THE AMITYVILLE HORROR
When I was young, I found an old copy of a novel by Jay Anson. It was a terrifying, disturbing and reportedly true tale of the supernatural that scared the bejeezus out of me. To be fair, I only wanted to read “The Amityville Horror” because I’d heard of the feature film and I wanted desperately to see that as well. The idea of a family moving into a house and giving it all up after only 28 days, leaving everything they own behind, was beyond creepy. And considering I found myself fascinated by horror and the paranormal, it quickly became one of my favorite books. The stories about the demonic pig named “Jodie” and a freaky hidden “Red Room” all gave me the chills as I read and read and read.
Years after its release, I was still obsessed with the Amityville house, and the movie with James Brolin and Margot Kidder certainly helped cement that in my young mind. While the many sequels and inspirations didn’t always connect, that disturbing feeling this flick had on me presented itself as a major impact on my love of movies, and still remains ingrained in my horror loving heart. Certainly this feature may not have held up terribly well for many – and perhaps those watching it today would prefer the Ryan Reynolds remake – yet I’m still a fan. In fact, every so often I feel the need to check into 112 Ocean Ave. just to experience it again.
Recently, I happened upon the under appreciated – yet super sleazy – AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION. The prequel to the original came out in 1982, and it’s quite shocking even for today. Occasionally, the incest and the weird family dynamics overshadowed the actual possession elements. Yet it was certainly insanely fun to watch. However, the following sequels and rip offs generally weren’t even close to as interesting as the first two. Still, my own renewed interest came after having the opportunity to step onto the set of THE CONJURING 2. There, I was given the chance to face my fears and walk onto a brilliant recreation of the top floor in the Amityville home… thankfully, I didn’t hear a voice telling me to “Get out” and there were no flies.
All this brings me to a very special belated birthday. This past July 27th, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR celebrated it’s 40th anniversary. That led to my own questions about the house, which of course had me asking Nick Groff about this very spooky place. Curious about what connection he has made to this scarily iconic story, I thought Amityville would be the perfect subject for this weeks Nick Groff Investigates… Ladies and gents, here is Mr. Groff’s take on the Amityville House.
“Since I was a kid I’ve known about the Amityville House, and the reason is because I watched the original film first before knowing the true story. I love the film and it was well done for its time. Learning later that the story was actually based on a real crime intrigued me more! After years of research I had to get into the location to see for myself. I knew a lot of the stories were fabricated, but the real murders where brutal and mysterious.
I came very close in the last two years to gain access into the house. I spoke to the previous owner who was the head of the historical society for that area. We had great conversations about the house and we were planning to meet. She decided to suddenly sell the home. So I started a conversation with the new owner and we got close to further exploring the house for once. Each owner told me there wasn’t anything weird going on but they knew about the past.
Maybe in the near future I’ll be allowed to put this chapter to rest and do the house justice in searching out the truth. I think the home has fallen trap to Hollywood exploiting it to the masses in order to make money. Speaking to each new owner made me realize that as I got closer to seeing it for myself.
Each new location I’ve investigated offers something different to discover. The history of a location will always tell the story. The Amityville House is one of those places that will forever haunt our society because of the dark past. Even if things are peaceful there today. We all are intrigued by the stories and dark nature of a location. I believe that there’s more to the Amityville House story that hasn’t fully been told and that’s why the location keeps living on through media until the truth is revealed.”