My Amityville Impression

[Bengal]

Hello all. I'm a new person to this board. Some interesting info here, thanks to those that maintain this site.

I'm a 43 year old male who got interested in this story in 1978 before the movie was released. I checked out the Anson book from the library when I was 10 and read it before seeing the movie. I enjoyed the book and the movie, still enjoy the movie although it's not aging well. The rest of the movies? Pure rubbish. Sorry if I offend but I usually speak my mind. 2, 3 and the remake are pure garbage. I do own all those movies but in my defense, I am a completeist by nature so once I have one, I must own all.

I have since regained an interest in this story and found this site and have enjoyed reading the info hear and looking at the pics and all. I just started re-reading the Anson book again as well. I have a few questions for those who might know.

1. In the Anson book which I believe is what Mr. Lutz calls the true story of what happened, why doesn't the priest mention being "slapped" by something? All that is mentioned is the "get out" voice.
2. Have the Lutz's children ever said anything in their adulthood?
3. When the house was remodeled, what happened to the original quarter moon windows? Where they sold or junked?

I also don't know what happened in the house. I do know the Lutzs passed lie detector tests that have not been disqualified, at least not that I know of. That holds weight with me. Ronnie Defeo? A murdering piece of garbage whos story couldn't stay straight if it was being pulled in both directions by horses. Have you read the parole reviews? Not a consistant story in there. No handguns, Mom has a handgun. Dawn did it, Dawn was shot in her bed with the covers around her. He killed his family and can't live with it so he makes up storys so he can sleep at night. I can understand that.

I'm sure I'll have more questions and I'll add them when they come up. I do appreciate this site although I may not agree with what I read. I do believe that if one owns this house, one should know what one is buying. So when the current owner comes out and slings snide comments at someone who came here from Europe to see this place shows no class to me at all. Sure he has a right to his privacy but he HAD to know what he was getting into. The owners after the Lutzs, sure I could get that but these owners now? Nope, no pass in my book. Plus he's losing out on one of the more lucrative business oportunities available. Turn that place into a Bed And Breakfast and charge up to $1000 a night to stay there. I'd do that in a heartbeat.

Anyhoo, enough rambling. Thanks again.

[Dan the Damned]

...still enjoy the movie although it's not aging well. The rest of the movies? Pure rubbish. Sorry if I offend but I usually speak my mind. 2, 3 and the remake are pure garbage.

I don't think you are offending anyone. I agree. In fact, I don't even like the first movie all that much. Many parts of the book were changed or left out of the movie, so I never cared for it much.

I have since regained an interest in this story and found this site and have enjoyed reading the info hear and looking at the pics and all.

Sounds like me. We're about the same age, and we both got interested prior to the movie. I lost interest around 1980 or so and just regained interest in December of 2003 after channel surfing one night and seeing the movie on AMC.

1. In the Anson book which I believe is what Mr. Lutz calls the true story of what happened, why doesn't the priest mention being "slapped" by something? All that is mentioned is the "get out" voice.

Great question. Short answer: I don't know. And along those lines, there are many other such stories that either got changed or switched around or completely left out of Anson's book. One example is the slime oozing from the walls. That didn't happen. In reality George & Kathy (on at least 2 occasions) found small drops of what looked to be a greenish slimy substance on the carpets, going from one room to the next. They scooped it up and dumped it in the canal via the boathouse. On the first occasion they blamed this on the kids, but on the second occasion the kids weren't at home.

From reading various interviews George has given, it seems that he might think Anson combined this story with another incident (the black epoxy-like substance which hung from certain keyholes).

Anson seemed to have used some literary license when writing the book. Some people view that as a convenient way of using Anson as a scapegoat to hide possible inconsistencies in the Lutzes' story. At face value I can see where they might see it that way, but I think if you dig deeper it really becomes clear that this isn't the case.

I kinda went off-track there, but yeah, aside from the priest being slapped (which he mentioned on "In Search Of"), there are other stories related to the haunting that have never really been told. Most of those stories involve friends or relatives of the Lutzes, so perhaps that is why those stories weren't included, but others don't.

2. Have the Lutz's children ever said anything in their adulthood?

To date Chris (the middle child at the time) has been the only one, but this is about to change soon with the pending release of the film "My Amityville Horror," which is a documentary on Daniel Lutz. In the film Daniel talks about the haunting and we get a glimpse of how it affected his life back then and even today.

Missy hasn't said anything in public, but when the History's Mysteries documentary was being put together (a decade ago), the producers reported that she told them the haunting was all too real. In short, Daniel and Christopher say the same thing. Indeed, all 5 members of the Lutz family have maintained that the haunting was real.

3. When the house was remodeled, what happened to the original quarter moon windows? Where they sold or junked?

I don't think any of us knows. I think we have speculated over this, but are not quite sure.

[Bengal]

Dan,
Thanks for the info. I'd really like to know what happened to those windows.

What was the agreement between the Lutzs and Anson? I know they didn't talk to eachother and Anson got most of his info from recordings George and Kathy did. What was the agreement for the royalties? I know how much George has claimed he made from the story and I have no reason to not believe that but it seems a bit low even for the mid 70's. So I wonder who made the most off of the story? The Lutzs obviously sold the rights to it seeing as they had no control over the original movie or did they just not care at that point?

It's an interesting story for sure and this site is interesting as well. Seeing how much this story means to some people and how that manifests itself is... well.... Interesting..

[Bengal]

I also don't put much stock in the books about the haunting that have come out since. I've read some stuff about them here and elsewhere. I assume those that claim it's a hoax claim the Lutzs did it for money. My question would be, why write a book saying THEY are in it for the money, aren't YOU in it for the money as well? If not, publish your 'findings' for free. People claiming the Lutzs are profiting off the Defeo murders when they themselves are also profiting off the Defeo/Horror connection. Hello! Pot Calling!

I don't know what happened in the house but I think something did. Why has it not happened to the other owners? Who knows. Maybe they are not sensitive enough to what's going on around them.

Have you ever lost something and looked for it and couldn't find it? Then when you quit looking, you find it? That's also how I feel about supposed 'ghost hunters'. Seek and ye shall not find. Look too hard and you will not see.

We all want proof just to ease our minds that this life is not all there is. But maybe all of us are not in tune to what's really going on around us at all times.

But if they did fake this story, my hat is off to them. I think they deserve way more then they got for this story, it has entertained me for 30 some years. Better than most respected writers out there.

[sherbetbizarre]

Dan,
Thanks for the info. I'd really like to know what happened to those windows.

The Histories Mysteries crew were told when the O'Neil's had them replaced, they kept the originals, and presumably took them with them when they moved away.

[Brendan72]

Welcome to the board!

To give some insight into this question:

In the Anson book which I believe is what Mr. Lutz calls the true story of what happened, why doesn't the priest mention being "slapped" by something? All that is mentioned is the "get out" voice.

Here is a snippet from the 2002 interview on Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell in which George answers a similar question:

GEORGE LUTZ: He was a bit uncomfortable in the upstairs back bedroom ... He stopped and just said – he asked us what we were going to use one bedroom for, which was on the second floor in the back; and that was evidently the bedroom where the two boys had been murdered.

ART BELL: So he told you not to use the second floor sewing room ... He told you not to use the second floor sewing room at ALL, or as a bedroom, or what?

GEORGE LUTZ: Kathy explained she was going to use it as a sewing room, and that, he said, was fine. He just – there was something about the room that made him uncomfortable, and he managed to communicate that to us without any alarm or anything. I really don't know how to explain this other than he asked what we were going to use the room for; he said he felt a little bit uncomfortable there, and that's basically what he said.

ART BELL: And so you didn't really probe and want to know the exact whys and wherefores of the warning?

GEORGE LUTZ: No, he wasn't forthcoming with it; he was, um, it was like he wanted to leave, and we weren't going to use it as a bedroom, so it wasn't an issue. It was a strange thing for him to say, but it was, like, okay, you have to leave and that's all you're going to tell us, obviously, you know – thanks for coming.

You also asked:

I also don't know what happened in the house. I do know the Lutzs passed lie detector tests that have not been disqualified, at least not that I know of. That holds weight with me. Ronnie Defeo? A murdering piece of garbage whos story couldn't stay straight if it was being pulled in both directions by horses. Have you read the parole reviews? Not a consistant story in there. No handguns, Mom has a handgun. Dawn did it, Dawn was shot in her bed with the covers around her. He killed his family and can't live with it so he makes up storys so he can sleep at night. I can understand that.

There has been a lot of speculation about what exactly happened that night - what we do know is that five people were murdered in their beds, and the only one there that night who survived was their oldest son. Whether you choose to believe in the official investigation (ballistics and autopsies, interview and trial transcripts) or that there were other killers involved is up to you. I recommend you read High Hopes by Gerard Sullivan, who was the prosecuting attorney for the DeFeo trial in 1975. It gives a unique perspective of the case from crime to trial - it was sort of like Law & Order: Amityville.

The only person who can really tell what happened that night is wasting away in prison, and since he has changed his story so many times, blaming everyone except for Elvis Presley and the Jimmy Hoffa, then it is a given that he probably never will reveal what happened. I think being in prison so long and every time he mentions something (albeit contradictory) he gets attention from someone, regardless of who that may be. Such attention is usually whenever the anniversary of the murders occurs, or whenever his parole hearing occurs.

I doubt if he'd ever come out and go on the record, and even if he did would we believe him after telling a different version so many times? I've sometimes wondered if they'd give him a polygraph test, but I think somehow the exercise would be pointless from a law enforcement standpoint since the guy already confessed, was tried and convicted decades ago. At the end of the day once Butch DeFeo dies, the events of what really happened that night will die with him, since as far as we know he was the only one in the house that night.

[Victoria Principles]

Hello all. I'm a new person to this board. Some interesting info here, thanks to those that maintain this site.



I'm sure I'll have more questions and I'll add them when they come up. I do appreciate this site although I may not agree with what I read. I do believe that if one owns this house, one should know what one is buying. So when the current owner comes out and slings snide comments at someone who came here from Europe to see this place shows no class to me at all. Sure he has a right to his privacy but he HAD to know what he was getting into. The owners after the Lutzs, sure I could get that but these owners now? Nope, no pass in my book. Plus he's losing out on one of the more lucrative business oportunities available. Turn that place into a Bed And Breakfast and charge up to $1000 a night to stay there. I'd do that in a heartbeat.

Anyhoo, enough rambling. Thanks again.

The house is private property (a concept so many people seem not able to grasp today) and people should respect private property. We don't know for sure what went on between Brian Wilson and Swiss Guy that day, we just got one side of the story. Besides, that event provided entertainment fodder on this board for a long time. The place can't be turned into a bed and breakfast. It's zoned residential and it would be a slap in the face of the DeFeo family.

Not everyone is out for every single dollar. There are people who earn enough money (another concept that many people today can't seem to grasp) where they want their own home and value their privacy. We do know that Brian Wilson thought the hauntings were bunk and had a very good sense of humor about it.

[Dan the Damned]

What was the agreement between the Lutzs and Anson?

Someone found the agreement between the Lutzes and Anson concerning the movie, but not sure if anyone has seen a copy of the agreement over the book. I don't know the percentages.

I wonder who made the most off of the story?

George has claimed that Jay Anson and the producers of the original film are the ones who made the most money from the haunting. Anson got money from the book and from selling the film rights, plus I think he also had his hand in the film as well. You can check IMDB -- I think he might be listed there as a producer or something. And "Professional Films" is the outfit he was working for (Anson used to write scripts for "behind the scenes" featurettes).

I know how much George has claimed he made from the story and I have no reason to not believe that but it seems a bit low even for the mid 70's.

In some interviews George gives a low number followed by an explanation that the figure is the net take after the fees paid to lawyers to cover the various legal battles, etc. Perhaps that's why it seems low.

The Lutzs obviously sold the rights to it seeing as they had no control over the original movie or did they just not care at that point?

Well the story goes that Jay Anson sold the film rights without the Lutzes' knowledge or consent. I think at that point the Lutzes could have either tried to block the film from being made, or agree to let it happen, with them doing the latter. Here's how George explained it:

GEORGE LUTZ: One of the hard things to explain to people is how the rights were obtained by the movie company. Initially, Anson sold the rights to CBS. Then, American International Pictures wanted the rights and came in and made a new deal with Anson and CBS. They then paid Anson and came to us and said: "We're going to make this movie." And we said: "How are you going to do that? We have signed no contract with you and have none of your money." After about six weeks of negotiations, Kathy and I obtained the sequel rights, which is basically unheard of in such a case, and agreed to let them go forward with the movie. So we had no control over what they did, but at least it left us in control of our own story in the future.

GEORGE LUTZ: Most people never find themselves in a position where they have to deal with a movie company and their lawyers and all of the contracts that are involved with that, but, um, what happened in our case was that we had an agreement with Anson that if Anson did not dispose of the movie rights within a certain period of time, then they would be ours to dispose of. Well um, Anson sold the rights to CBS. He didn't ask us whether we wanted that to happen or not. He just went ahead and did it. AIP found out about that and they tried to get the rights from CBS and they put together a deal with them so that they could then do the movie. Then they came to us and sent us contracts and said "We're going to do your movie" and we said "well, that's very nice, but you don't have a contract with us and we have a problem with you trying to do that." That became a very messy situation it was quite intense and very costly with a whole bunch of lawyers. In that process alone we learned a great deal, and one of the things we got as a result of that mess and the pressure that was put on Anson to complete his part of the contract which he had signed, was we got assigned to us, released to us, all of the sequel rights, all of the subsequent ability to tell the story or have any commercial involvement if you will. Uh, with The Amityville Horror. So then that came back to Kathy and I - that never happens, that's not the kind of thing that they ever give back or they let you do.

[Brooke Forrester]

Plus he's losing out on one of the more lucrative business oportunities available. Turn that place into a Bed And Breakfast and charge up to $1000 a night to stay there. I'd do that in a heartbeat.

I don't think they should ever do that. As someone stated above, it would be disrespectful to the DeFeo family. I know there are places where murders occurred and they are turned into a tourist site, the Lizzie Borden house I think being one maybe the Villisca, Iowa house?

I don't think it's really right as the murder victims and the truth of their humanity kind of gets lost in the idea of thrills for the public,but even if you don't consider that side of the business idea, in the case of the Amityville house, it's on a residential street with neighbors very close on both sides.

It's not isolated like the house appears to be in The Amityville Horror movies, so it would be very unfair to the residents of Ocean Ave. to make the house an official tourist site or bed and breakfast.

It was meant to be a private home, that's what the community has kept it, and they've done the right thing.

[Bengal]

Brendan,
Thanks for posting that interview and your instight. I apprecaiate the time it took. I do enjoy reading whatever I can about this right now.

I must adimit, those windows would be the ultimate Amityville momento. Hell, I'd install them in my house.

Dan,
Again, thanks for all that info. It gives a decent perspective into what was going on around then. It must have been hard for them to handle all that. More 'proof' to me that it wasn't a hoax. I would think if it was, they would have had all their I's dotted and T's crossed.

Brooke,
Disrespectful to the Defeos? I think Ronnie already did the ultimate disrespect to the family. I don't really know how much more the Defeo family could be disrespected. Besides, who is there to complain from the family? Ronnie? Some supposed wife? Hardly. The town could bitch all they want but I'm sure the business's around the area don't mind horror fans spending their money in local shops. I don't know of ANY town that can turn money away.

Victoria,
I'll try to be as nice as I can since it seems like you may be a bit confrontational on this board. Something I have no problem with at all, I love to argue. But I'd hate to be banned on my 2nd day.

Again, read my comments above about dissing the Defeo family. Already been done, opening a bed and breakfast wouldn't do any more harm to that family. The zoning issue could be dealt with, trust me on that one. You mention that people can't seem to grasp that it's private property. I have no problem with domain rights but let me ask you a question. If you sleep with a hooker without protection and get herpes, who's fault is it? If you live by the airport, is it OK to bitch about planes flying over head?

My point being, you pay your money you take your chances. Meaning, whoever ownes this house does so willingly. To bitch after the point about it's history is plain stupid. If they didn't know the history of the house, they they are stupid. If they did, they can't bitch about it. It's quite cut and dry really.

And the real people to profit off this story? The people who bought the house after the Lutzs. When they sold it they made a KILLLING (pun intended), if I rememeber correcty.

[Bengal]

(Is there no edit function? I would have added this in an edit but didn't find one)

And another point about the neighbors. I live on a dead end street so I know a thing or 2 about neighbors watching what's going on on our street. Any 'odd' car that comes down the street gets the once over by at least 2 neighbors. Can we bitch about that? They have no business on our street! Nope... Can't bitch at all. It's perfectly legal to drive down the street so the neighbors of Ocean Avenue can kick rocks about the car traffic on the street. Perfectly legal.

And it's also perfectly legal to take pictures from the street or the sidewalk. I'm a Journalism graduate so I know a few things about this. The owners can bitch all they want but it's quite legal to do whatever you want as long as you stay on the sidewalk. It's not a harassment issue at all to the owners or the people living on that street. If they want to come out and be dicks to people interested in this story, that is up to them. But nothing they do is going to make people lose interest in that house except maybe tearing it down.

[Dan the Damned]

More 'proof' to me that it wasn't a hoax. I would think if it was, they would have had all their I's dotted and T's crossed.

I think so, too. I always wonder how the Lutzes could be so very clever as to create such an elaborate hoax (one which hasn't been proven as a hoax in over 30 years) and yet so very dumb as to not know how to properly capitalize on it all. I think if it was a money-making hoax, then the Lutzes would have been the ones who got rich -- not Anson and the film producers.

If you are planning a money-making hoax, financial gain is the top priority. You plan everything around that. You don't stumble into movie deals with your mouths open and your eyes bulging like a deer caught in headlights.

And besides, how could anyone expect such a book to become a worldwide phenomenal best-seller? Prior to this, what other non-fiction haunted house book has come close to selling so many copies? To base a money-making scheme all on the precipitous notion that the book will be a best-seller is ludicrous.

Sure, maybe they didn't plan on a whole lot of money -- maybe they were just planning on moderate sales of the book. But would the royalties on such a book with moderate sales be worth the money they lost on the house?

Is there no edit function?

There is, but it disappears after 20 mins. We've had problems with people going back and deleting their posts by editing-out all the content (making the resulting thread unreadable).

[Bengal]

Dan,
You make some excellent points there! It's always been my impression that if it was a hoax, they handled it all wrong. And if this 'scheme' was going to feed your family, wouldn't you be ready for all things coming your way? Of course you would.

And there does seem to be a big ellement of chance here. Why open youself up to such hostility and addoration without knowing for sure that you would make money off it? Like you said, they had no clue it would turn into what it did.

And no offense to the Lutzs at all, I really admire both of them for putting themselves in the crossfire like they did but I do wonder if they had the capibility to create all this stuff. I don't know them personally at all but just going off my impressions of both of them they don't seem like the people to make this stuff up. They didn't sell it well, they weren't great spokespersons for their story. Possibly why people went after them like they did.

Did they ever appear on the cover of Time or Newsweek before the movie came out? Seems to me it was a TIme article that got me into the story in the first place.

Thanks for letting me know about the edit function, makes sense to me. I'm just one of those machine gun arguers who throws a ton of ideas at you and sometimes I remember after the fact. So I'm not trying to boost a post count or anything, just trying to overwhelm my oponent. HA!

Another point about the house and this one I'll throw in a personal story. I use to live in Sherman Hill in Des Moines, Iowa. Sherman Hill is the oldest residential part of Des Moines and I owned one of the first houses built there. There were some 'odd' things that happened there while I was remodeling the house. The Sherman Hill society does a Walking Haunted House tour around the neighborhood in October and my house was a stop on the tour. Did I go out and tell people to quit taking pictures of my house? Did my neighbors? Nope. Can't bitch if they do nothing illegal. Plus it brought awareness to the neighborhood and revenue into the neighborhood and it is a rather fun tour.

So see, some of us are not as uptight as the owners of 112 Ocean Avenue.

[Victoria Principles]

Brendan,
Thanks for posting that interview and your instight. I apprecaiate the time it took. I do enjoy reading whatever I can about this right now.

I must adimit, those windows would be the ultimate Amityville momento. Hell, I'd install them in my house.

Dan,
Again, thanks for all that info. It gives a decent perspective into what was going on around then. It must have been hard for them to handle all that. More 'proof' to me that it wasn't a hoax. I would think if it was, they would have had all their I's dotted and T's crossed.

Brooke,
Disrespectful to the Defeos? I think Ronnie already did the ultimate disrespect to the family. I don't really know how much more the Defeo family could be disrespected. Besides, who is there to complain from the family? Ronnie? Some supposed wife? Hardly. The town could bitch all they want but I'm sure the business's around the area don't mind horror fans spending their money in local shops. I don't know of ANY town that can turn money away.

Victoria,
I'll try to be as nice as I can since it seems like you may be a bit confrontational on this board. Something I have no problem with at all, I love to argue. But I'd hate to be banned on my 2nd day.

Again, read my comments above about dissing the Defeo family. Already been done, opening a bed and breakfast wouldn't do any more harm to that family. The zoning issue could be dealt with, trust me on that one. You mention that people can't seem to grasp that it's private property. I have no problem with domain rights but let me ask you a question. If you sleep with a hooker without protection and get herpes, who's fault is it? If you live by the airport, is it OK to bitch about planes flying over head?

My point being, you pay your money you take your chances. Meaning, whoever ownes this house does so willingly. To bitch after the point about it's history is plain stupid. If they didn't know the history of the house, they they are stupid. If they did, they can't bitch about it. It's quite cut and dry really.

And the real people to profit off this story? The people who bought the house after the Lutzs. When they sold it they made a KILLLING (pun intended), if I rememeber correcty.

Bengal, there is many other people who remember the DeFeo's other than their immediate family. It would be demeaning and aprehensive to turn the house into a bed and breakfast for freaks, never do wells, and just plain nut jobs to get their cheap thrills. The house will never be zoned for a bed and breakfast, neither the neighbors nor community would allow it for reasons you apparently can't grasp. The Cromarties did not make a "killing" (just your wording of this says alot of your moral compass). You have no idea what expenses, repairs, and taxes they paid on the property before they sold it.

[Bengal]

Please leave your moral judgements aside, you don't know me at all. I have a tounge in cheek humor. You don't seem to have any humor at all. But that's not really my problem. But to pass judgement on me shows what kind of person you seem to be.

As for freaks and never do wells, at $1000 per night how many freaks could afford that? You weed out the freaks by pricing it out of their range. The freaks will do what they want weather it's a private residence or a bed and breakfast. What? All of a sudden the freaks have a moral cumpass? Come on now. Don't be absurd.

Let me remind you, you are posting on a site about the Amityville murders and haunting. To come at me with your arguement when you frequent this site is odd to me. Obviously you have an unnatural obsession with this story as do I or else we wouldn't be here. Don't put yourself on a pedistal then look down at me. That don't fly here.

The Cromartys bought the house for under 100K and if I remember right, which I may not, sold it for over a million. I somewhat doubt they put over 900,000 into the house. But if you have proof of what expenses they put into the house, please do share. My thought is you have no idea either but want to judge me for saying it.

Still doesn't change the facts that the disrespect to the Defeos was already commited by Ronnie, whoever produced the second Amyityville movie, and all the others that have wrote books about those murders. Nothing anyone else can do would harm that family anymore.

And for the owners to complain about interest in their house when they bought it knowing it was THE Amityville house is dumb as well.

[Anarane]

While what you say about the legalities of taking photographs etc. may be correct, I find the rest of your argument less, er, palatable. Of course opening a bed & breakfast would further demean the memory of the DeFeos ... I'm surprised anyone can think otherwise! Two wrongs don't make a right, no matter what they are. Being wholly skeptical, I'd happily live in such a house as I believe it should still be cherished as a family home ... but I'd never, ever hope to see such a tragedy exploited expressly for profit.

Furthermore, what the Cromartys' have previously reported - people urinating on their land, stealing their possessions etc. - is never justifiable. Sure, 112 owners should expect some rubber-necking ... but drunks urinating on their front door? Nah. NO-ONE should ever be expected to put up with that, no matter what they knew about the house's history. I also think the last 30 years have THOROUGHLY proved how vehemently the town does NOT what to capitalise on the murders (or haunting, for that matter). They positively shun any such publicity.

I agree about those windows though. Would be awesome to own those!

[Bengal]

Anarane,
I understand what you are saying but I guess you and I see things quite differently. I believe in playing the cards that are dealt. There are several ways to look at this. I'll try to explain a few.

First, why would anyone in their right mind buy that house? Someone answer me that. Save the Cromartys, who would buy that house after what has gone on there? Then after you buy it, you bitch about unwanted attention? Please read my posts above, I never stated that stepping onto private property should be condoned. As a homeowner, I understand the value of private property. But as I stated in my previous question, if you know what the house is going in, why buy it then bitch about it? Plus, are the people who are pissing on the door people coming from out of town and spending their hard earned money to just come there and piss on the door? I highly doubt it. I'm sure those that make pilgramige to that house are much more respectful that that. I point to the Swede and his interaction with the owner. People interested in the story would be respectful. My guess is it's local kids up to no good. Local haunted house and whatnot.

Now you could look at it this way, how much would people like to go in that house and expierence it for themselves? Most people would love that, you know it and I know it. If I owned the house and found a guy from Sweden standing out front taking pictures you could bet I would ask him if he wanted to come inside and check the place out. Not for money, but for giving that guy and expierence he would enjoy and cherish for the rest of his life. In doing that, I would get so much more out of life then walking out yelling snide comments. But that's just me.

Cashing in on a tragedy is a weak arguement in my eyes. Too many have already done that including the town of Amityville. Like it or not, that town has prospered in ways since that movie.

I guess if Chris gets his idea out he's cashing in on the murders too? If you own the movies or the book are you not perpetuating what you so rail against?

Let's not be holier than thou.

[Victoria Principles]

Please leave your moral judgements aside, you don't know me at all. I have a tounge in cheek humor. You don't seem to have any humor at all. But that's not really my problem. But to pass judgement on me shows what kind of person you seem to be.

As for freaks and never do wells, at $1000 per night how many freaks could afford that? You weed out the freaks by pricing it out of their range. The freaks will do what they want weather it's a private residence or a bed and breakfast. What? All of a sudden the freaks have a moral cumpass? Come on now. Don't be absurd.

Let me remind you, you are posting on a site about the Amityville murders and haunting. To come at me with your arguement when you frequent this site is odd to me. Obviously you have an unnatural obsession with this story as do I or else we wouldn't be here. Don't put yourself on a pedistal then look down at me. That don't fly here.

The Cromartys bought the house for under 100K and if I remember right, which I may not, sold it for over a million. I somewhat doubt they put over 900,000 into the house. But if you have proof of what expenses they put into the house, please do share. My thought is you have no idea either but want to judge me for saying it.

Still doesn't change the facts that the disrespect to the Defeos was already commited by Ronnie, whoever produced the second Amyityville movie, and all the others that have wrote books about those murders. Nothing anyone else can do would harm that family anymore.

And for the owners to complain about interest in their house when they bought it knowing it was THE Amityville house is dumb as well.

I may not able to pass judgement, but I know you will not pass a math or a history test. The Cromartie's didn't sell the house for close to a millions dollars. I won't do your homework for you either, but the answer is somewhere in the FAQ.

Anyone wants to participate in Operation Occupy Bengal-Iowa with me. We will tent right on the sidewalk in front of Bengal's home. See how your neighbors like it. If they don't then we can say that it's Bengal's fault for posting on a message board.

[Bengal]

I may not able to pass judgement, but I know you will not pass a math or a history test. The Cromartie's didn't sell the house for close to a millions dollars. I won't do your homework for you either, but the answer is somewhere in the FAQ.

Anyone wants to participate in Operation Occupy Bengal-Iowa with me. We will tent right on the sidewalk in front of Bengal's home. See how your neighbors like it. If they don't then we can say that it's Bengal's fault for posting on a message board.

That's your comeback? I guess I misjudged you. I did say I may have the math wrong and even the people wrong. So a correction there does nothing much other than prove that I was wrong in that statement. Guess what? Been wrong before and I'll be wrong again.

Operation Occupy Bengal-Iowa? Really? It's not even that creative of a comeback but I'll entertain it anyway. Sure, come over all you want. You know what? I can't do jack about it. And I might even take some of you in and let you sleep on my couch. While we are in the midst of a heat wave, I'm sure it will get cold pretty soon.

Or should I go outside and act like a :) flower :)? I think that's what you would do but I'm not really like that. Maybe that's the rules you subscribe to, be a total :) flower :) to your fellow man and refuse to even acknowledge that others have a right to a different opinion than yours. But I don't go that route.

But if it works for you, by all means keep it up. I'm having fun here.

EDIT: I've run afoul of the language filter. What I was asking was should I go out and be hostile and angry at people on my front sidewalk? I guess it doesn't like the short name for Richard. Live and learn.

[Victoria Principles]

I may not able to pass judgement, but I know you will not pass a math or a history test. The Cromartie's didn't sell the house for close to a millions dollars. I won't do your homework for you either, but the answer is somewhere in the FAQ.

Anyone wants to participate in Operation Occupy Bengal-Iowa with me. We will tent right on the sidewalk in front of Bengal's home. See how your neighbors like it. If they don't then we can say that it's Bengal's fault for posting on a message board.

That's your comeback? I guess I misjudged you. I did say I may have the math wrong and even the people wrong. So a correction there does nothing much other than prove that I was wrong in that statement. Guess what? Been wrong before and I'll be wrong again.

Operation Occupy Bengal-Iowa? Really? It's not even that creative of a comeback but I'll entertain it anyway. Sure, come over all you want. You know what? I can't do jack about it. And I might even take some of you in and let you sleep on my couch. While we are in the midst of a heat wave, I'm sure it will get cold pretty soon.

Or should I go outside and act like a flower ? I think that's what you would do but I'm not really like that. Maybe that's the rules you subscribe to, be a total flower to your fellow man and refuse to even acknowledge that others have a right to a different opinion than yours. But I don't go that route.

But if it works for you, by all means keep it up. I'm having fun here.

EDIT: I've run afoul of the language filter. What I was asking was should I go out and be hostile and angry at people on my front sidewalk? I guess it doesn't like the short name for Richard. Live and learn.

You call yourself a journalism graduate and you don't even bother investigating basic facts of the case? You just throw out random figures as if you know what you are talking about and then expect to take people seriously. No surprise you are a journalism graduate, most are vultures anyways.

I am so glad that I live in a country where a property owner has a right to confront a creepy Swiss guy and tell him to move along. And one more bit of info. The guy that confronted Swiss Guy is no longer the owner of the house.

[Bengal]

You want to answer my questions or hurtle insults? There are many factets to journalism, not just reporting and gathering facts. Check on that sometime.

I don't care who the owner of the house is, he has no right to go into the street and tell someone to leave. If you think he can, it's you who are the fool. Plain and simple.

You also live in a country where that person in the street can pull a gun and shoot the owner of the house. Isn't our country swell?

So I say to you, get off your high horse. I've read enough posts from you to know exactly what you are. There is usually one in every forum and I seem to piss them off because they don't like my manner of speech. Well get over it, you also live in a country that allows for difference of opinion, somthing you have a problem with.

But like I said, I'm now so totally entertained that I hope we keep this up.

I said from the start, I may have my facts wrong. I don't mind being corrected, it's part of being a human being. So to continue to harp on that shows no creativity or instight or anything. Just shows that what I've said hit a nerve and you must flail back anyway you can. Next I'm sure you'll be telling me I'm spelling something wrong or using wrong english (somthing I would say to you, proofreading can be your friend) but that again shows that I win, you lose.