 |
| Horror or Hoax ? |
The
Big Hoax of the Amityville Horror!
By TCC Team Memeber
Dorraine Fisher
The
Amityville Horror, starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder back in 1979 was one
of the most famous cult-classic horror movies of all time. It was based on the
best selling book by Jay Anson, The Amityville Horror: A True Story that had
been published in 1977. And that was the
main reason movie-watchers flocked to theaters in droves to see the film. It
was said to have been based on a true story of a house haunted by demonic
spirits in Amityville, New York after six people had been brutally murdered
there.
On
November 13, 1974 Ronald and Louise DeFeo and their two sons and two daughters
were shot to death in their beds in the house at 112 Ocean Ave. After their one
surviving son, Ronald Jr. (Butch) DeFeo was arrested, convicted of the crime,
and sent to prison, the house was put up for sale.
George & Kathy Lutz in the late
1970’s
In
1975, George and Kathy Lutz and their three children moved into the house. But
not long afterward, they claimed some horrifying things took place there. Icky
green slime oozed from the ceilings, an unidentified force ripped doors from
their hinges and slammed cabinet doors, they were attacked by a swarm of
insects, and a demonic face with glowing
red eyes looked into their windows at night and left cloven hoof prints in the
fresh snow.
In
an attempt to stop the activity, it was said a priest was called in to bless
the house only to find himself with painful blisters on his hands. He promptly
left after being told by a demonic voice to “Get out!”
A
local TV crew reported the strange goings on in the house. Numerous ghost
hunters and psychics were called in and all came to the conclusion the house
was possessed by some kind of demons and that only an exorcism could solve the
problem.
The
Lutzes promptly left the house and helped Anson with the details as he wrote
his book.
Many
people doubted the story, though Anson and the group still presented it as
truth.
But
as time passed too many holes were found in the story and larger questions were
raised. It seems with all the horrific activity that supposedly took place in
the house during that time, the police were never called. And when a researcher
Rick Moran checked into the story about the demon peering through the windows
and leaving hoof prints in the snow, it seems there had been no snowfall
reported at that time. He found this along with nearly a hundred other
discrepancies and inconsistencies. Moran
also questioned Father Pecoraro, who had blessed the house, and he
claimed he never saw anything unusual in the house.
And
in spite of all this, the Lutzes stuck to their story as they collected large
sums of money from from their rights to the film and book.
But
it all finally unraveled when Butch Dafeo’s lawyer, William Weber, confessed
that he and the Lutzes had created the tall tale together. Weber had made up
the story in order to get a new trial for Dafeo while the Lutzes continued to
reap the monetary benefits. But none of the reported events ever took place.
George Lutz still maintains the story was mostly true but has never presented
evidence to prove it.
The
so-called paranormal experts and psychics who had validated the story ended up
embarrassed and humiliated by their determinations. And to this day, many people still don’t know
it was all a big hoax. *******
DF
©2012 The Crypto Crew
-------
[Some info from Snopes.com ]
Posts
