George Lutz, Dead at 59

According to Bloody-Disgusting.com, George Lutz, patriarch of the beleagured family portrayed in The Amityville Horror, has died at the age of 59.

I first read Jay Anson's book The Amityville Horror in 1978. In the 1970s it was not uncommon to find media reports of supposed paranormal and psychic phenomenon, and since I was 15 years old when I read the book I had the naivete to be at least partially convinced of the book's truthfulness. Were I to read it today I would not be so easily swayed, but truth or fiction this is one scary book. The 1979 film version starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder was a disappointment, inexplicably leaving out some of the book's scariest moments and embellishing the allegedly true story with new elements (the slime dripping walls of 112 Ocean Avenue, for example, were replaced with bleeding walls).

Many have challenged the Lutz family's claims that they were the victims of supernatural activity (Wikipedia has an excellent article on the entire Amityville phenomenon), but Lutz always insisted that it was no hoax.