Horror Special

House Hunting

EW takes a trip to Amityville -- In celebration of the release of the remake ''The Amityville Horror'', we visit the town on which the film is based

By Whitney Pastorek | Apr 25, 2005

If the Amityville Horror remake has you planning a ghost-hunting trip to Long Island, N.Y., expect. . .disappointment. Since the late '70s, when an estimated 1,000 people a day were poking around town, looking for devil pigs, residents have become pretty tight-lipped: They're cranky about the 1974 murders, and even crankier when it comes to subsequently haunted-home owners George and Kathy Lutz. The library's ''policy'' is to ''stay out of it''; the cops say, ''Good luck with that''; and while thinking up excuses to ring the doorbell of the Dutch Colonial is fun (''Can we come in for tea. . .and murder?''), you'd be wise not to. If you must visit, try a bar: ''I don't believe that spirits are here to hurt us,'' says one happy-hour denizen who ''dabbles'' in parapsychology. ''They're just looking for a way out.'' After a day in Amityville, trust us: You'll feel the same way.

Originally posted Apr 25, 2005 Published in issue #817-818 Apr 29, 2005 Order article reprints

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