The Amityville Horror

Jay Anson’s The Amityville Horror subverts the idea of the American Dream by portraying the ideal suburban home not as a symbol of success but as a malevolent entity that destroys the family’s material and psychological well-being. The narrative suggests that the obsessive pursuit of a perfect home, symbolized by the sign in the driveway that reads “High Hopes,” can lead to ruin rather than fulfillment. The house at 112 Ocean Avenue, a bargain at $80,000, becomes the source of the Lutz family’s complete financial and domestic collapse. The Lutzes’ willingness to purchase the home despite its bloody history, seeing the tragedy only in terms of the savings it offers them, illustrates the novel’s message that the pursuit of the American Dream without moral constraint leads to the perversion and corruption of that dream and the family itself.

The Lutzes’ dream of prosperity quickly dissolves as the house drains the family’s financial resources and corrodes George’s professional ambition. George, the owner of a land surveying company, begins to neglect his business entirely, refusing to go to the office and giving gruff orders over the phone. As a result of the house’s malign influence, George’s personality changes, and his attitude toward work changes accordingly.