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The Controversy Surrounding The Amityville Horror

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The Amityville Horror has long been one of the most extreme, popular, and controversial paranormal events in North America, especially within the last 40 years. It began on November 13, 1974 when Ronald “Butch” DeFeo, Jr. murdered his father, mother, two sisters, and two brothers at their house at 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York. There is much controversy surrounding the 1974 murders because no one really knows exactly what happened, even though DeFeo was tried and found guilty on six counts of second-degree murder, leading to six sentences of 25 years to life. Thirteen months later the Lutz family bought the house at 112 Ocean Avenue because it was priced well below market value due to the murders associated with it. During the 28 days …show more content…

A piece of evidence from Lorraine’s team includes a famous photograph of a hallway which includes a little boy with glowing eyes in a doorway (Appendix A). In the documentary Lorraine mentions how her team made sure none of the Lutz children were in the house when they were present investigating the paranormal. If this is true, then who is the little boy in the picture? In 1979 it would have been very difficult to doctor photos such as this without the use of a computer, and there would be no real motive for the Warrens to do such a …show more content…

William Weber was Ronald DeFeo, Jr.’s lawyer after the Amityville murders and, soon after the hauntings, George and Kathy Lutz went to him with their story to get more information on what had happened prior to them living there. They had made a deal with Webber to make a novel before eventually going to Jay Anson. William Webber admits that their story is a hoax and that the three of them “created the story over many bottles of wine” (Lester). Webber ended up taking the two of them to court over breach of agreement and for a share of their profits (Lester). The account from Webber makes it seem as though the entire story is fiction, and that their accounts were made up in order to sell more books. This type of marketing has been used many times in history to promote films or generate a more emotional reaction from an audience. When people think what they are watching or reading actually happened, they will be more engaged with that material. The Blair Witch Project is arguably the most famous modern film for this type of marketing ploy. Found footage has saturated the horror film industry since The Blair Witch Project because these types of films make them seem more real and more believable. The Amityville Horror: A True Story even exploits this in the title, as well as some editions having quotes on the cover saying “More hideously

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