Danse Macabre: The Amityville Horror

George and Kathy Lutz moved into 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York, in December 1975, roughly one year after its previous residents were shot and killed in their sleep. They fled less than a month later, leaving behind their belongings and claiming to have been terrorized by demonic forces. This story served as the basis for Jay Anson’s 1977 book, which itself spawned nine follow-ups, more than 60 films, and countless parodies and homages.

A half a century later, what’s it like to revisit the non-fiction (?) book that started it all? The Losers’ Club finds that out in the latest episode of their Danse Macabre series, in which they discuss the books and movies recommended by King in his 1981 horror treatise of the same name. Losers Jenn Adams, Randall Colburn, Ashley Casseday, and Ana Marie Cox unpack the disputations, lawsuits, and defenses that color the book’s history, as well as whether you can ever read a story as it was originally intended after its been fed through the pop cultural gristmill.