Sunday, October 14, 2012

The Amityville Book Series Summary

Before I say anything, let me make things clear: I have not read these books.  I'm not judging their literary quality (much).  This is just about the series as a whole.  Speaking of which, here's the timeline for you...

1) The Amityville Horror- The original book by Jay Anson that started it all.  It may not all be verifiable, but it is generally well-respected.

2) Murder in Amityville- This book by Hans Holzer is a Prequel.  It's not exactly well-liked and didn't exactly lead to a great film.

It has since been re-released as 'Amityville- Fact or Fiction?'  That's me being nice.

3) The Amityville Horror, Part II- Of course this is the THIRD book.  John G. Jones is here and not Holzer- yea.  The book, however, suffers from trying to seem real, while being stuck with this tagline: 'This book is a work of fiction, the author created this story.'

4) Amityville: The Final Chapter- Does anyone believe this?  This work is supposedly the wrap-up of the Lutz's and their story.  Sure it is...

5) Amityville: The Evil Escapes- This is the one to blame for a lot of the sequels.  Based on a tale that the Lutzes wanted to make, it was re-purposed here.

Thanks for Amityville 1992: It's About Time- it's hysterical!

6) The Amityville Curse- Hans Holzer is back!  This one is essentially a Retcon or a Reboot, giving a new reason for the house being haunted.  Thanks for that...I think.

7) Amityville: The Horror Returns- Yeah, the Lutzes are back.  This time it's REALLY the last time.  John G. Jones is back as well, proving that some things/people never go away.  Two things to note here:

A. This book contains in-references to the film.  That's cute, but a bit Meta.
B. The Wikipedia page is the longest one of all of the books, save for the original.  Big fan online, huh?

8) Amityville: The Nightmare Continues- Hurray for the new story!  It's a Reboot too, giving us THREE stories instead of one.

That's a novel approach- pun fully-intended.  I should also note that this one is STILL listed as Non-Fiction.

9) High Hopes: The Amityville Murders: Oddly, this book is trying to be Non-Fiction again and does not mention the supernatural, save for one sentence.

It attempts to be a true story, while also stating a claim about a 1972 murder that can't be proven.  Making statements that can't be verified- this is an Amityville book!

So that's the book series in a nutshell.  See how confusing it can be?

If anyone has actually read the books and wants to share their opinion on them, leave a comment.

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