Customer Reviews

The Amityville Horror - A True Story

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This particular book is not in the genre I usually read. When it first came out, my wife talked me into it. I must admit it frightened me. Perhaps part of it was due to the fact that we had just moved into a house build well before the Civil War on the coast, and the house had many of the characteristics the house in the book had. I sat up way, way into the night reading this book and was actually seeing "red pig eyes" through the window by the time I had finished. Much has been written as to whether or not the book is based on the truth. To be truthful myself, I just don't care. True or not, it is one scary story. I liked it. Highly recommend.

First of all... this is the only book that I have ever read that has literally scared me. It has great descriptions of all of the horrible events that happened in that house, and even away from the house (in the case of the preist.) I honestly had trouble sleeping while I was reading this book and was scared to turn off my lights again for awhile. I think some of the scariness of this book has to do with the fact that it IS a true story. This is a great story and great, fast read. And it is SCARY AS HELL! Much better than the movie! If you like to be scared, get this book!

On December 18, 1975, a young family of five moved into their new home, complete with finished basement, swimming pool, and boathouse. Twenty-eight days later, they fled in terror, leaving most of their belongings behind.

The fantastic story of their experiences was widely publicized on network television, newspapers, and national magazines. But the Lutz family never disclosed the full details to the media. Now, their own carefully-reconstructed memories -- and independent interviews with local clergy and police -- reveal their entire harrowing story.

George and Kathleen Lutz were aware that the house had been the scene of a mass murder -- Ronnie DeFeo, 23, was convicted of shooting his parents, brothers, and sisters. But it seemed an ideal home for them and their three children, and the price was right. On the day they moved in, a priest invited to bless the house was told by an unseen voice to "Get out!" At his rectory, he began to suffer a series of inexplicable afflictions. Meanwhile, alone in their new home, the Lutz family were embarking on the most terrifying experience of their lives. It began when their five-year-old daughter boasted of her new playmate, someone -- or something -- named "Jodie."

THE AMITYVILLE HORROR is an unforgettable book with all the shocks and gripping suspense of THE EXORCIST, THE OMEN, or ROSEMARY'S BABY -- but with one vital difference! As the author reports, "To the extent that I can verify them, all the events in this book are true."

This book is the best horror book I've ever read... It will scare you from head to toe... I was scared when it talked about "Jodie" and the hooded being at the top of the stairs... The movie is scary as well, but the book is more spellbinding and completely scary... To think and know that the Lutzes' story is true, that's just real horror...

I picked this up yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the storytelling and the lucid writing. Guess I was expecting something trashier. Some of the scenes got a bit repetitive but overall, this is an excellent novel: there are no boring parts, just fast paced chills. Read this alone on a rainy night :)

Have you seen the Movie?
I read this book, before the movie came out.

When this book first came out, simply starting to talk to someone reading it, would make them jump, and often the girls would scream as they dropped the book. Believe me, it's that good of a scarry supernatural book.

The book is like a magnet to your hands, you can't seem to put it down, until it's finished. Afterwards, you may double check under your bed, closets, or the shadow in the medicine cabinet.

If you liked the movie, this book is several times better than the movie. If you thought the movie was fair, this book is great.

...some think that this is a true story and others, think that this isn't. Is it? Who know, but this is a pretty good read. Some parts were pretty scary, for example, the figure at the top of the stairs. Other parts seemed to drag a small bit. Sometimes that parts that dragged for me was in the way the author told the story. Perhaps an experienced author could have given more atmosphere to the story.

This is the story of the Lutzs and their experience in the haunted house the bought. Then 28 days later, they fled in terror, leaving most of their possessions. In this book, the reader will find out what made the Lutz's flee.

It all started when the priest went to bless the house and a voice said "GET OUT!" From that point time, the Lutz's lived in terror and nobody in that house was safe. Even the Priest that helped them was victim to the demonic forces that infested the house. The Lutz's went through a lot of horrific events before they left the house. Much more than I would have put up with. Even when the moved, the demonic forces followed them for a while.

The only problem I had with this book is the end. I wont' way what happened, but the way it ended....didnt' seem like a fit ending. There was more to tell and the author didn't tell it. I don't want to say the end was a let down, because it wasn't. However from the way it ended, it just wasn't a good place to end the story.

If you like true life ghost stories, then you need to read this book. Is it true? Who know, but it's a good story. If you start it, I don't think you'll be sorry.

I love this book! Jay Anson writes about a haunted house on Long Island where the inhabitants are driven mad by the spirits that dwell within. Ronnie DeFeo brutally murders his family in the house a year before the Lutz's move in. The Lutz's don't even last a month in their new home even with the help of a local priest before they are driven out by the evil spirits living there. I personally love this book, I've read it 3 times now and get a more vivid picture of Josie (read the book and you'll know) every time. The kids in the family add a nice twist to the story as the youngest daughter can actually see one of the ghosts and communicate with it. I think the ending could be a little better, but I don't mind a disappointing ending when I was so thrilled with the rest of the book.
People said this book was too unbelievable, but how can anything with the supernatural be completely believable? You need to imagine a little bit! Once you get into this book you won't want to stop reading it because it moves so fast. You'll be wondering what will happen next and what will it finally take to get the Lutz's to move out of that haunted mansion.
I love to read mysteries and horror novels and this was by far one of the best ones I've ever read. This book is definitely one of my favorites of all time, even if it wasn't all that believable. ...I give it 5 out of 5 stars. If you want a good scare and a quick read, I completely recommend this book

After years of hearing about this case I read the book and found the book to be very entertaining, engrossing, interesting,scary, and compleat fiction. The so called true story is about the Lutz family who moved in the house into Amityville after the house sat for a year on the market unsold. The real "Horror" of the case happend a year befor when Ronnie DeFeo slaughtered his family with a high powered rifle and was later arrested and sentenced to more the 150 years in jail. He said that voices told him to kill. The jury didn't agree and found him guilty. The Lutz's George and Kathy would run screaming form the house less than a month after they moved in. The are some really good scary moments in the book but at the the end of it all you can't help but wounder how so many were duped for so long. People will say to this day it was a true story. The Warrens, two New England Pharonormalist's have defended the case with a real fever and the "Battle" between the Warrens and Dr Stephen Kaplan can at times be more entertaining. There were some strange things about the story, like how Defeo killed his family while they slept but none of them wake up when the shots are fired. This however can be explained that he drugged his family, Defeo himself a drug addict, and they were out when the murder's happened. However no one else heard the shots in the house's around the home. Countless stories have been so called 'True Stories' but it is hard to prove the validity of the story, on the flip side it's just as hard to say it never happened. The Amityville Horror spawned a movie and countless book and movie sequels that only make the original look more foolish. The book is a good one as a spooky ghost story but as a work of true literiture it seems to lose you very early.
Now about the fight involving the Warrens and the late Dr. Stephen Kaplan it is well known to anyone who knows even the slightest about the case that the Warrens were very much involved with case and Kaplan was involved trying to dispute the claims of a real story. To find out more about both storys you can visit the Warrens web site or buy any of there books and they'll gladly tell you about the case or Kaplan wrote a book called the Amityville Conspricy that does a really good job. The fight had become nasty at time's and on the Warrens site there are some scathing, and false I might add, things said about Mr Kaplan that are refuted in a Letter To The Warrens that you can find on the web. The fighting aside the book, as well as the movie, are entertaining when taken for what they are.

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson is the story of a family who had moved in to a new house in Amityville, Long Island, not knowing that the home was supposedly built on top of an ancient Indian burial ground. Rarely does a book ever captivate me, yet this one captured my attention immediately. From the first two sentences, "George and Kathy Lutz moved into 112 Ocean Avenue on December 18. Twenty-eight days later, they fled in terror,"(p.7) you are interested in what it is that could make a person flee from their brand new home in just 4 weeks. Further into the book, bizarre phenomena occurs creating a terrifying experience for the Lutz family. From the daughters demonic friend "Jodie", to Father Mancuso falling deathly ill anytime he steps in to the house your trapped. This is a horrifying book based on the encounters this family has had. But the scariest thing of all is...it is said to be true!