, in my opinion. So if you want...more
Jan 19, 2013
Elizabeth
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
believers!
Shelves:
2012
Scary October continues...
This book is written in such a simplistic straight-forward style, it almost feels like it was written for an audience of precocious third graders or maybe just those who love the tabloids. It’s hard to tell, especially when the text is littered with exclamation points. The subject is no laughing matter in the spooks department.
It’s 1975 and there are plenty of beard references and nods to political incorrectness that would not pass in this day in age, that’s part of the...more
This book is written in such a simplistic straight-forward style, it almost feels like it was written for an audience of precocious third graders or maybe just those who love the tabloids. It’s hard to tell, especially when the text is littered with exclamation points. The subject is no laughing matter in the spooks department.
It’s 1975 and there are plenty of beard references and nods to political incorrectness that would not pass in this day in age, that’s part of the...more
Jul 28, 2008
Dick Baldwin
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who like a good laugh
Shelves:
frauds
A family, who I shall call the Lootz family (for the sake of their privacy), moves into a house in Amityville, Long Island, where the terrible murders of the previous owners took place. Some twenty-eight days later the Lutz – er, Lootz, family flees in terror. Horrific things happened there. Blood dripped from walls; people floated about in mid air over their beds, there were flies everywhere. Worst of all, a marching band paraded through their living room at three a.m. All these horrors were or...more
i just finished reading jay anson's classic, haunting nonfiction account of one family's terrifying 28 days in a "demonically possessed" household. i'm talking, of course, of the amityville horror.
the story goes that 23-year-old ronald defeo, jr. executed all six members of his family in this ocean avenue home, in long island, ny, in 1974, because crazy devil voices told him to.
hennnyyywayyy...
one year later, the lutz family moves in with their three kids and dog, harry. [just curious, who the f...more
the story goes that 23-year-old ronald defeo, jr. executed all six members of his family in this ocean avenue home, in long island, ny, in 1974, because crazy devil voices told him to.
hennnyyywayyy...
one year later, the lutz family moves in with their three kids and dog, harry. [just curious, who the f...more
Ignore the overshadowing debate about whether or not it actually happened, and you're left with one of the most finely crafted haunted house stories ever written. The narrative is so solid, so matter-of-fact, that one cannot argue with it. This is how it happened, the book says, and what happened was horrifying. The feel is perfect, the book carries an ominous feeling from the first to the last page, much like the house on Ocean Avenue itself. Forget any of the cash-in novels or films, this is a...more
10. As you read today, what surprised you? Explain how this will affect the story or how it changed your thinking about the story.
As I read today, I was surprised because this story was base on a true story. Everything on the story was told by characters. The story was also known by many newspapers and police officers. Many people wanted to test the house and they stayed in the house for one night and everybody had a feeling something strange and they can’t describe it. With George and Kathy Lu...more
As I read today, I was surprised because this story was base on a true story. Everything on the story was told by characters. The story was also known by many newspapers and police officers. Many people wanted to test the house and they stayed in the house for one night and everybody had a feeling something strange and they can’t describe it. With George and Kathy Lu...more
I first read "The Amityville Horror" in the summer of 1980. It was one of the first books I can remember reading that was a real "page turner", a book that was nearly impossible to put down. At the time I too believed that it was, as the cover states, "A True Story". However, I no longer believe that this book is any truer than Stephen King's "Christine". Now by saying this, I am not discounting that "The Amityville Horror" is not a good book; it is one of the most well-crafted haunted house sto...more
In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their new home on Long Island where one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers, and sisters. Twenty-eight days later, the entire Lutz family fled in terror.
The reason I read and am doing a recommendation for this book now is because the story has recently been brought back to the spotlight via a new movie called, My Amityville Horror. Now available on-demand and in select theaters. This is the story as told by Daniel Lutz. Dani...more
The reason I read and am doing a recommendation for this book now is because the story has recently been brought back to the spotlight via a new movie called, My Amityville Horror. Now available on-demand and in select theaters. This is the story as told by Daniel Lutz. Dani...more
I had seen the original movie at least a dozen times before I read the book and was worried at first about being let down by the book. It's been a while since I originally read the book so I'm a little fuzzy on all the details but, I could not have been more wrong, the book gives a lot more detail about the experiences that George and Kathy Lutz went through while living in their "dream home" on Ocean Avenue. Regardless of whether or not the events of the story are truly factual or made up, I fo...more
"The Amityville Horror," by Jay Anson was one of the scariest books I have ever read. I absolutely loved it. Of course, now I can't sleep at night, but I would definitely say it was worth it.
The Lutz family moved into 112 Ocean Avenue thinking that it was their dream home. They had heard the stories of the DeFeo family getting murdered by their oldest son, Ronald, but paid no heed to them. There were so many weird things happening once they moved in. There was a ghost pig named Jodie, green slim...more
The Lutz family moved into 112 Ocean Avenue thinking that it was their dream home. They had heard the stories of the DeFeo family getting murdered by their oldest son, Ronald, but paid no heed to them. There were so many weird things happening once they moved in. There was a ghost pig named Jodie, green slim...more
Have you ever heard an un explained noise in your house? Have things levitated above your head? In this book, the Amityville horror, all of these have happened to an innocent family. I really like this book, it was very suspenseful and interesting. I usually gravitate toward things like this one. If you really like suspenseful and scary stories, you should really read this classic book that inspired many film and caused nightmares for many people around the world who read this terrifying tale.
I...more
I...more
The Lutzes have gotten a steal on 112 Ocean Avenue in the New York city of Amityville. The large Long Island home sits on the water and is more than enough room for Kathy, George, and their three children. The catch is that the house has a bit of a history. A little over a year before, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. had killed his entire family in the home then claimed demonic voices told him to commit them. The Lutzes entered the home as non-believers, but left only twenty-eight days later…terrified for the...more
I read this a couple years ago during the summer. It only took a day or two. It wasn't so much scary as morbidly fascinating as I read it. However, after reading it, I simply could not get certain images out of my head. A white entity coming down the stairs, red eyes staring at me through a window in the dark, etc. I am forever scarred by that second image. I simply can not deal with open blinds at night. The other image... well, that summer was a hot one and my room downstairs doesn't get hit w...more
The story is not true of course. I read this book very young, and although it claimed to be true on the cover that sort of went in one ear and out the other while I was having the bejesus scared out of me by the story.
I literally became so frightened at one point that I threw the book in the trash without finishing it, only to be terrified even further when it was back on the table the next morning. It never occurred to me that a family member could have taken it out thinking it was in there by...more
I literally became so frightened at one point that I threw the book in the trash without finishing it, only to be terrified even further when it was back on the table the next morning. It never occurred to me that a family member could have taken it out thinking it was in there by...more
It's been a while since I read this, close to five years. I had just moved into a new house, and the description of the locale in the text reminded me of my new home. I read this under the premise that it was based on a true story. I was not familiar with the challenges to this claim. And I'm glad I read it in the context I did. It made the book a bit more chilling.
That being said, there are some books that I know aren't great, for one reason or another. But I read them at the right time, a tim...more
That being said, there are some books that I know aren't great, for one reason or another. But I read them at the right time, a tim...more
Based on true events, one of America's most famous horror stories, The Amityville Horror, is a disturbing tragedy of the Defeo, and Lutz families. Jay Anson creates the eerie vibe essential to all horror stories through the raw suspense the story creates itself. Her focus on the characters experience of the mysterious events reveals the novel's plot slowly, further adding onto the suspenseful mood of the story.
I thought that this book was interesting because I had seen many thing about the murde...more
I thought that this book was interesting because I had seen many thing about the murde...more
This book literally made me scared. I was given this book by a friend and only read it at my job to pass the time. I am a huge horror fanatic, so not a lot gets me scared. I already knew the story because of the movie. I also know that the story was exaggerated and many people thought this was completely true. Only parts were true, like the history of the house, not the possession or haunted house with demons.
Great book of horror fiction. This got my imagination in overdrive so I had trouble sl...more
Great book of horror fiction. This got my imagination in overdrive so I had trouble sl...more
Although perhaps overly embellished, this book is a fairly accurate account of the events the Lutz family claimed to have experienced at their home in Long Island.
As to the validity of the story itself, it cannot be proven true or false. What I have noticed, however, is the blatant disregard for facts that most of the hoax theories utilize. Many are in direct contradiction with police evidence, court records, and common sense. None of them agree with each other, despite the fact each one claims...more
As to the validity of the story itself, it cannot be proven true or false. What I have noticed, however, is the blatant disregard for facts that most of the hoax theories utilize. Many are in direct contradiction with police evidence, court records, and common sense. None of them agree with each other, despite the fact each one claims...more
I read this book probably a hundred and fifty times when I was a kid (only a slight exaggeration). The first time was when I was 10. I was so creeped out by it I couldn't sleep that night. Over the years, as the hoax behind the horror has been revealed, it has lost some of its punch, but still, it was one of the first ghost stories/haunted house stories I ever read. From a nostalgia perspective, it still gets points for that.
However, this is truly a horribly written book. The overuse of exclamat...more
However, this is truly a horribly written book. The overuse of exclamat...more
Partially my fault that I didn't enjoy the book, as I like to research any 'true' stories prior to and as I read them. Because of the research I found tons of websites claiming that the story was made up, that the facts don't line up at all with the weather at the time (footprints in the snow on dates where there would have been no snow on the ground) or police reports (according to non-believers the police have no visits to the home on record).
I absolutely admit that these sites could be wrong...more
I absolutely admit that these sites could be wrong...more
I don't know if it's because I've seen both movie versions of the story, and have read a bunch of "fact of fiction" type stuff - including the various evidences that it was a hoax - or if it was the horrible docu-drama style writing (which is, apparently, a product of its time and not just a marker of bad writing) - or a combination of all of the above, but, damn, this book is boring.
I'm giving it a 1-star on the goodreads' scale for "didn't like it" as opposed to "worthless piece of crap" - tho...more
I'm giving it a 1-star on the goodreads' scale for "didn't like it" as opposed to "worthless piece of crap" - tho...more
Empecé el libro tras leerme la versión escrita por Carlos Cala —la cual me pareció buenísima—. No conocía este libro, pero tras saber que se basó en este para su composición quería ver qué tal era. Y aunque la historia en sí me apasiona, y por eso me gustó más, el libro en sí me ha parecido mucho peor que la versión de Carlos Cala.
Sobre todo, me cabrea el modo en que está escrito. ¿Por qué se abusa tantísimo de las exclamaciones? El libro está plagado de signos de exclamación, por todos lados. L...more
Sobre todo, me cabrea el modo en que está escrito. ¿Por qué se abusa tantísimo de las exclamaciones? El libro está plagado de signos de exclamación, por todos lados. L...more
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Everyone has seen the movie, including me, though it was many years ago, and I've read the book too (when I was a teenager) and do recall being spooked. It's time to read it again and see what I think of it from an adult point of view.
Well I've completed the book and don't know what to think, hoax or not, it's not really my decision. I've done some investigating online to see what it would look like today - it's gorgeous and could easily be missed for some other gorgeous home since they've made...more
Well I've completed the book and don't know what to think, hoax or not, it's not really my decision. I've done some investigating online to see what it would look like today - it's gorgeous and could easily be missed for some other gorgeous home since they've made...more
Wow, what an awful book. I'm not even sure what possessed me to read it (godawful pun intended), but it's a sorely regretted decision, let me tell you. The writing is atrocious, and I lost count of how many chapters ended with an exclamation point. Perhaps the fact that I already knew that nothing in the story has been substantiated beyond the DeFeo family murders had something to do with my cynical attitude, but the paranormal occurrences were so ridiculously over the top that it was difficult...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| scary? | 14 | 39 | Apr 02, 2013 06:08pm | |
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| GEORGE SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS | 4 | 53 | Jan 31, 2013 04:45am | |
| Fact or Fiction? | 8 | 51 | Dec 27, 2012 07:56am | |
| Horror Aficionados : Tour the Amityville Horror House | 5 | 82 | Feb 11, 2012 02:55am | |
| Amityville Horror | 1 | 27 | Dec 31, 2011 04:17pm |
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