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Murder in Amityville
The Lutz family barely escapes 112 Ocean Ave. While fleeing Amityville, they are attacked, but got away. They arrive at Kathy's mother's house, where they think they are safe. Soon after, George is awoken by a supernatural force. George and Kathy realize that they are being followed. Over the next few days, Kathy and her mother spot Missy playing with Jodie. Events plague the family. They get The Amityville Horror published and have to deal not only with the supernatural, but skeptics and a never ending line of press.
288 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1980
251 people want to read
About the author
Hans Holzer
208 books163 followersHans Holzer, whose investigations into the paranormal took him to haunted houses and other sites all over the world, wrote more than 140 books on ghosts, the afterlife, witchcraft, extraterrestrial beings, and other phenomena associated with the realm he called “the other side.” Among his famous subjects was the Long Island house that inspired The Amityville Horror book and film adaptations. Holzer studied at the University of Vienna, Austria, and at Columbia University, New York, earning a master’s degree in comparative religion. He taught parapsychology at the New York Institute of Technology. Holzer died in 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 26, 2019
I known of Hans Holzer since I was a kid. I’ve never read any of his many books, and it may be that Murder in Amityville isn’t his best effort. As I state in my blog post about the book (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World) Holzer fails to convince even a sympathetic reader. This is the story behind the DeFeo murders, not the Lutz family’s strange experiences in Amityville. Holzer was indeed an early investigator of the tale, but he clearly had his mind made up before gathering the evidence. Despite contrary answers by Ronald DeFeo himself, Holzer believes he was possessed when he murdered his family. He has to rephrase questions to make DeFeo, who clearly has mental issues, agree with him.
The book does contain verbatim court records from DeFeo’s trial, which although dry, seem to bear the weight of authority. The conjecture crowded around them, however, makes for frustrating reading. Even after recording objections because of leading questions, Holzer himself time and time again asks leading questions during his own interviews. When the evidence doesn’t back him up, he continues to assert it anyway. There’s something to be said for true believers. There’s also something to be said about admitting it when the facts just don’t back you up.
Holzer believed Ronald DeFeo was possessed. His book doesn’t really claim it was a demon, but rather an “Indian” chief buried not under the house but somewhere in the vicinity. Looking for a sympathetic host, it inhabited young Ronald (who’d exhibited mental problems earlier in life) and caused him to shoot his family without making a sound. This was revealed by a medium and Holzer stuck with it as his explanation of what happened at 112 Ocean Avenue. Although even the most cursory critical reading reveals the problems with his case, that didn’t stop the book from being made into a movie. Not exactly riveting reading, it is nevertheless an important clue in a puzzle that remains disputed to this day.
The book does contain verbatim court records from DeFeo’s trial, which although dry, seem to bear the weight of authority. The conjecture crowded around them, however, makes for frustrating reading. Even after recording objections because of leading questions, Holzer himself time and time again asks leading questions during his own interviews. When the evidence doesn’t back him up, he continues to assert it anyway. There’s something to be said for true believers. There’s also something to be said about admitting it when the facts just don’t back you up.
Holzer believed Ronald DeFeo was possessed. His book doesn’t really claim it was a demon, but rather an “Indian” chief buried not under the house but somewhere in the vicinity. Looking for a sympathetic host, it inhabited young Ronald (who’d exhibited mental problems earlier in life) and caused him to shoot his family without making a sound. This was revealed by a medium and Holzer stuck with it as his explanation of what happened at 112 Ocean Avenue. Although even the most cursory critical reading reveals the problems with his case, that didn’t stop the book from being made into a movie. Not exactly riveting reading, it is nevertheless an important clue in a puzzle that remains disputed to this day.
January 23, 2022
Que l'on y croit ou pas, je me suis toujours intéressée à l'histoire de cette maison à Amityville. Dans ce bouquin, on explique ce qui s'est passé avant les mésaventures de la famille Lutz. L'auteur tente d'expliquer pourquoi Ronald Defeo Jr. a tué toute sa famille au 112 Ocean avenue. On y parle de l'enquête qui a été menée et une grande partie de ce bouquin sont des transcriptions de la Cour, ce qui est très statique et un peu ennuyant. On sent que l'auteur a un parti pris en croyant que Ronald Defeo Jr était possédé, mais il n'apporte pas vraiment de preuve Bref, une lecture très bof.
March 26, 2019
this is a really interesting book , I thought what was going to be the story of the defeos - like what we had for the lutzs but its actually mostly about the court case of defeo and what investigators found out about the house after the case , it was very interesting
August 1, 2019
The Amityville case has always troubled me. Why didn't any of the victims wake up or move when Ronald DeFeo Jr. started shooting? Why were they all found in the same position? (To me, it looks like they were sleeping peacefully, not posed in any way.) What really happened to the Lutzes?
This book relies mostly on trial transcripts, which can get a bit dull, but is worth reading for the interview with Ronald DeFeo Jr. himself. It's interesting to learn of his personality changes once he began living in that house, and that he ran away from the home three times, and warned his father that he would kill the entire family if not allowed to live somewhere else.
The "Indian burial ground" theory is interesting, but it would be great if there were some actual proof.
This book relies mostly on trial transcripts, which can get a bit dull, but is worth reading for the interview with Ronald DeFeo Jr. himself. It's interesting to learn of his personality changes once he began living in that house, and that he ran away from the home three times, and warned his father that he would kill the entire family if not allowed to live somewhere else.
The "Indian burial ground" theory is interesting, but it would be great if there were some actual proof.
June 15, 2014
One of the best nonfiction and fiction books I've read in a while. Takes on 3 stories. The Defeo, a non-fictional story of a group of people living in the house (which has a twist ending to it), and then the last part talks about how the curse came upon the land.
October 25, 2017
True haunting books are a guilty of pleasure of mine, but this one did not fit that genre. It is the recounting of the murders that took place in the Amityville house prior to the Amityville horror events. I couldn't engage my suspension of disbelief enough to enjoy it, because the convicted man, who is supposedly possessed, is very obviously mentally disturbed, and also trying to grasp at any straw that will get him released. "You think I was possessed? Yeah, definitely. No doubt about it." The book even has quotes in the interview with the author admitting that he had tried to play insane for the psychiatrist interviewing him in order to convince him for his insanity plea. I believe the author was writing a sincere but very naive account of events.
As a true crime novel, though, it was a fast and engaging read.
As a true crime novel, though, it was a fast and engaging read.
January 11, 2021
This book recounts an investigation into the murders that occurred in the now infamous Amityville House, shortly before it developed a reputation for being haunted.
Most of this book is transcripts of the trial of one Ronald DeFo Jnr who committed the murders of his entire family one night in 1974, but despite evidence to the contrary that suggests nothing supernatural actually ever took place, the author, allegedly a parapsychologist of some note, seems to have already made up his mind that DeFo was possessed.
An interesting read to learn the ‘facts’ of the case, so long as you discount the author’s baseless assumptions and attempts to bend the facts to suit his own theories.
As Mark Twain famously said, “never let the facts get in the way of a good story.”
Most of this book is transcripts of the trial of one Ronald DeFo Jnr who committed the murders of his entire family one night in 1974, but despite evidence to the contrary that suggests nothing supernatural actually ever took place, the author, allegedly a parapsychologist of some note, seems to have already made up his mind that DeFo was possessed.
An interesting read to learn the ‘facts’ of the case, so long as you discount the author’s baseless assumptions and attempts to bend the facts to suit his own theories.
As Mark Twain famously said, “never let the facts get in the way of a good story.”
October 9, 2019
It was some interesting background information on the case, but felt a bit slow at times. One for my collection but I have my doubts I'll be going back to this book very often.
April 7, 2021
Somebody please share the book
I need to read it
I need to read it
May 25, 2023
Laughable conclusions based on no evidence. The only interesting bits were the trial transcripts.
February 12, 2024
Very tedious and time consuming. The trial transcripts and interviews were very interesting though.
January 19, 2017
Durante la notte del 13 novembre 1974, il 23enne Ronald DeFeo Jr. uccise a fucilate (presumibilmente da solo) i genitori e i quattro fratelli e sorelle.
Già questo da solo è un fatto abbastanza terribile, con un colpevole dal carattere violento (tratto che sembrava essere eredità di famiglia), dedito all'uso di droghe ricreative e con le idee poco chiare riguardo a quello che aveva fatto.
Dopo aver coinvolto, in successive dichiarazioni, sconosciuti, la madre, una delle sorelle e/o complici misteriosi, il passo verso "le voci mi hanno detto di uccidere" per ottenere l'infermità mentale è stato di certo breve, considendo anche un periodo storico dove parapsicologia, esorcismi, infestazioni e ricercatori del mistero abbondavano e prosperavano.
Tra questi l'autore del libro in questione, studioso di parapsicologia, che ritiene il povero DeFeo vittima della vendetta di un capo indiano, sepolto nella zona dove la casa era stata costruita e maltrattato, in forma di scheletro riesumato, da un non precisato abitante della zona/casa/dintorni.
Nel libro ci parla di possessioni (non necessariamente diaboliche, per quello bastano Anson e i Lutz, con la storia che ha poi portato alla nascita del franchise, e i coniugi Warren, quelli tifnati in auge recentemente con una serie di film a loro dedicati), ci mostra gli estratti del processo e la trascrizione di alcune interviste, oltre ad jna visita della casa con medium a seguito... visita che avrebbe generato il trend "casa costruita su cimitero indiano".
Nel leggere delle varie elucubrazioni dell'autore, spesso con ripetizioni degli stessi concetti più volte in poche pagine, e del tentativo di inserire il tema possessione sulle dichiarazioni di un individuo che ha cambiato la propria versione sugli omicidi una marea di volte, una più inconsistente delle altre, non si può che alzare un sopracciglio perplesso.
Di certo Holzer era convinto della sua opinione, così come lo erano i Lutz e Anson e i Warren... la storia paranormale di Amityville continua a generare un giro di soldi notevole, nonostate continuino ad uscire dettagli che sconfessano ogni teoria.
Una lettura interessante se, come me, si è affascinati dal teatrino sorto attorno alla casa. Ma deludente per come, pur considerando i limiti dell'argomento, è stato realizzato.
Forse il libro horror che Holzer ha scritto, sfruttando il tema della casa maledetta, sarà più interessante.
Già questo da solo è un fatto abbastanza terribile, con un colpevole dal carattere violento (tratto che sembrava essere eredità di famiglia), dedito all'uso di droghe ricreative e con le idee poco chiare riguardo a quello che aveva fatto.
Dopo aver coinvolto, in successive dichiarazioni, sconosciuti, la madre, una delle sorelle e/o complici misteriosi, il passo verso "le voci mi hanno detto di uccidere" per ottenere l'infermità mentale è stato di certo breve, considendo anche un periodo storico dove parapsicologia, esorcismi, infestazioni e ricercatori del mistero abbondavano e prosperavano.
Tra questi l'autore del libro in questione, studioso di parapsicologia, che ritiene il povero DeFeo vittima della vendetta di un capo indiano, sepolto nella zona dove la casa era stata costruita e maltrattato, in forma di scheletro riesumato, da un non precisato abitante della zona/casa/dintorni.
Nel libro ci parla di possessioni (non necessariamente diaboliche, per quello bastano Anson e i Lutz, con la storia che ha poi portato alla nascita del franchise, e i coniugi Warren, quelli tifnati in auge recentemente con una serie di film a loro dedicati), ci mostra gli estratti del processo e la trascrizione di alcune interviste, oltre ad jna visita della casa con medium a seguito... visita che avrebbe generato il trend "casa costruita su cimitero indiano".
Nel leggere delle varie elucubrazioni dell'autore, spesso con ripetizioni degli stessi concetti più volte in poche pagine, e del tentativo di inserire il tema possessione sulle dichiarazioni di un individuo che ha cambiato la propria versione sugli omicidi una marea di volte, una più inconsistente delle altre, non si può che alzare un sopracciglio perplesso.
Di certo Holzer era convinto della sua opinione, così come lo erano i Lutz e Anson e i Warren... la storia paranormale di Amityville continua a generare un giro di soldi notevole, nonostate continuino ad uscire dettagli che sconfessano ogni teoria.
Una lettura interessante se, come me, si è affascinati dal teatrino sorto attorno alla casa. Ma deludente per come, pur considerando i limiti dell'argomento, è stato realizzato.
Forse il libro horror che Holzer ha scritto, sfruttando il tema della casa maledetta, sarà più interessante.
February 5, 2017
A very laughable "investigation" into the murders in Amityville. No evidence presented at all about the house being haunted. Just that the murderer said it was and he accepts it. He says he was approached by a film company to do a documentary about Amityville and says correctly that the "entire evidence should be looked at afresh without prejudice" Then the next sentence he says "To begin with, I knew already that the house was heavily haunted" The author lost all credibility saying that and using mediums.Accepting the house was haunted with no solid evidence was laughable.
The book is also padded out with boring transcripts from the trial and an interview he did with the killer where he seems to try to convince the killer that he was possessed! The killer even didn't think so! He tells the killer that the house was built on an Indian burial ground when the interview before it with a member of the Amityville Historical Society the guy says there were not any Indians in the area.
Don't bother with this book.
The book is also padded out with boring transcripts from the trial and an interview he did with the killer where he seems to try to convince the killer that he was possessed! The killer even didn't think so! He tells the killer that the house was built on an Indian burial ground when the interview before it with a member of the Amityville Historical Society the guy says there were not any Indians in the area.
Don't bother with this book.
July 31, 2015
This is the first book in the research trilogy of the murders that occurred in Amityville, Long Island, Ny. Hans Holzer interviews the accused murderer and begins historical research of the house and land it is built on. This begins an historical collection of the burial ground of the local Algonquin Tribe on the Island and the Dutch Colony that immigrated and established a settlement on the Island.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews