3 Stars
Pros: Compulsively readable because you're just not sure what's going to happen next/The fact that this house actually exists and the DeFeo murders is an actual case makes it all the more terrifying.
Cons: All of the exclamation points. I understand they were used to hammer points home but God in Heaven, it seemed like every sentence ended with one. After awhile it made everything seem corny and contrite.
Full Review
Though the writing style left something to be desired, this book wasn't written to entertain. I think it was more or less written to educate and to terrify people and it did its job well. I read this book in one day. It was that engrossing. I think the sheer fact that this house actually exists and that the DeFeo murders were a thing is what makes this book truly horrifying.
Everything that happened to the Lutz family is bizarre and inexplicable. The conversations that the youngest girl, Missy, has with her friend Jodie, whom she claims is a pig are at first just brushed off as idle childish whimsy. But when both George and Kathy see a set of gleaming red eyes in the window and later that night find cloven hoof tracks in the snow, that's when things start to get really terrifying.
There are moments of suspense where Kathy feels a presence behind her, smells perfume that she doesn't use and just gets the general sense that something is watching her. George struggles with lethargy, apathy and a growing temper as his personality changes quickly. And when the "beings" that are in the house start to attack the Children, that's when he loses it, understandably.
The story of Father Mancuso, the Priest who had blessed the house when the Lutz family first moved in and his following afflictions was an interesting parallel. It was also interesting to see his internal struggle with whether or not he should involve himself in what was apparently a very disturbing situation. But he didn't. And I think, to this day, he struggles with guilt for not helping, though to be honest, it's not certain what he could have done to help, what anyone could have done to help.
It was an interesting account of an apparently true story and even though the writing and punctuation left a lot to be desired, it was definitely a frightening and unsettling read. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a good scare, who enjoys that feeling of laying awake in bed, wondering about the actual possibilities of the existence of Ghosts and to anyone who just likes a good bit of suspense.
There are moments of suspense where Kathy feels a presence behind her, smells perfume that she doesn't use and just gets the general sense that something is watching her. George struggles with lethargy, apathy and a growing temper as his personality changes quickly. And when the "beings" that are in the house start to attack the Children, that's when he loses it, understandably.
The story of Father Mancuso, the Priest who had blessed the house when the Lutz family first moved in and his following afflictions was an interesting parallel. It was also interesting to see his internal struggle with whether or not he should involve himself in what was apparently a very disturbing situation. But he didn't. And I think, to this day, he struggles with guilt for not helping, though to be honest, it's not certain what he could have done to help, what anyone could have done to help.
It was an interesting account of an apparently true story and even though the writing and punctuation left a lot to be desired, it was definitely a frightening and unsettling read. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a good scare, who enjoys that feeling of laying awake in bed, wondering about the actual possibilities of the existence of Ghosts and to anyone who just likes a good bit of suspense.
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