Search - History's Mysteries - Amityville: The Haunting (History Channel) on DVD

Keep an open mind here. Is it fact or fiction or a mix of b

Kyle Tolle | Phoenix, Arizona USA | 09/26/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Beginning with the history of this famous house at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, there is a surprisingly large and interesting amount of information about the property it resides on and the surrounding areas. Research indicates that this timeline goes back for generations. While some of these past findings remain questionable to this day, other facts brought to light are eerie and compelling when considering unusual events that purportedly occurred here.

Moving forward to more modern times and substantiated events, the DeFeo family tragedy is explored beginning with their move to this house in the summer of 1965. According to official records, a seemingly happy family began a downward spiral in 1973 when violence and abuse in the household escalated and reached the breaking point in November of 1974. On the thirteenth day of this month, Ronald DeFeo Jr. used a high powered rifle to murder his parents and four siblings. With all of these facts not in dispute, what are intriguing are several aspects of the murder that baffled investigators afterward and they are revealed here.

In December of 1975, George & Cathy Lutz and their three children take up residence in the now vacated home but flee the premises forever on January 14th, 1976. Actual interviews with the Lutz's and re-creations of events portrayed there demonstrate what seem to have been some terrifying and downright bizarre occurrences on many levels. Upon fleeing this house and moving to California, they reveal that the haunting continued to plague them for several years afterward. Inexplicably, all successive residents of this house since that time have not experienced anything out of the ordinary.

I have read the book by Jay Anson and seen the movie (both of which scared me at the time) and I've also done some research on this topic online and elsewhere. With that in mind, I offer the following. The History Channel has done a comprehensive job of examining the Lutz's `official' story of events here, in my opinion. It appears that was the sole intention of this program and it stands well on its own in that regard. On the other hand, the entire spectrum was not examined in this production in relation to questionable facts, unproven claims, and possible fabrications in the story that others have found and documented. Despite the one sided approach here, `Amityville: The Haunting' is another decent installment of the History's Mysteries series. Whether you believe in the truthfulness of this account or lean toward the more commonly accepted theory that it was a hoax, it is fun to watch nevertheless and it's even a little bit creepy at times.



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The Amityville "Hoax's"

John D. Page | usa | 08/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very fine telling of the events that were to become the most famous "haunting" of our time. On the night of Nov. 13,1974, drug crazed Ron Defeo Jr. shot and killed all five members of his family. After a short investigation, he was sent to jail and the house sold to the Lutz's family. After 28 days there the family fled in the middle of the night and said that demons and all manner of supernatural "things" forced them out of the house. Not long after, with Author Jay Anson They gave the world "The Amityville Horror" and made millions! Besides giving us the facts as told by the family this excellent program looks into the case and finds many things that don't add up in the story. A fine piece of reporting that shows this was one of the better "Hoax's" ever done on the American people. Well worth the time and money!"

Amityville:The Haunting by the History Channel

Joseph S. Saya Jr. | Tully, New York, USA | 11/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If your into the Amityville case like I am, then this DVD is a must have. This disc is very informative and The History Channels version with History's Mysteries makes it very pleasant to watch. Add this DVD to your Amityville collection like I did. Well worth it."