49 pages • 1 hour read
The Amityville Horror
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Preface-Chapter 6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child abuse, animal abuse, graphic violence, and death.
Preface Summary
The front matter of the text includes a preface written by Reverend John Nicola, one of the Catholic Church’s preeminent experts on exorcism and technical consultant for the 1973 film, The Exorcist. In it, he argues for the coexistence of science and religion when discussing situations like the Lutz family’s in The Amityville Horror. He exhorts the audience to remember that the text is not fictional, but a “documentary” told directly from the family and priest who experienced it.
Prologue Summary
A Channel Five news report on February 5, 1976, recounts the history of the house at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, Long Island, detailing the crimes committed by Ronald DeFeo in November of 1974, when he murdered his parents, two brothers, and two sisters with a high-powered rifle. It states that George and Kathleen Lutz bought the house in late 1975 but fled with their three children after four weeks, claiming they experienced terrifying phenomena. The Lutzes consulted with police, a priest, and psychic researchers.
The report features an announcement from DeFeo’s lawyer, William Weber, who plans to use the house’s alleged influence as the basis for a new trial.
