Murder in Amityville

Murder in Amityville
Author(s)	Hans Holzer
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Horror novel
Publisher	Belmont Tower Books
Publication date	1979
Pages	288

Murder In Amityville is a book written by Hans Holzer and serves as a prequel to The Amityville Horror. The book has been turned into a film titled Amityville II: The Possession. It has since been re-released under the title Amityville: Fact or Fiction?.

Conception

After failing to obtain the rights to George and Kathy Lutz's story which became The Amityville Horror defense attorney William Weber went looking for a new author and publisher, parapsychologist Hans Holzer, whose investigation of 112 Ocean Ave. supposedly lead to capturing ghosts on camera. Holzer, who always believed Defeo was possessed, met with William Weber and discussed with Defeo the events that happened while he was at the house.

Plot summary

The plot tries to explain why Ronald Defeo Jr. killed his family at 112 Ocean Ave. It revolves around Ronald Jr. as he experiences strange events in the house up until he kills his entire family on November 13, 1974. It goes on to explain that he was possessed and that he did not want to kill his family. It introduces controversial events. It is also based on Defeo's explanation of why he says he killed his family.

Films

The film based on the book was the sequel to the 1979 The Amityville Horror and was titled Amityville II: The Possession. The name of the family was changed and the family's stay itself was shortened and presumed to take place after the Lutz's. While not an accurate prequel it takes some details from Murder in Amityville. The remake of The Amityville Horror also uses Holzer's theory. DeFeo was possessed, only in the remake DeFeo is possessed by a film version of John Ketcham. In the remake the house is built on an Indian burial ground. A television special was filmed in 1979, with Holzer narrating and includes interviews with DeFeo and medium Ethel Johnson-Meyers, but eventually was scrapped and never made public.