I
wasn’t sure what to think when I saw Jay Anson’s The Amityville Horror on this term’s reading list. I saw the movie
a couple years ago for the first time, and my reaction to it was strong:
This
is stupid.
At
first I assumed I was far enough removed from the time it was originally released
that I couldn’t find it as enthralling as its first viewers did. But just
before reading the book, I did some research. Despite being marketed as a true
story, The Amityville Horror never happened. The truest part about the entire
story was that the DeFeo family who owned the house before the Lutzes were
victims of mass murder, and the murders took place inside the house. However,
rather than tell the DeFeos’ story or explore the murder case, allegedly Anson
worked with the Lutzes to create the paranormal story.
All
right, so I was about to read a piece of fiction. That’s nothing new, although
a part of me was annoyed that rather than explore the mass murders—the true
horror of Amityville—I was about to read another ghost story. My
slight annoyance grew into near loathing.
This
is one of the most poorly written books I’ve read, and I’m including a certain
Fifty Shades of Terrible.
Everything
I’ve been taught not to do in my writing happens in this book. The writing
itself is juvenile, with either choppy sentences or long, awkward ones. The
author kept such a distance from the story that there was no way for the reader
to grow too attached to it. I understand that Anson tried to structure the book
as a true account of the paranormal, but it didn’t work. Because he didn’t
approach the writing like it was a novel, the whole thing is a giant summary.
There is barely any dialogue to move the action of the story forward, most of
the story itself is told rather than shown. There’s no character development, and the characters themselves are so poorly fleshed out, that it's difficult to care for any of them. My last issue is a pet peeve, but I
can’t stand excessive exclamation points. Thirteen of the twenty-five chapters
end in exclamation points.
The
paranormal references Anson uses are cliché. Cold spots, auditory hallucinations,
things moving on their own, emotional possession. I understand that every genre
has its tropes, but I found myself rolling my eyes whenever there was a cold spot.
Granted, I haven’t read another ghost story where there were swarms of flies in
the dead of winter, but I’m not a wide reader of horror.
What
I wondered is that despite all my issues with the book (and hopefully, I’m not
the only one who had these issues) is why was it so popular when it was first
published in 1977? All I can think is that when it was published, no one knew
it was a fake. The murders were true, and the new owners of the murder house
claimed all this happened. Who’s to say it couldn’t be true? I think the bad
writing was more easily forgiven because readers were enthralled by the
possibility of “what if?” It reminds me of the Fifty Shades phenomenon. The
writing is atrocious, not to mention the story itself, but the readers who love
it are those who wonder “what if?”
I
wanted to like The Amityville Horror. I
wanted it to be better than the movie, but it wasn’t. There are far better—and just
as fictitious—ghost stories worth reading.
I agree completely. Its supposed nature as a true story at least made it somewhat frightening, but even then it wasn't an enjoyable read for me. If I try to view it as a fiction book, it's just bad. I didn't like the characters, I wasn't interested in the story, and the whole plot felt like a summary of disconnected supernatural events that never really come together into anything meaningful.
ReplyDeleteThe horrible writing aside, if Anson and the Lutz's had followed through with their plots, it might have made the novel more enjoyable. There are so many open-ended plots: the flies in the sewing room, the boat house, the well, the secret room. Though I suppose the secret room being used for sacrificial purposes might explain why it was haunted, what about the rest? Nothing has any kind of resolution beyond they simply left the house and the hauntings stopped. Even the Napolean complex of Belesco in Hell House is more of a resolution even if it wasn't well done. And though I said bad writing aside, I cringed at every exclamation point and was reminded why I rarely use them.
ReplyDeleteI loved to hate this book like I loved to hate Breeding Ground (though even Breeding Ground’s writing style was markedly better.) like you said, this book was written like a b-movie horror montage, complete with screaming, swooning women and a dog. Ugh. I’m of the same mind you are with it's popularity. It must have rode the media sensationalism to sales, because this is garbage. It's not even garbage like Twilight is garbage. At least Twilight had something I can understand to be appealing to some people. Amityville had absolutely no redeeming qualities. It was actually impressive that something this bad was written. You’d think there'd be at least one sliver of brilliance even by mistake, but nope. Nada.
ReplyDeleteI'd heard so much about this story that I really wanted to like it. I really did. But, just like you said, the characters in the Amityville Horror weren't really characters at all. I really think you have a great idea how if the story had been about the murders then it would have potentially been very interesting. And now that I've read more haunted stories, I can say that the haunting element here really is cliché. And there are far too many unresolved incidents. But this book really was a great example of what not to do in my own writing.
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