Friday, April 15, 2005

Letting The Truth Get In The Way Of A Good Story

I read The Amityville Horror as a child, at the end of the 70s and it terrified me - scarred me even. Proper hiding under the bed clothes terror as well, not the barely chilling intellectual frisson that passes as being scared by a movie these days. It was a compelling story though, made all the more riveting by the fact it was touted as being 'true'.

A so-so film and a raft of forgettable sequels later, they've gone back to the original source and remade the film, supposedly delving into the book even more. I've been seeing all over the place this myth that its true on the web - but here's a good Snopes page for people who believe that it is.

Now, I was speaking to some people about this before, and we remember in the early 80s the family appearing on the old BBC 6.30 programme, Nationwide - may have been Frank Bough interviewing them. They basically announced they had made it all up for the money, and laughed about it.

Does anyone else remember this out there - a quick google around has been inconclusive? Its not just me as Other people I speak too remember it. If anyone can find a link to some info on it then drop us a comment below. I may be confused and it may have been the author, but I'm pretty sure it was the family itself. I remember it so well as it shattered that long held terror I'd had from reading the book and left me feeling a little cheated. Looks like the cheat is back on again.

Posted by Dio Bach at 14:24

2 Comments:

Elise Tomlinson said...: Hey Dio, The following article Amityville: A look at this classic case goes into the evidence of the hoax in some detail.

In particular this bit:

"Kaplan had discovered that the ?Amityville Horror? was pure invention. In 1979, a lawyer named William Weber confessed to his part in the hoax during a paranormal radio show hosted by author Joel Martin. Weber had been the lawyer for convicted killer Ronald DeFeo and he admitted that he and George Lutz had concocted the story of the haunting over a few bottles of wine. Weber?s motive was to get a new trial for DeFeo, using a ?Devil made him do it? defense. According to Weber, Lutz merely wanted to get out from under a mortgage that he couldn?t afford. His business was in trouble and he needed a scheme to bail him out."

The book, and later movies, scared the holy shit out of me as a child because, like you said, it was *true*. I'm actually relieved to learn differently.; 9:52 PM
holly said...: Daily Drink has some nice shots of the house (and the creepy ass boathouse) now, but be sure to read his little account of the people who live in Amityville- much scarier than the house itself (Amityville trip is the third one down).

When I grow up and get a Satanic pig with red, glowing eyes you better believe I'm naming it Jody.; 10:55 PM