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The Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror (1979) was a box-office smash that terrified audiences with its supposedly true depiction of a real-life haunting in Amityville, New York. In the decades since its release, the film has gone on to be one of the most profitable independent films of all time, casting a shadow over the haunted house subgenre and spawning an unwieldy franchise of official and unofficial sequels.
But in spite of the film’s success, it was lambasted by critics, and the “true story” that inspired it was already being debunked as exaggeration or even outright fiction before the film was even released.
So what made audiences’ belief in its implausible origin story so stubborn? And why does The Amityville Horror continue to wield such an outsized influence on contemporary haunted house stories?
In this lively analysis of the movie that traumatized him as a child, Daniel Cubias draws on wide-ranging research into the film’s themes, factual basis, and legacy to explain what continues to draw audiences to this flawed but nevertheless alluring horror classic.
But in spite of the film’s success, it was lambasted by critics, and the “true story” that inspired it was already being debunked as exaggeration or even outright fiction before the film was even released.
So what made audiences’ belief in its implausible origin story so stubborn? And why does The Amityville Horror continue to wield such an outsized influence on contemporary haunted house stories?
In this lively analysis of the movie that traumatized him as a child, Daniel Cubias draws on wide-ranging research into the film’s themes, factual basis, and legacy to explain what continues to draw audiences to this flawed but nevertheless alluring horror classic.
170 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 29, 2025
About the author
Daniel Cubias
10 books17 followersI have an IQ of 382. I have the strength of twelve men. I can change the seasons just by waving my hand. Despite these powers, however, I remain a struggling writer.
My fiction has appeared in myriad literary journals that you have never heard of, and my articles for the Huffington Post have inspired or infuriated thousands of readers over the years.
My first novel, "Barrio Imbroglio," is autobiographical in the sense that the lead character, Abraxas Hernandez, is a Latino who grew up in the Midwest and labors in the white-collar world. It is not autobiographical in the sense that Abraxas pursues killers in his spare time and gets shot at a lot.
My latest novel is “Zombie President,” and it’s about a defeated presidential candidate who comes back from the dead to take the White House by force and to win the country’s heart. It’s a black comedy about getting the kind of leaders that we deserve.
My fiction has appeared in myriad literary journals that you have never heard of, and my articles for the Huffington Post have inspired or infuriated thousands of readers over the years.
My first novel, "Barrio Imbroglio," is autobiographical in the sense that the lead character, Abraxas Hernandez, is a Latino who grew up in the Midwest and labors in the white-collar world. It is not autobiographical in the sense that Abraxas pursues killers in his spare time and gets shot at a lot.
My latest novel is “Zombie President,” and it’s about a defeated presidential candidate who comes back from the dead to take the White House by force and to win the country’s heart. It’s a black comedy about getting the kind of leaders that we deserve.
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June 15, 2026
This is an insightful, well-researched, and at times very funny look at a movie that most people (including myself) have shrugged off as cheesy. I'm going to give the film another shot, armed with the awesome points and ideas that Cubias laid out so clearly!
Displaying 1 of 1 review