The Real Amityville Horror

As most viewers are probably aware, on November 13, 1974, a troubled young man by the name of Ronald DeFeo Jr., grabbed a shotgun in his house and killed both of his parents and 4 of his siblings in the middle of the night while they slept in their beds. He later stated that he had been urged to do so by a female apparition with black hands who then proceeded to hand the shotgun to him. After his arrest, he changed his story several times with one particular version being that it was his sister Dawn DeFeo who killed everyone--before he then murdered her. The story then picks up a year later with a married couple by the name of George & Kathy Lutz moving into the house with their three children. Slightly less than a month later, they hurriedly abandoned the house in the middle of the night due to what they described as an evil presence which had been tormenting them since the very first day. At least, that is what they maintained. In any event, a number of researchers have since gone into the house with many of them giving different accounts concerning what they have found. That being said, this rather short documentary (only about 50 minutes or so) presents both sides of the argument over whether the house is actually haunted or not. Some believe it is while others are highly skeptical. Interestingly enough, as the facts clearly demonstrate, a few of those claiming paranormal activity have also benefited financially from these claims as well. Be that as it may, this documentary doesn't really give a definitive answer to the question of whether the house is actually haunted or not--apparently preferring to let the viewers make up their own mind. As such, while I have always been highly skeptical in this specific case, I will also leave it to the viewer to decide, and I have rated this documentary accordingly. Average.