The Amityville Horror (24 page)

I should point out, too, that when the Lutzes fled their home in early 1976, they had no thought of putting their experiences into book form. Only after the press and broadcast media began issuing reports on the house that the Lutzes considered distorted and sensationalized did they consent to have their story published. Nor were they aware that so many of their claims would be corroborated by others. In addition to checking their tape recordings for internal consistency, I conducted my own personal interviews with others involved in the case; and indeed, George and Kathy did not learn of Father Mancuso's tribulations until this book's final draft was written.

Before they had moved into their new home, the Lutzes were far from being experts on the subject of psychic phenomena. As far as they can recall, the only books they'd read that might be even remotely considered "occult" were a few popular works on Transcendental Meditation. But as I've since discovered by talking with those familiar with parapsychology, almost every one of their claims bears a strong parallel to other reports of hauntings, psychic "invasions" and the like that have been published over the years in a wide variety of sources. For example:

*The chilling cold that George and others noted is a syndrome repeatedly reported by visitors to haunted houses who sense a "cold spot" or pervasive chill. (Occultists speculate that a disembodied entity may draw on thermal energy and body heat to gain the power it needs to become visible and move objects.)

*Animals are often said to display discomfort and even terror in haunted surroundings. This was certainly true of Harry, the family dog, to say nothing of human visitors who had never entered the house beforeKathy's aunt, a neighbor's boy, and others.

*The window that slammed on Danny's hand has its echo in an English case in which a car door closed by itself, crushing the hand of a woman who was arriving to investigate paranormal reports. Minutes later, during the drive to the nearest hospital, her hand reportedly returned to its uninjured state.

George's visionary glimpse of what he would later identify as Ronnie DeFeo's face, his repeated awakenings at the time of the DeFco murders, and Kathy's dreams of illicit lovemaking have their counterparts in a phenomenon called retrocognition, in which an emotionally-charged site apparently manages to transmit images of its past to later visitors. The damage to doors, windows and banister, the movement and possible teleportation of the ceramic lion, the nauseating stench in the basement and Rectory are all familiar elements to readers of the voluminous literature about poltergeists or "noisy ghosts," whose behavior has been documented by professional investigators. The "marching band," too, is characteristic of the poltergeist, which is often reported to create dramatically loud noises. (One victim reported the sound of "a grand piano falling downstairs", but with no visible cause or damage.)

Most poltergeist manifestations are said to occur in the presence of a child-usually a girl-approaching puberty. Here, none of the Lutz children seems to have been old enough to serve as the trigger; moreover, most poltergeist antics seem childishly malicious, rather than vicious or physically harmful. But on the other hand, as Father Nicola points out in his Demonical Possession and Exorcism, poltergeists sometimes serve as the first manifestation of an entity ultimately bent on demonic possession. The inverted crucifix in Kathy's closet, the recurrent flies, and odors of human excrement are all characteristic trademarks of demonic infestation.

What, then, are we to make of the Lutzes' account? There is simply too much independent corroboration of their narrative to support the speculation that they either imagined or fabricated these events. But if the case unfolded as I've reconstructed it here, how are we to interpret it?

What follows is one interpretation, the analysis of an experienced researcher into paranormal phenomena:

"The Lutz home seems to have harbored at least three separate entities. Francine, the medium, sensed at least two ordinary 'ghosts,' that is, earthbound spirits of humans who-for whatever reasons-remain attached to a particular locale long after their physical death and usually want no more than to be left alone to enjoy the spot they've become accustomed to while on earth. The woman whose touch and perfume were perceived by Kathy (Francine cited 'an old woman') may have been that house's original tenant, who only wanted to reassure the new young woman who found 'her' kitchen such an attractive, pleasant spot.

"Similarly, the little boy independently spoken of by Missy and by Kathy's sister-in-law would probably also have been an earth-bound spirit who-again according to mediums and spiritualists-may not have realized he was dead. Lonely and confused in the timeless world of after-death, he would naturally have gravitated to Missy's room, where he was surprised to find her bed occupied by Carey and Jimmy. But if he asked Carey for 'help,' it was evidently not he who was arranging for Missy to become his permanent playmate.

"Rather, the hooded figure and 'Jodie the pig' seem to represent a wholly different class of being. Orthodox demonologists believe that fallen angels can manifest themselves as animals or as awe-inspiring human figures at will; therefore, these two apparitions may have been one and the same. Although George saw the eyes of a pig and hoofprints in the snow, Jodie spoke with Missy and thus was no mere animal ghost. And the entity who burned its visage into the fireplace wall and dominated the hallway on that final morning may have simply taken a less frightening shape to converse telepathically with a little girl.

"It seems logical that this entity-together with the voices that ordered Father Mancuso to depart and George and Kathy to stop their impromptu exorcism may have been 'invited in' during the course of occult ceremonies performed in the basement, or on the house's original site. Once established, they would naturally resist any attempts to dislodge them, and with greater vigor than any ordinary ghost would normally display.

"George and Kathy's inexplicable trances, mood changes, repeated levitations, odd dreams, physical transformations can all be read as symptoms of incipient possession. Some who believe in reincarnation say that we pay for past errors by being reborn in a new body and experiencing the consequences of our actions. But any entity as resolutely malevolent as the ones who tormented the Lutzes would have realized that a return to the flesh might entail retribution in the shape of physical deformity, illness, suffering, and other 'bad Karma.' Thus a particularly nasty spirit might avoid rebirth entirely, instead seizing the bodies of the living in order to experience food, sex, alcohol, and other earthly pleasures.

"Evidently George Lutz was not the ideally passive 'horse' for a discarnate rider; the threat to his wife and children galvanized him to fight back. But neither were his unseen adversaries mere ordinary 'ha'nts.' Their unusual strength is suggested by their long-range attacks on Father Mancuso's car, health, and rooms, and by George and Kathy's levitation even after they had fled to her mother's. But why, then, have the Lutzes reported no further trouble after moving to California?

"Another old occult tradition-that spirits cannot extend their power across water-may have some significance here. During the preparation of this book, one of those primarily responsible for it reported feeling weak and nauseous upon sitting down to work on the manuscript-whenever he did so in his office on Long Island. But while doing the same task in Manhattan, across the East River, he experienced no ill effects at all."

We're not obliged, of course, to accept this or any other "psychic" interpretation of the events that took place in the house in Amityville. Yet any other hypothesis immediately involves us in trying to construct an even more incredible series of bizarre coincidences, shared hallucinations, and grotesque misinterpretations of fact. It would be helpful if we could duplicate, as in a controlled laboratory experiment, some of the events the Lutzes experienced. But of course we cannot. Disembodied spirits-if they exist-presumably feel no obligation to perform instant replays before the cameras and recording equipment of earnest researchers.

There is no evidence that any strange events occurred at 112 Ocean Avenue after the period of time reported in this book, but this too, makes sense: more than one parapsychologist has noted that occult manifestations especially those with poltergeist overtones-very often end as suddenly as they began, never to reoccur. And even traditional ghost-hunters assure their clients that structural changes in a house, even a simple rearrangement of furniture, such as would be effected by a new tenant, will bring a speedy end to reports of the abnormal. As for George and Kathleen Lutz, of course, their curiosity has been more than satisfied. But the rest of us are left with a dilemma: The more "rational" the explanation, the less tenable it becomes. And what I have called The Amityville Horror remains one of those dark mysteries that challenges our conventional accountiDg of what this world contains.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JAY ANSON began as a copy boy on the N.Y. Evening Journal in 1937, and later worked in advertising and publicity. With over 500 documentary scripts for television to his credit, he is now associated with Professional Films, Inc., and lives in Roslyn, New York.