1 00:00:52,822 --> 00:00:55,868 Mary Pascarella was the lead psychic 2 00:00:55,869 --> 00:00:57,653 who investigated the house. 3 00:00:59,394 --> 00:01:01,264 Mary is a professional psychic, 4 00:01:01,265 --> 00:01:04,486 a time walker who picked up on some truly terrifying things. 5 00:01:06,749 --> 00:01:08,881 She said it was the first time 6 00:01:08,882 --> 00:01:10,099 she had ever encountered something 7 00:01:10,100 --> 00:01:12,799 she could only describe as pure evil. 8 00:01:17,891 --> 00:01:19,935 People say this is a hoax. 9 00:01:19,936 --> 00:01:22,024 It's done for money. 10 00:01:22,025 --> 00:01:23,896 But let me tell you, you never sign 11 00:01:23,897 --> 00:01:25,812 a contract with the devil. 12 00:01:30,294 --> 00:01:32,732 This house chooses victims. 13 00:01:34,777 --> 00:01:36,909 We just wanted to get the house fixed 14 00:01:36,910 --> 00:01:38,999 so we could move back in. 15 00:01:40,957 --> 00:01:42,044 I began to say my prayers. 16 00:01:42,045 --> 00:01:44,699 And I was saying the Our Father. 17 00:01:44,700 --> 00:01:46,701 And as I was saying the Our Father, 18 00:01:46,702 --> 00:01:48,181 I looked out at the door, 19 00:01:48,182 --> 00:01:50,663 and I had the impression of a young person. 20 00:01:56,843 --> 00:02:00,020 I hope this is as close to hell as I'll ever get. 21 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:15,355 George and Kathy, 22 00:03:15,356 --> 00:03:17,792 whatever happened to them in the house, 23 00:03:17,793 --> 00:03:20,142 they got the kids, 24 00:03:20,143 --> 00:03:22,275 they left all their furnishings, 25 00:03:22,276 --> 00:03:24,843 all their clothing, everything in the house 26 00:03:24,844 --> 00:03:26,976 and just ran. 27 00:03:30,850 --> 00:03:34,504 They went to a motel for that first night. 28 00:03:41,817 --> 00:03:43,818 After Kathy and I left the house, 29 00:03:43,819 --> 00:03:49,084 we came to the conclusion that Ronald DeFeo, 30 00:03:49,085 --> 00:03:50,825 physically, he did the murders, 31 00:03:50,826 --> 00:03:54,263 but spiritually, emotionally, no, 32 00:03:54,264 --> 00:03:58,050 I don't believe that he's, in a pure sense, responsible. 33 00:03:58,051 --> 00:03:59,878 There's no doubt in my mind that he was influenced 34 00:03:59,879 --> 00:04:02,445 by that house and that he was controlled, 35 00:04:02,446 --> 00:04:04,666 at least for a point. 36 00:04:07,147 --> 00:04:10,105 It would further the tragedy sitting in jail 37 00:04:10,106 --> 00:04:12,934 for six consecutive life terms. 38 00:04:32,259 --> 00:04:34,783 I didn't like William Weber. 39 00:04:37,481 --> 00:04:41,355 He was writing a book about the DeFeo murder. 40 00:04:43,139 --> 00:04:47,577 Through friends of ours, we met William Weber, 41 00:04:47,578 --> 00:04:50,277 sat down and spoke with him. 42 00:04:52,540 --> 00:04:56,238 He wanted George and Kathy to put their story 43 00:04:56,239 --> 00:05:00,373 along with his story 44 00:05:00,374 --> 00:05:02,941 so that it seemed like Ronald DeFeo 45 00:05:02,942 --> 00:05:06,379 was into devil worship, or there was something 46 00:05:06,380 --> 00:05:11,123 in the house that caused him to kill his whole family. 47 00:05:21,656 --> 00:05:25,006 In the 1970s, the thought that the devil 48 00:05:25,007 --> 00:05:29,751 could possess somebody became a very big deal. 49 00:05:35,148 --> 00:05:38,498 In December of '75, Ronnie DeFeo 50 00:05:38,499 --> 00:05:41,066 had just been convicted, 51 00:05:41,067 --> 00:05:44,157 just two, three years after The Exorcist. 52 00:05:47,987 --> 00:05:51,032 Mr. Weber says, listen, these people named 53 00:05:51,033 --> 00:05:52,947 the Lutzes bought your house. 54 00:05:52,948 --> 00:05:55,950 And we can use them and make money. 55 00:05:55,951 --> 00:05:57,560 I said, what are you talking about? 56 00:05:57,561 --> 00:05:59,954 He tells me, look, we got The Godfather 57 00:05:59,955 --> 00:06:02,174 and The Exorcist all in one hand, Ronnie. 58 00:06:02,175 --> 00:06:04,002 We're gonna make big, big money. 59 00:06:20,367 --> 00:06:22,194 The devil knocks off the mafia. 60 00:06:22,195 --> 00:06:24,805 The old box office champ, The Godfather, 61 00:06:24,806 --> 00:06:26,546 is being flattened by that movie 62 00:06:26,547 --> 00:06:29,201 about diabolical possession, The Exorcist. 63 00:07:07,109 --> 00:07:09,458 Could you give us your reaction to the movie, please? 64 00:07:09,459 --> 00:07:11,199 Could you give us your reaction to the movie? 65 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:12,896 It's something else. 66 00:07:12,897 --> 00:07:16,117 - All glory to God. - Great. 67 00:07:16,118 --> 00:07:17,814 Disgusting. 68 00:07:17,815 --> 00:07:18,859 It was disgusting in what way? 69 00:07:18,860 --> 00:07:20,252 It was just morbid. 70 00:07:20,253 --> 00:07:21,905 Just all the gory, the blood and all. 71 00:07:21,906 --> 00:07:25,039 It was a traumatic experience. 72 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:26,171 Didn't you like it? 73 00:07:26,172 --> 00:07:28,086 It was... yeah, it was very interesting. 74 00:07:28,087 --> 00:07:31,480 - Why? - Because it might be real. 75 00:07:31,481 --> 00:07:33,134 You know, I get to thinking that, you know, 76 00:07:33,135 --> 00:07:35,049 something like that might transpire, 77 00:07:35,050 --> 00:07:36,137 you know, around here. 78 00:07:36,138 --> 00:07:37,617 I don't know. 79 00:07:37,618 --> 00:07:39,662 People who were agnostic, 80 00:07:39,663 --> 00:07:41,055 people who were atheists 81 00:07:41,056 --> 00:07:43,623 went into that movie and came out 82 00:07:43,624 --> 00:07:45,277 and were sleeping with the lights on 83 00:07:45,278 --> 00:07:47,061 and wearing crucifixes, 84 00:07:47,062 --> 00:07:48,702 whether or not they were religious or not. 85 00:07:51,153 --> 00:07:55,679 Everybody went to see this. 86 00:08:01,990 --> 00:08:06,559 So here's William Weber, a defense attorney, 87 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:09,866 coaching the Lutzes on what they could say and do 88 00:08:09,867 --> 00:08:12,086 to play up this haunted thing. 89 00:08:18,224 --> 00:08:21,356 But when the Lutzes gave a press conference 90 00:08:21,357 --> 00:08:26,318 in William Weber's office, it was more notable, 91 00:08:26,319 --> 00:08:30,452 that press conference, for everything they didn't say. 92 00:08:30,453 --> 00:08:34,978 The Lutzes did not claim that they saw, heard, or felt 93 00:08:34,979 --> 00:08:38,330 the ghosts of the dead DeFeos. 94 00:08:38,331 --> 00:08:40,680 They didn't say it was something demonic. 95 00:08:45,338 --> 00:08:48,949 In fact, the Lutzes were very ambiguous 96 00:08:48,950 --> 00:08:50,690 about what happened. 97 00:08:50,691 --> 00:08:53,910 So the reporters were left with more questions 98 00:08:53,911 --> 00:08:58,176 than answers, which might be a smart marketing strategy. 99 00:08:58,177 --> 00:09:00,352 Leave them wanting more, 100 00:09:00,353 --> 00:09:03,833 and people will leap to fill the void. 101 00:09:07,011 --> 00:09:10,144 He tries to communicate by psychic force 102 00:09:10,145 --> 00:09:12,364 with the plant world. 103 00:09:12,365 --> 00:09:13,713 The plant in question 104 00:09:13,714 --> 00:09:16,281 is a rather wan split philodendron, 105 00:09:16,282 --> 00:09:19,501 which Vogel has hooked up to a polygraph machine. 106 00:09:19,502 --> 00:09:21,155 Here, Peter Hurkos, 107 00:09:21,156 --> 00:09:23,157 a psychic investigator, is attempting to help 108 00:09:23,158 --> 00:09:24,767 a metropolitan police department 109 00:09:24,768 --> 00:09:26,769 by looking into the past. 110 00:09:26,770 --> 00:09:30,425 He does this by receiving images from the murder weapon, 111 00:09:30,426 --> 00:09:32,993 hoping to reconstruct the crime. 112 00:09:32,994 --> 00:09:35,865 He was hired to help find the Boston Strangler, 113 00:09:35,866 --> 00:09:38,172 did police work on the Charles Manson murders. 114 00:09:38,173 --> 00:09:41,393 Like a suitcase. 115 00:09:41,394 --> 00:09:45,875 She was stabbed to death five times. 116 00:09:45,876 --> 00:09:48,313 What you have just seen is part 117 00:09:48,314 --> 00:09:51,185 of an astounding collection of psychic phenomena, 118 00:09:51,186 --> 00:09:56,886 demonstrations of the powers of the mind. 119 00:09:56,887 --> 00:10:00,194 At the time that the Lutzes held 120 00:10:00,195 --> 00:10:04,633 the joint press conference with William Weber, 121 00:10:04,634 --> 00:10:08,463 I had been assigned to produce a series 122 00:10:08,464 --> 00:10:12,032 on the supernatural and paranormal at Channel 5 123 00:10:12,033 --> 00:10:15,340 by the news director. 124 00:10:15,341 --> 00:10:17,255 So I'm seeing this story 125 00:10:17,256 --> 00:10:20,388 when it was reported in the Long Island Press Newsday. 126 00:10:20,389 --> 00:10:22,564 It was fairly local. 127 00:10:29,268 --> 00:10:32,270 Oh, wow, a real-life haunted house 128 00:10:32,271 --> 00:10:34,273 that we could actually visit? 129 00:10:36,144 --> 00:10:38,232 There was no way that this was not going 130 00:10:38,233 --> 00:10:42,497 to be a big ratings grabber. 131 00:10:42,498 --> 00:10:46,327 So at that point, nobody knew how to reach the Lutzes. 132 00:10:46,328 --> 00:10:49,113 They were not living at Ocean Avenue anymore. 133 00:10:54,118 --> 00:10:56,250 After they left the house, 134 00:10:56,251 --> 00:11:01,255 the Lutzes moved permanently into Kathy's mother's house. 135 00:11:01,256 --> 00:11:04,345 If I hadn't been sitting there and seeing how different 136 00:11:04,346 --> 00:11:07,305 George was, I would have been a little skeptical 137 00:11:07,306 --> 00:11:10,046 about what was going on. 138 00:11:10,047 --> 00:11:13,093 He wasn't the same happy, carefree person 139 00:11:13,094 --> 00:11:15,269 that he was before. 140 00:11:15,270 --> 00:11:20,449 He seemed really broken, totally broken. 141 00:11:22,582 --> 00:11:25,279 Seeing the way he was, I knew something happened, 142 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:27,499 something had had to have happened to him 143 00:11:27,500 --> 00:11:29,414 for him to change like that. 144 00:11:34,333 --> 00:11:37,291 The way they got it out of their system was, 145 00:11:37,292 --> 00:11:43,166 they made audiotapes of each day of what happened, 146 00:11:43,167 --> 00:11:45,299 every little detail. 147 00:11:45,300 --> 00:11:49,347 They didn't want to retell it again and again. 148 00:11:49,348 --> 00:11:52,524 If they retold it, it was like reliving it, 149 00:11:52,525 --> 00:11:54,439 and they didn't want that to happen. 150 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,138 They just got everything out by putting it on the audiotapes. 151 00:12:02,404 --> 00:12:04,405 We just sat down and did a series 152 00:12:04,406 --> 00:12:09,367 of about 26 cassette tapes, 153 00:12:09,368 --> 00:12:11,586 just talking about what happened 154 00:12:11,587 --> 00:12:14,329 while we were in the house. 155 00:12:18,377 --> 00:12:21,161 On those tapes, nothing was chronological. 156 00:12:21,162 --> 00:12:23,555 We skipped all around. 157 00:12:23,556 --> 00:12:25,427 Our language certainly wasn't the best. 158 00:12:28,430 --> 00:12:31,040 We were drinking at times when we were doing 159 00:12:31,041 --> 00:12:33,347 those recordings. 160 00:12:33,348 --> 00:12:35,393 By the time I left the house, I was drinking pretty heavily, 161 00:12:35,394 --> 00:12:37,220 without a doubt. 162 00:12:44,446 --> 00:12:47,361 Nobody could find George, 163 00:12:47,362 --> 00:12:49,798 so I called George's surveying company. 164 00:12:49,799 --> 00:12:52,366 And I said, "Hi, my name is Laura DiDio, 165 00:12:52,367 --> 00:12:54,368 "and I work for Channel 5 News, 166 00:12:54,369 --> 00:12:56,588 "and I have worked 167 00:12:56,589 --> 00:12:59,721 "with reputable paranormal investigators 168 00:12:59,722 --> 00:13:04,073 like Hans Holzer, Ed and Lorraine Warren." 169 00:13:04,074 --> 00:13:06,728 And I said, "I'd really like to help them." 170 00:13:09,253 --> 00:13:12,081 George wanted the parapsychologists 171 00:13:12,082 --> 00:13:16,172 to have seances in the house to validate 172 00:13:16,173 --> 00:13:17,652 what happened in the house, 173 00:13:17,653 --> 00:13:19,393 that there really were spirits there, 174 00:13:19,394 --> 00:13:21,961 that there really was evil there. 175 00:13:27,097 --> 00:13:29,447 The Warrens have devoted 37 years 176 00:13:29,448 --> 00:13:32,188 to study of the supernatural. 177 00:13:32,189 --> 00:13:35,453 The School of Demonology behind their Connecticut home 178 00:13:35,454 --> 00:13:39,413 houses a collection of what Ed Warren calls unholy things 179 00:13:39,414 --> 00:13:40,458 of historic value. 180 00:13:46,421 --> 00:13:48,466 Laura DiDio convinced the Warrens to come down 181 00:13:48,467 --> 00:13:50,817 and go through the house. 182 00:13:52,732 --> 00:13:54,254 Our special guests tonight 183 00:13:54,255 --> 00:13:56,430 are Ed and Lorraine Warren, 184 00:13:56,431 --> 00:13:58,867 who, in their 32 years as ghost hunters, 185 00:13:58,868 --> 00:14:01,479 have investigated over 3,000 cases of haunted houses 186 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,307 and demonic possession and have been involved 187 00:14:04,308 --> 00:14:06,222 in numerous exorcisms. 188 00:14:06,223 --> 00:14:09,225 Now obviously, you believe in ghosts. 189 00:14:09,226 --> 00:14:11,663 I don't think it's a case of belief. 190 00:14:11,664 --> 00:14:14,666 I think it's a case of the evidence. 191 00:14:14,667 --> 00:14:16,450 So I called them up. 192 00:14:16,451 --> 00:14:18,713 We set the date for March 6th 193 00:14:18,714 --> 00:14:22,674 to go into the house and investigate. 194 00:14:22,675 --> 00:14:25,459 They were giving Channel 5 and myself the exclusive. 195 00:14:29,812 --> 00:14:32,466 George had asked me to go to the airport 196 00:14:32,467 --> 00:14:33,728 and pick up the parapsychologists 197 00:14:33,729 --> 00:14:35,687 that were flying in from Duke 198 00:14:35,688 --> 00:14:37,429 and take them to the Amityville house. 199 00:14:39,779 --> 00:14:44,696 There was a noted psychic with the team. 200 00:14:44,697 --> 00:14:47,916 I felt while we were driving that this psychic 201 00:14:47,917 --> 00:14:52,094 was trying to find out from me mentally 202 00:14:52,095 --> 00:14:54,967 what had happened in the house. 203 00:14:54,968 --> 00:14:56,577 It was a very strange experience. 204 00:14:56,578 --> 00:14:58,057 I'm sitting riding in a car. 205 00:14:58,058 --> 00:15:00,494 There's this man sitting here not talking to me, 206 00:15:00,495 --> 00:15:06,718 wanting me to think about the Lutzes. 207 00:15:06,719 --> 00:15:10,635 Finally, I got so fed up with the whole feeling 208 00:15:10,636 --> 00:15:13,725 that, in my head, I said, "Stop it." 209 00:15:13,726 --> 00:15:16,510 Like, I shouted it in my head. 210 00:15:16,511 --> 00:15:19,992 Right after that, this psychic turned to me and said, 211 00:15:19,993 --> 00:15:22,560 "I'm sorry," out loud. 212 00:15:22,561 --> 00:15:25,301 And then I was convinced that it was him. 213 00:15:25,302 --> 00:15:26,868 He was probing. 214 00:15:26,869 --> 00:15:30,611 He was trying to find out what I knew about it, 215 00:15:30,612 --> 00:15:32,353 which he wasn't supposed to know. 216 00:15:36,618 --> 00:15:40,709 When we went into the house, it was jarring. 217 00:15:42,668 --> 00:15:46,671 So it looked like a nice middle-class house, 218 00:15:46,672 --> 00:15:50,589 just that the people were out for the day. 219 00:15:54,157 --> 00:15:56,158 Kathy had made... And I'll never forget this... 220 00:15:56,159 --> 00:15:57,986 She had made a gingerbread house 221 00:15:57,987 --> 00:15:59,814 for the kids for Christmas. 222 00:15:59,815 --> 00:16:02,817 And that was still on the dining room table. 223 00:16:02,818 --> 00:16:06,995 All of the food was spoiling. 224 00:16:32,718 --> 00:16:34,588 Laura DiDio and the crew and I, 225 00:16:34,589 --> 00:16:36,504 we arrived around midnight. 226 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,685 Parapsychologists from Duke University were there. 227 00:16:44,686 --> 00:16:46,600 They had cameras set up and different equipment 228 00:16:46,601 --> 00:16:50,082 to sense any paranormal activity in the house. 229 00:17:27,294 --> 00:17:30,426 There was a crucifix and a blessed candle 230 00:17:30,427 --> 00:17:33,647 to provoke whatever beings were in that house. 231 00:18:12,165 --> 00:18:13,818 Looks like a... 232 00:18:13,819 --> 00:18:17,822 A black shadow that forms a hood. 233 00:18:17,823 --> 00:18:20,694 And it moves. 234 00:18:20,695 --> 00:18:22,914 And as it moves, it kind of... 235 00:18:22,915 --> 00:18:26,700 It says, "I feel personally threatened." 236 00:18:37,756 --> 00:18:40,932 It's... I think it's... Whatever's here. 237 00:18:43,936 --> 00:18:45,850 Whatever is here is... 238 00:18:45,851 --> 00:18:48,591 Is it trying to harm them? 239 00:18:48,592 --> 00:18:51,594 Yes. And it's something that comes at you 240 00:18:51,595 --> 00:18:53,858 and makes your heart speed up, that kind of thing. 241 00:19:02,737 --> 00:19:04,782 Then Lorraine Warren said, "Come on, Marvin. 242 00:19:04,783 --> 00:19:05,957 "We're going upstairs to the sewing room," 243 00:19:05,958 --> 00:19:07,567 which was the area which had 244 00:19:07,568 --> 00:19:10,309 the strongest paranormal sense." 245 00:19:19,014 --> 00:19:23,017 Lorraine said to me, "Marvin, this is the deepest, 246 00:19:23,018 --> 00:19:26,847 the closest to hell I ever want to get." 247 00:19:26,848 --> 00:19:30,764 And she was quite serious 248 00:19:30,765 --> 00:19:34,028 and seemed quite concerned in that moment. 249 00:19:37,990 --> 00:19:40,514 We went room to room. 250 00:19:43,865 --> 00:19:47,346 But when we went upstairs to the third floor... 251 00:19:53,788 --> 00:19:56,834 It was like she walked into a wall. 252 00:19:56,835 --> 00:19:58,792 And she stepped right back. 253 00:19:58,793 --> 00:20:00,969 She said, "I can't go in here. I can't go in here." 254 00:20:03,929 --> 00:20:09,717 I just feel an overwhelming sense of oppression, dread. 255 00:20:11,458 --> 00:20:13,939 And that was Ronnie's bedroom. 256 00:20:18,073 --> 00:20:20,422 Lorraine sat down, 257 00:20:20,423 --> 00:20:22,076 and she had a headache after that 258 00:20:22,077 --> 00:20:26,037 that stayed with her. 259 00:20:26,038 --> 00:20:29,215 There was a hush that came over. 260 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:47,667 We had gotten to the point where the house 261 00:20:47,668 --> 00:20:49,712 had began to affect me. 262 00:20:49,713 --> 00:20:51,192 And I had gotten up on the stairs, 263 00:20:51,193 --> 00:20:53,064 and I called down to Ed, and I said, 264 00:20:53,065 --> 00:20:55,066 "Ed, I'm as sick as a dog." 265 00:20:55,067 --> 00:20:56,545 So I said to Ed, "I'm gonna lay down 266 00:20:56,546 --> 00:20:58,766 in the bed for a little while." 267 00:21:01,595 --> 00:21:04,727 And as I was saying the Our Father, 268 00:21:04,728 --> 00:21:06,860 I looked out of the door. 269 00:21:06,861 --> 00:21:09,428 There was a group of figures standing 270 00:21:09,429 --> 00:21:12,736 outside of the door saying the Our Father backward. 271 00:21:15,914 --> 00:21:18,872 The energy in that house remains. 272 00:21:18,873 --> 00:21:22,876 It may take a hundred years of our time, 273 00:21:22,877 --> 00:21:25,226 but it will implode again. 274 00:21:28,578 --> 00:21:30,972 That house is purely evil. 275 00:21:36,151 --> 00:21:38,239 We went back to the station. 276 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:42,243 We cut the piece. And it ran on the 10:00 news. 277 00:21:46,161 --> 00:21:48,467 The response was overwhelming. 278 00:21:48,468 --> 00:21:51,470 People just went wild over this. 279 00:21:55,127 --> 00:21:57,389 We had great ratings that night. 280 00:21:57,390 --> 00:22:00,087 Often, I'm asked if I was scared 281 00:22:00,088 --> 00:22:02,742 during that night in the house at 112 Ocean Avenue. 282 00:22:02,743 --> 00:22:03,962 No, I was not. 283 00:22:06,138 --> 00:22:08,966 When the investigators were asked to come in, 284 00:22:08,967 --> 00:22:13,971 we hadn't told them what we experienced. 285 00:22:13,972 --> 00:22:16,799 But they had no intention of ever going back 286 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,977 and investigating further. 287 00:22:19,978 --> 00:22:23,197 Their only suggestion was to have the house exorcised. 288 00:22:39,475 --> 00:22:42,173 George lost a lot of money with the house. 289 00:22:42,174 --> 00:22:45,177 So I think financially, they were not doing well at all. 290 00:22:49,007 --> 00:22:52,009 Weber, the DeFeos' attorney, had asked us 291 00:22:52,010 --> 00:22:53,662 to sign a book contract with him, 292 00:22:53,663 --> 00:22:56,013 and we refused because he was gonna 293 00:22:56,014 --> 00:22:59,147 pay DeFeo 5% of proceeds for murdering his family. 294 00:23:02,498 --> 00:23:05,413 Plus, he was gonna get to say what we did 295 00:23:05,414 --> 00:23:07,589 with the rest of our lives with regard to the story, 296 00:23:07,590 --> 00:23:10,245 and it was just beyond belief. 297 00:23:12,073 --> 00:23:13,682 Our story was ours, 298 00:23:13,683 --> 00:23:15,206 and we were not gonna do a contract with him, 299 00:23:15,207 --> 00:23:16,990 and we didn't want anything more to do with that. 300 00:23:16,991 --> 00:23:18,992 We weren't interested in dealing with him. 301 00:23:18,993 --> 00:23:22,039 And that was it. 302 00:23:25,217 --> 00:23:27,000 I told them that it was their story, 303 00:23:27,001 --> 00:23:30,699 and I felt that they shouldn't have to go with William Weber, 304 00:23:30,700 --> 00:23:34,007 that the whole haunting or whatever happened 305 00:23:34,008 --> 00:23:39,447 to them in the house was not part of the murder story. 306 00:23:39,448 --> 00:23:43,234 And I happened to find the name of a publisher in a book 307 00:23:43,235 --> 00:23:45,279 that I was reading about supernatural 308 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,499 because then was interested in it. 309 00:23:47,500 --> 00:23:51,024 And I called up this publisher in New York, Prentice Hall. 310 00:23:51,025 --> 00:23:55,246 And because of the publicity that was going on at the time, 311 00:23:55,247 --> 00:23:57,640 they agreed to talk with the Lutzes. 312 00:23:59,338 --> 00:24:03,080 So to George, this looked like a good way 313 00:24:03,081 --> 00:24:08,650 of getting some money, which I agreed with him. 314 00:24:08,651 --> 00:24:13,090 If it was being publicized now, just keep going with it. 315 00:24:13,091 --> 00:24:16,484 If this is what happened, you know the story. 316 00:24:16,485 --> 00:24:20,619 Then, the publisher got the writer, Jay Anson. 317 00:24:20,620 --> 00:24:24,275 And they took the audiotapes. 318 00:24:24,276 --> 00:24:27,148 And that's where The Amityville Horror came from. 319 00:24:33,372 --> 00:24:35,416 We met with Jay Anson. We spoke with him. 320 00:24:35,417 --> 00:24:37,288 We gave him the research materials 321 00:24:37,289 --> 00:24:40,247 we had done on the house and some tapes 322 00:24:40,248 --> 00:24:43,076 that Kathy and I had done over the weeks 323 00:24:43,077 --> 00:24:45,774 after we had left the house. 324 00:24:45,775 --> 00:24:48,299 And said, "Look, we're not gonna sit down 325 00:24:48,300 --> 00:24:50,083 "to be interviewed about this. 326 00:24:50,084 --> 00:24:51,345 "You can do what you can from the tapes. 327 00:24:51,346 --> 00:24:53,086 "But we're just not gonna relive this. 328 00:24:53,087 --> 00:24:54,870 "We've done it once, and we're not doing it again. 329 00:24:54,871 --> 00:24:56,917 We did it for the tapes." 330 00:24:58,397 --> 00:25:00,180 Then I spoke to the priest, 331 00:25:00,181 --> 00:25:02,313 and I heard his story. 332 00:25:02,314 --> 00:25:05,359 I was able to put together a chronology of the events 333 00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:09,102 that took place within that framework of 28 days. 334 00:25:09,103 --> 00:25:12,192 I was convinced there are things out there 335 00:25:12,193 --> 00:25:15,935 that many people cannot explain. 336 00:25:15,936 --> 00:25:19,156 I sincerely believe they took place. 337 00:25:25,380 --> 00:25:27,990 George told me that he felt that 338 00:25:27,991 --> 00:25:29,122 by staying in Long Island, 339 00:25:29,123 --> 00:25:31,298 they were too close to Amityville, 340 00:25:31,299 --> 00:25:34,127 and he felt that the further away he went, 341 00:25:34,128 --> 00:25:38,654 the evil, it couldn't come with him. 342 00:25:40,265 --> 00:25:44,355 So they moved as far away from the East Coast as they could. 343 00:25:54,540 --> 00:25:59,545 On Mother's Day of 1976, we landed in San Diego. 344 00:26:01,242 --> 00:26:03,374 I sold my business. 345 00:26:03,375 --> 00:26:05,289 We gave the house back to the bank. 346 00:26:05,290 --> 00:26:09,423 I couldn't stomach the idea of selling it to another family. 347 00:26:09,424 --> 00:26:11,730 I think I want my family and my children 348 00:26:11,731 --> 00:26:14,863 much more than I want a structure. 349 00:26:14,864 --> 00:26:18,432 And if you view it in that perspective, 350 00:26:18,433 --> 00:26:20,869 it's easy to walk away from. 351 00:26:25,179 --> 00:26:28,225 The book known as The Amityville Horror 352 00:26:28,226 --> 00:26:30,052 sold millions in hardcover, 353 00:26:30,053 --> 00:26:32,359 and it's doing likewise in paperback. 354 00:26:32,360 --> 00:26:35,188 When the book came out, the whole family 355 00:26:35,189 --> 00:26:38,191 was just living off the proceeds of the book. 356 00:26:38,192 --> 00:26:40,193 They were very happy about it. 357 00:26:40,194 --> 00:26:42,369 George especially was very happy about it 358 00:26:42,370 --> 00:26:44,415 because this was... 359 00:26:44,416 --> 00:26:48,245 Helped financially for him, which he needed it 360 00:26:48,246 --> 00:26:50,857 to take care of his family. 361 00:26:52,075 --> 00:26:53,206 Of course, like a lot of people, 362 00:26:53,207 --> 00:26:55,426 I went out and bought the book. 363 00:26:55,427 --> 00:26:58,342 I remember reading pigs flying outside of windows 364 00:26:58,343 --> 00:27:02,781 and swarms of flies coming in and walls bleeding 365 00:27:02,782 --> 00:27:06,219 and weird sounds coming out of the ground 366 00:27:06,220 --> 00:27:07,612 in the backyard and stuff. 367 00:27:07,613 --> 00:27:10,267 And I was like, this is so... This is ridiculous. 368 00:27:10,268 --> 00:27:14,445 After I read the book, I never talked to George again. 369 00:27:14,446 --> 00:27:16,360 I read it. I put it down. 370 00:27:16,361 --> 00:27:18,362 I couldn't finish it. 371 00:27:18,363 --> 00:27:22,844 Oozing door locks, levitation of his wife, 372 00:27:22,845 --> 00:27:27,327 stuff that I never saw or heard in that house. 373 00:27:27,328 --> 00:27:29,286 Why did you come by tonight to look at this house? 374 00:27:29,287 --> 00:27:31,070 To see what that book was all about 375 00:27:31,071 --> 00:27:32,899 and everything about the house. 376 00:27:34,161 --> 00:27:37,119 It's a joke. It's a joke, a complete joke. 377 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:42,124 I mean, pigs flying around, all these stupid stories. 378 00:27:42,125 --> 00:27:44,518 Someone's trying to cash in here. 379 00:27:52,353 --> 00:27:55,486 I truly believe that they believe all these things. 380 00:27:55,487 --> 00:27:58,315 I was not there obviously. 381 00:27:58,316 --> 00:28:01,100 They told me their story. The priest told me his story. 382 00:28:01,101 --> 00:28:03,407 And I put it together in repertory style. 383 00:28:03,408 --> 00:28:06,323 And I leave it up to you. 384 00:28:06,324 --> 00:28:10,065 It was being sold and promoted as a true story. 385 00:28:10,066 --> 00:28:13,895 I saw nothing to substantiate that word "true." 386 00:28:13,896 --> 00:28:17,508 But it was a good story, and it was a big moneymaker. 387 00:28:19,293 --> 00:28:21,295 Get out! 388 00:28:26,866 --> 00:28:29,477 Anson sold the movie rights. 389 00:28:31,349 --> 00:28:33,393 Cut! 390 00:28:33,394 --> 00:28:35,134 He didn't ask us 391 00:28:35,135 --> 00:28:38,529 whether we wanted that to happen or not. 392 00:28:38,530 --> 00:28:40,227 He just went ahead and did it. 393 00:28:42,577 --> 00:28:44,883 Then they came to us and sent us contracts 394 00:28:44,884 --> 00:28:48,366 and said, "We're gonna do your movie." 395 00:28:55,329 --> 00:28:58,462 The Amityville Horror is one of the first 396 00:28:58,463 --> 00:29:01,116 motion pictures filmed almost entirely in New Jersey. 397 00:29:05,339 --> 00:29:08,428 George went to the set a lot. 398 00:29:08,429 --> 00:29:12,389 I don't think they really wanted him there on set. 399 00:29:12,390 --> 00:29:16,828 But he just loved the fact that there were notable actors 400 00:29:16,829 --> 00:29:19,396 playing him and his wife. 401 00:29:19,397 --> 00:29:20,571 He really enjoyed that. 402 00:29:20,572 --> 00:29:22,442 It was like a big deal, 403 00:29:22,443 --> 00:29:24,966 something totally out of the ordinary 404 00:29:24,967 --> 00:29:27,360 that ever happened to him. 405 00:29:27,361 --> 00:29:29,580 Kathy, I felt at this time, 406 00:29:29,581 --> 00:29:31,582 was just concerned about George. 407 00:29:31,583 --> 00:29:33,627 And if this was gonna make him feel better... 408 00:29:33,628 --> 00:29:35,803 Because he was changing back. 409 00:29:35,804 --> 00:29:39,590 He was becoming more self-confident. 410 00:29:39,591 --> 00:29:43,376 He was happy with the fame, to be part of it. 411 00:29:43,377 --> 00:29:45,596 So that's what he did. 412 00:29:51,951 --> 00:29:53,647 Well, the first thing I've got to ask you is, 413 00:29:53,648 --> 00:29:55,823 do you believe in demonic force? 414 00:29:55,824 --> 00:29:59,045 Um, hmm, good question. 415 00:30:00,525 --> 00:30:02,395 Uh... 416 00:30:02,396 --> 00:30:05,267 Yeah... uh, no, yes. 417 00:30:11,231 --> 00:30:12,753 I sat with George, 418 00:30:12,754 --> 00:30:16,757 and I watched his eyes as I talked to him 419 00:30:16,758 --> 00:30:18,629 and asked him a specific question, 420 00:30:18,630 --> 00:30:21,022 looking for the liar who would stare right at me, 421 00:30:21,023 --> 00:30:23,024 look right at me, and tell me a direct lie. 422 00:30:23,025 --> 00:30:25,636 And as he'd answer a question, I'd watch him think about it. 423 00:30:25,637 --> 00:30:28,029 And as he'd tell me about some of the things, 424 00:30:28,030 --> 00:30:29,422 his voice would begin to quaver a little. 425 00:30:29,423 --> 00:30:31,642 Then he'd try to regain composure. 426 00:30:31,643 --> 00:30:34,253 And I walked away saying, this man believes 427 00:30:34,254 --> 00:30:36,952 that something went wrong back there, you know. 428 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:42,304 Twenty-eight states in America accept the results 429 00:30:42,305 --> 00:30:44,437 of polygraph tests as legal evidence, 430 00:30:44,438 --> 00:30:46,613 and the polygraph is now used as a matter of course 431 00:30:46,614 --> 00:30:49,486 by the FBI and other government agencies. 432 00:30:49,487 --> 00:30:52,053 Basically, it monitors three things: 433 00:30:52,054 --> 00:30:56,014 cardiac activity, breathing, and sweat. 434 00:31:07,635 --> 00:31:08,506 The movie company was getting ready 435 00:31:08,507 --> 00:31:10,681 to release the movie, 436 00:31:10,682 --> 00:31:14,685 and they wanted to give each of us a polygraph test. 437 00:31:27,002 --> 00:31:28,481 And these are expensive tests. 438 00:31:28,482 --> 00:31:30,614 They were willing to pay for it. 439 00:31:30,615 --> 00:31:32,485 And we said, "Get us the best there is, and we'll do it. 440 00:31:32,486 --> 00:31:34,531 "Otherwise, we're not interested in doing it 441 00:31:34,532 --> 00:31:36,837 with someone that just got out of school." 442 00:31:36,838 --> 00:31:39,927 We were so very pleased to have Chris Gugas come along 443 00:31:39,928 --> 00:31:42,321 and give us a polygraph test 444 00:31:42,322 --> 00:31:44,932 in his office with Michael Rice. 445 00:31:48,328 --> 00:31:50,285 Chris Gugas, he was considered number two man 446 00:31:50,286 --> 00:31:53,724 in the world at the time. 447 00:31:53,725 --> 00:31:55,769 He had taught the use of the polygraph 448 00:31:55,770 --> 00:31:57,641 throughout the world for the armed forces 449 00:31:57,642 --> 00:32:00,121 and for their intelligence people. 450 00:32:00,122 --> 00:32:01,775 He had been instructed personally 451 00:32:01,776 --> 00:32:05,126 by the head guy at the FBI. 452 00:32:05,127 --> 00:32:07,564 Among other things, he was accepted in California courts 453 00:32:07,565 --> 00:32:09,001 as a witness. 454 00:32:10,263 --> 00:32:12,003 It was a long process. 455 00:32:12,004 --> 00:32:14,745 It's not like you walk in, strap on the machine, and go. 456 00:32:14,746 --> 00:32:17,356 You have to agree to the questions. 457 00:32:17,357 --> 00:32:20,098 He had five questions. They have to be yes or no. 458 00:32:20,099 --> 00:32:22,622 And, you know, you get one shot 459 00:32:22,623 --> 00:32:24,798 at doing this thing right. 460 00:32:24,799 --> 00:32:27,498 One of the questions was, did you levitate? 461 00:32:29,587 --> 00:32:32,938 One of the questions was, did Kathy turn into an old woman? 462 00:32:35,854 --> 00:32:38,333 And you answered them all and went sailing 463 00:32:38,334 --> 00:32:39,726 past the polygraph. 464 00:32:39,727 --> 00:32:43,209 Absolutely. We passed the test. 465 00:32:44,297 --> 00:32:46,124 Later, those findings were published 466 00:32:46,125 --> 00:32:49,562 in the National Star of all things. 467 00:32:49,563 --> 00:32:52,130 Well, George, you know, people who are lying 468 00:32:52,131 --> 00:32:54,567 usually don't agree to a polygraph. 469 00:32:54,568 --> 00:32:56,264 That's for damn sure. 470 00:33:17,069 --> 00:33:19,636 Many of the people attending this invitation-only showing 471 00:33:19,637 --> 00:33:21,942 of The Amityville Horror gave it rave reviews. 472 00:33:21,943 --> 00:33:24,815 And you can judge for yourself this weekend. 473 00:33:24,816 --> 00:33:26,643 Last night, there was 474 00:33:26,644 --> 00:33:29,167 a gala sneak preview showing. 475 00:33:29,168 --> 00:33:30,821 This was a private screening 476 00:33:30,822 --> 00:33:32,431 of The Amityville Horror, 477 00:33:32,432 --> 00:33:34,825 based on the best-selling book by Jay Anson. 478 00:33:34,826 --> 00:33:36,609 Anson attended the screening accompanied 479 00:33:36,610 --> 00:33:38,829 by the film's producer and one of the stars 480 00:33:38,830 --> 00:33:40,831 of the picture, James Brolin. 481 00:33:40,832 --> 00:33:43,094 Twenty-eight days after the Lutz family 482 00:33:43,095 --> 00:33:44,661 moved into their dream house, 483 00:33:44,662 --> 00:33:46,793 they were running for their lives. 484 00:33:46,794 --> 00:33:50,667 What happened to them is an experience in terror 485 00:33:50,668 --> 00:33:53,495 you will never forget. 486 00:33:53,496 --> 00:33:56,847 The Amityville Horror, rated R. 487 00:33:56,848 --> 00:33:58,065 Is The Amityville Horror for real? 488 00:33:58,066 --> 00:33:59,197 I don't know, and I'm not planning to go 489 00:33:59,198 --> 00:34:00,677 to Amityville and find out. 490 00:34:00,678 --> 00:34:02,417 What I can say, though, is that the movie 491 00:34:02,418 --> 00:34:03,680 is not very much fun. 492 00:34:03,681 --> 00:34:05,116 Maybe it wasn't meant to be. 493 00:34:05,117 --> 00:34:07,771 Oozing slime is hardly ever entertaining. 494 00:34:07,772 --> 00:34:09,990 But the way the Lutzes are relentlessly persecuted 495 00:34:09,991 --> 00:34:12,427 by their haunted house is finally just repetitive, 496 00:34:12,428 --> 00:34:14,647 boring, gruesome, more than a little depressing. 497 00:34:14,648 --> 00:34:17,258 I was going to say, who would want to see this movie? 498 00:34:17,259 --> 00:34:20,000 But millions of people already have gone to see it. 499 00:34:20,001 --> 00:34:23,656 It's a big hit at the box office. 500 00:34:23,657 --> 00:34:26,703 Horror doesn't have to be good. 501 00:34:26,704 --> 00:34:28,792 Even horror which is critically panned 502 00:34:28,793 --> 00:34:31,098 can be really powerful. 503 00:34:31,099 --> 00:34:33,100 The Amityville Horror sticks in the mind. 504 00:34:33,101 --> 00:34:35,886 And I think that's what's given it its longevity, 505 00:34:35,887 --> 00:34:37,714 not any kind of conception of quality, 506 00:34:37,715 --> 00:34:41,935 but its ability for moments or ideas to kind of resonate 507 00:34:41,936 --> 00:34:45,766 and stick with people for decades. 508 00:34:47,028 --> 00:34:49,029 The great moment where one of the Lutzes' children 509 00:34:49,030 --> 00:34:52,380 ends up with a hand smashed by the sash window, 510 00:34:52,381 --> 00:34:54,687 and they're desperately trying to pull it back in, 511 00:34:54,688 --> 00:34:56,863 but the two men can't lift the window. 512 00:34:56,864 --> 00:34:59,910 The glowing eyes that appear outside the window 513 00:34:59,911 --> 00:35:01,738 on the second floor. 514 00:35:01,739 --> 00:35:03,740 Lots of people mention that as something that they see, 515 00:35:03,741 --> 00:35:05,742 watching the film for the first time, 516 00:35:05,743 --> 00:35:08,179 as being something that really sort of stays with them, 517 00:35:08,180 --> 00:35:10,485 and I think because it speaks to a very deep-seated fear 518 00:35:10,486 --> 00:35:11,965 of, like, you see something out of the corner 519 00:35:11,966 --> 00:35:13,793 of your eye at night. 520 00:35:13,794 --> 00:35:16,840 The oozing staircase and the bleeding wall, 521 00:35:16,841 --> 00:35:19,146 where suddenly it seems like the entire environment 522 00:35:19,147 --> 00:35:21,932 is coming apart at the seams. 523 00:35:21,933 --> 00:35:24,325 Green slime, what was that on the wall in the movie? 524 00:35:24,326 --> 00:35:25,936 George, did that happen? 525 00:35:25,937 --> 00:35:28,590 As the movie did it, not exactly, no. 526 00:35:28,591 --> 00:35:31,332 - Do you believe them? - Do I? 527 00:35:31,333 --> 00:35:33,552 Yeah, when I'm sitting here with them, yes, I do. 528 00:35:33,553 --> 00:35:35,902 It's hard to deny a lot of the facts. 529 00:35:52,224 --> 00:35:54,355 Watching the Lutzes on Good Morning America 530 00:35:54,356 --> 00:35:58,011 really drives home the importance of saying, 531 00:35:58,012 --> 00:36:00,100 "This is based on a true story." 532 00:36:00,101 --> 00:36:02,363 Somebody tells you a scary story about a haunted house, 533 00:36:02,364 --> 00:36:03,451 you go, eh, that's fine. 534 00:36:03,452 --> 00:36:04,931 That's just a scary story. 535 00:36:04,932 --> 00:36:08,979 But someone tells you about it on the morning news, 536 00:36:08,980 --> 00:36:11,851 and the people are right there, and the actor is right there, 537 00:36:11,852 --> 00:36:14,245 you see this collapse of the distinction 538 00:36:14,246 --> 00:36:17,162 between the truth and entertainment. 539 00:36:19,817 --> 00:36:22,209 Rosemary's Baby, 540 00:36:22,210 --> 00:36:25,604 The Exorcist and The Omen 541 00:36:25,605 --> 00:36:27,911 are referred to as the unholy trinity. 542 00:36:27,912 --> 00:36:30,783 All three of these films involving Satanism 543 00:36:30,784 --> 00:36:33,830 and the supernatural and the occult present 544 00:36:33,831 --> 00:36:36,790 an attack on the American family. 545 00:36:39,010 --> 00:36:42,012 In Rosemary's Baby, she's pregnant. 546 00:36:42,013 --> 00:36:43,143 It's a nice, young couple. 547 00:36:43,144 --> 00:36:45,276 They move into a new apartment. 548 00:36:45,277 --> 00:36:47,844 And then they realize that she has no control 549 00:36:47,845 --> 00:36:49,802 over the antichrist spawn 550 00:36:49,803 --> 00:36:51,936 that she is now bringing to bear. 551 00:36:53,851 --> 00:36:57,592 And so this represents the dread of what it means 552 00:36:57,593 --> 00:37:01,292 to be a woman in society, of the loss of control 553 00:37:01,293 --> 00:37:03,598 over your own body and what eventually becomes 554 00:37:03,599 --> 00:37:05,426 of your child. 555 00:37:05,427 --> 00:37:08,908 In The Exorcist, where it's a single-parent household, 556 00:37:08,909 --> 00:37:10,823 and it is an adolescent child, 557 00:37:10,824 --> 00:37:13,695 an adolescent daughter, Regan MacNeil, 558 00:37:13,696 --> 00:37:16,089 going through puberty, 559 00:37:16,090 --> 00:37:18,091 new experiences happening with her body 560 00:37:18,092 --> 00:37:21,007 that is going to rebel against her mother. 561 00:37:21,008 --> 00:37:25,882 At the same time, The Omen that comes out in 1976 562 00:37:25,883 --> 00:37:30,843 is about a young couple that, due to pregnancy mishaps, 563 00:37:30,844 --> 00:37:32,889 have to adopt a child. 564 00:37:32,890 --> 00:37:36,066 Little do they know that it is also the spawn of Satan. 565 00:37:36,067 --> 00:37:38,459 Thus, not only do you need the transcendental authority 566 00:37:38,460 --> 00:37:40,897 of the church, you need some male force, 567 00:37:40,898 --> 00:37:42,899 represented by Catholic patriarchy, 568 00:37:42,900 --> 00:37:45,727 to come in and save the day. 569 00:37:53,606 --> 00:37:55,085 Do you plan to show the movie here? 570 00:37:55,086 --> 00:37:56,956 No, we don't. 571 00:37:56,957 --> 00:38:00,003 We've contemplated every maneuver possible 572 00:38:00,004 --> 00:38:01,874 in the event that things get out of hand, 573 00:38:01,875 --> 00:38:04,007 changing the name of the street, 574 00:38:04,008 --> 00:38:05,878 eliminating parking along the hallway, 575 00:38:05,879 --> 00:38:07,575 making the streets one-way. 576 00:38:07,576 --> 00:38:09,882 We've come up with a plan just to have extra police 577 00:38:09,883 --> 00:38:11,579 down there on a full-time basis 578 00:38:11,580 --> 00:38:13,408 in unmarked cars just to keep traffic moving. 579 00:38:16,498 --> 00:38:18,891 It seems local residents would retitle 580 00:38:18,892 --> 00:38:21,720 The Amityville Horror The Amityville Nuisance 581 00:38:21,721 --> 00:38:23,156 because all it's done is brought a lot 582 00:38:23,157 --> 00:38:25,898 of unwelcome tourists, sightseers, 583 00:38:25,899 --> 00:38:28,118 and a lot of extra traffic to what used 584 00:38:28,119 --> 00:38:29,946 to be a quiet Long Island village. 585 00:38:41,959 --> 00:38:43,611 Why did you come by tonight to look at this house? 586 00:38:43,612 --> 00:38:45,178 To see what it was like. 587 00:38:45,179 --> 00:38:48,182 I guess, we just specifically came from Chicago to see it. 588 00:38:50,228 --> 00:38:52,055 It isn't a house that we want to sell. 589 00:38:52,056 --> 00:38:54,492 It's a house we feel we're being forced to sell 590 00:38:54,493 --> 00:38:58,148 because of The Amityville Horror. 591 00:38:58,149 --> 00:38:59,932 In the two years the Cromarty family 592 00:38:59,933 --> 00:39:01,803 has lived here, they tell us they 593 00:39:01,804 --> 00:39:04,197 have never noticed anything strange or supernatural 594 00:39:04,198 --> 00:39:05,938 taking place. 595 00:39:05,939 --> 00:39:09,159 But we feel now we have to give up. 596 00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:10,943 We need a night's sleep. 597 00:39:10,944 --> 00:39:12,205 That people have nothing better 598 00:39:12,206 --> 00:39:13,990 in the world to do 599 00:39:13,991 --> 00:39:18,559 than to come and gape or do stupid things. 600 00:39:38,015 --> 00:39:38,841 When the film first came out, 601 00:39:38,842 --> 00:39:41,234 I was like ten or so. 602 00:39:41,235 --> 00:39:44,803 We went to go see a movie with the babysitter. 603 00:39:44,804 --> 00:39:48,198 And in a different theater down the hall, 604 00:39:48,199 --> 00:39:50,809 The Amityville Horror was showing. 605 00:39:50,810 --> 00:39:53,203 I told the babysitter I needed to go to the bathroom 606 00:39:53,204 --> 00:39:56,597 and went out 607 00:39:56,598 --> 00:39:59,297 and went inside the other theater. 608 00:40:01,125 --> 00:40:03,039 This is a movie about my family, 609 00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:07,826 and I was seeing this reaction from a crowd 610 00:40:07,827 --> 00:40:10,350 as they're watching the Amityville movie. 611 00:40:10,351 --> 00:40:12,439 And it was just, like, surreal. 612 00:40:17,184 --> 00:40:20,273 And it was like, this is what the world 613 00:40:20,274 --> 00:40:23,450 came to think was my story. 614 00:40:26,367 --> 00:40:29,021 Here I was, a little kid with a New York accent 615 00:40:29,022 --> 00:40:31,371 in a California public school with the same name 616 00:40:31,372 --> 00:40:33,025 as in the movie. 617 00:40:33,026 --> 00:40:36,116 It didn't take long for kids to figure out who I was, so... 618 00:40:40,077 --> 00:40:43,035 I tried to tell them what happened if they asked. 619 00:40:43,036 --> 00:40:45,124 And then it was like, "Well, that's not what 620 00:40:45,125 --> 00:40:47,735 was in the movie. You're a liar." 621 00:40:47,736 --> 00:40:49,041 I was like, what? 622 00:40:54,265 --> 00:40:57,267 And then, at one point, they went on a world tour 623 00:40:57,268 --> 00:40:58,268 talking about it. 624 00:41:12,196 --> 00:41:14,501 The next one is this. This is really strange. 625 00:41:14,502 --> 00:41:16,547 Now, if you look closely at this photograph here, 626 00:41:16,548 --> 00:41:18,114 now, that's... you can't really see it too well here, 627 00:41:18,115 --> 00:41:20,116 but that's a little boy. 628 00:41:20,117 --> 00:41:22,074 And who is he supposed to be? 629 00:41:22,075 --> 00:41:24,642 We don't know who he is actually. 630 00:41:24,643 --> 00:41:26,252 But Missy knows him, our daughter. 631 00:41:26,253 --> 00:41:28,341 When she saw the picture, which was discovered 632 00:41:28,342 --> 00:41:30,778 now two weeks ago, she said, "That's the little boy 633 00:41:30,779 --> 00:41:32,738 I used to always talk to." 634 00:41:36,002 --> 00:41:41,093 They even had put us into a Catholic school. 635 00:41:41,094 --> 00:41:43,096 They dropped us in The Orphanage. 636 00:41:45,490 --> 00:41:47,360 That was a tough thing, man. 637 00:41:47,361 --> 00:41:50,189 You know, the other kids in The Orphanage were like, 638 00:41:50,190 --> 00:41:52,104 "Your parents aren't coming back for you, 639 00:41:52,105 --> 00:41:54,193 just like they left us here too." 640 00:41:54,194 --> 00:41:59,155 You know, it was definitely... 641 00:41:59,156 --> 00:42:00,374 a hard time. 642 00:42:04,857 --> 00:42:08,164 I asked Kathy a couple of times about the children, 643 00:42:08,165 --> 00:42:11,254 and she told me that she was trying 644 00:42:11,255 --> 00:42:14,387 to shelter them from everything 645 00:42:14,388 --> 00:42:16,998 that was going on. 646 00:42:16,999 --> 00:42:22,395 When I look back on it now, I feel for the children. 647 00:42:22,396 --> 00:42:25,703 I didn't think, at that point, they were being sheltered. 648 00:42:25,704 --> 00:42:27,619 It was just too public. 649 00:42:31,405 --> 00:42:33,406 I'm Jackie Stone, 650 00:42:33,407 --> 00:42:35,626 and this is supposedly where it all happened. 651 00:42:35,627 --> 00:42:37,976 The DeFeo, Lutz, or Cromarty house... 652 00:42:37,977 --> 00:42:39,499 Depending on how you look for it... 653 00:42:39,500 --> 00:42:41,240 The site of the Amityville Horror 654 00:42:41,241 --> 00:42:42,373 or the Amityville Hoax. 655 00:42:43,287 --> 00:42:45,201 Do you believe it is a horror or hoax? 656 00:42:45,202 --> 00:42:46,593 It's a hoax. 657 00:42:46,594 --> 00:42:48,029 So you don't believe it at all? 658 00:42:48,030 --> 00:42:49,857 - Not at all. - Definitely a hoax. 659 00:42:49,858 --> 00:42:51,381 Why? 660 00:42:51,382 --> 00:42:53,774 Well, I've been a longtime resident of Amityville, 661 00:42:53,775 --> 00:42:56,951 and there's never any incident of this type 662 00:42:56,952 --> 00:42:58,344 at any time in that home. 663 00:42:58,345 --> 00:43:00,651 I think it was just a moneymaking bracket 664 00:43:00,652 --> 00:43:02,870 that somebody put together with a lot of brains. 665 00:43:02,871 --> 00:43:05,003 You know, they saw a good chance to make a lot of money, 666 00:43:05,004 --> 00:43:06,613 so they put a film together, 667 00:43:06,614 --> 00:43:08,267 and now they're making millions. 668 00:43:08,268 --> 00:43:09,529 Do you believe that all that 669 00:43:09,530 --> 00:43:11,792 - really happened here? - Yeah, I believe it. 670 00:43:11,793 --> 00:43:14,230 I believe. I believe in the devil. 671 00:43:14,231 --> 00:43:17,233 As far as we're concerned, the Amityville hoax 672 00:43:17,234 --> 00:43:18,625 is the real horror. 673 00:43:18,626 --> 00:43:20,366 Whether or not it was a hoax or a horror, 674 00:43:20,367 --> 00:43:22,194 you'll have to decide that for yourself. 675 00:43:25,677 --> 00:43:27,373 People were coming to think 676 00:43:27,374 --> 00:43:29,942 that it was a hoax. 677 00:43:32,292 --> 00:43:34,250 I knew that Mom and George had, like, 678 00:43:34,251 --> 00:43:36,208 given the recordings over to Jay Anson 679 00:43:36,209 --> 00:43:38,211 and that Anson wrote the book. 680 00:43:39,865 --> 00:43:43,041 But I had never heard the tapes. 681 00:43:43,042 --> 00:43:45,261 All I know is that this is what 682 00:43:45,262 --> 00:43:48,655 he went around the world promoting 683 00:43:48,656 --> 00:43:50,745 and thought it was fine. 684 00:43:56,273 --> 00:43:59,840 Like, let me tell you a story about that photo 685 00:43:59,841 --> 00:44:03,844 taken during the Warren investigation. 686 00:44:03,845 --> 00:44:07,239 That photo has circulated all around the world 687 00:44:07,240 --> 00:44:09,720 and all over the internet now. 688 00:44:09,721 --> 00:44:11,591 But here's the thing. 689 00:44:11,592 --> 00:44:14,290 You'll notice that head that's sticking out 690 00:44:14,291 --> 00:44:17,510 of that doorway... Attached to that head, 691 00:44:17,511 --> 00:44:19,469 it's a plaid shirt. 692 00:44:19,470 --> 00:44:23,516 And it's consistent with the same shirt as the photographer 693 00:44:23,517 --> 00:44:25,257 that's taking these photos. 694 00:44:28,957 --> 00:44:32,134 And so it's not some spirit. 695 00:44:34,136 --> 00:44:37,269 It's the picture of the photographer. 696 00:44:46,801 --> 00:44:50,151 I never liked that he felt that it was fine 697 00:44:50,152 --> 00:44:53,329 to add fiction to it. 698 00:44:53,330 --> 00:44:56,506 It really pissed me off. 699 00:44:59,771 --> 00:45:03,513 Because there's enough to the story 700 00:45:03,514 --> 00:45:05,776 that anybody that has a real sense 701 00:45:05,777 --> 00:45:10,346 of what paranormal activity is, 702 00:45:10,347 --> 00:45:12,565 there's enough here. 703 00:45:12,566 --> 00:45:14,525 There's no need to pepper it with any bullshit. 704 00:45:17,702 --> 00:45:20,791 Is this fact or fiction? 705 00:45:20,792 --> 00:45:23,576 Fiction, absolutely. 706 00:45:23,577 --> 00:45:25,361 So this story evolved over dinner with the Lutzes 707 00:45:25,362 --> 00:45:26,623 and a bottle of wine. 708 00:45:26,624 --> 00:45:29,452 I think it was about three bottles of wine. 709 00:45:29,453 --> 00:45:31,584 Yes, about three bottles of wine. 710 00:45:31,585 --> 00:45:34,326 So the story grew with each bottle of wine. 711 00:45:34,327 --> 00:45:35,937 Each bottle became a better story. 712 00:45:37,548 --> 00:45:40,332 I told them there were flies found 713 00:45:40,333 --> 00:45:42,378 in the house where the body of the older sister 714 00:45:42,379 --> 00:45:44,336 was discovered. 715 00:45:44,337 --> 00:45:48,385 From those flies, they created a complete supernatural scene. 716 00:45:50,822 --> 00:45:54,215 And there was a greenish-black substance 717 00:45:54,216 --> 00:45:56,609 around many of the doorknobs. 718 00:45:56,610 --> 00:45:59,439 They were the result of fingerprint powders. 719 00:46:01,615 --> 00:46:03,834 So we took real-life incidences, 720 00:46:03,835 --> 00:46:06,445 and then we transposed them. 721 00:46:06,446 --> 00:46:08,578 Green slime was actually spaghetti 722 00:46:08,579 --> 00:46:11,929 that had been splashed on the wall at a time 723 00:46:11,930 --> 00:46:16,063 when Mr. DeFeo supposedly had hit his wife in the kitchen 724 00:46:16,064 --> 00:46:18,936 while she was carrying a plate of spaghetti. 725 00:46:18,937 --> 00:46:21,373 There were times when one of the DeFeo 726 00:46:21,374 --> 00:46:25,377 or a neighbor's kitten would jump on Dawn's window. 727 00:46:25,378 --> 00:46:27,510 And just taking that little incident, 728 00:46:27,511 --> 00:46:33,646 we developed it into a pig appearing at the window. 729 00:46:33,647 --> 00:46:35,648 We could sit here for three weeks. 730 00:46:35,649 --> 00:46:38,521 And I'll keep telling you each time, it's a fraud. 731 00:46:40,524 --> 00:46:47,922 >>>>oakislandtk<<<<<