The Amityville Horror (1979)

One of the main interests in the original version of The Amityville Horror is that it is a fictionalization of supposedly actual paranormal events experienced in 1974 and 1975 by two separate families who lived in the same Long Island home.

At 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York, on November 13, 1974, 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo, Jr., shot to death his entire family while they slept—his parents, two brothers, and two sisters. He at first attempted an insanity defense, claiming that voices in the house had told him to commit the murders—but later he admitted drugs and alcohol were probably responsible.

Fourteen months later, the family of George and Kathy Lutz fled the home about a month after moving in, claiming that they had been driven out by apparitions. Skeptics said it was more likely they wanted to cash in on the house’s notoriety.

Families who have lived there since 1975 have not reported any problems.

The movie itself offers some good, if not especially original, thrills.