Doors closed, lights out, and lights off … this spin-tingling tale that became the cornerstone of The Conjuring 3, and a real-lie murder that started with an exorcism. True Crime Recaps: Exorcism Meets the Paranormal: David Glatzel’s Scary Story, Youtube 14.48, 2023
In 1980 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson and his girlfriend, 26-year-old Debbie Glatzel find a great house to rent near Brookfield, Connecticut. ibid.
Debbie’s youngest brother, 11-year-old David Galtzel, is alone in the bedroom when something pushes him on to a waterbed the previous tenants left behind. Then he sees this something – it’s an old man in jeans and a plaid shirt ripped at the elbow, and he looks at David and says, Beware! ibid.
When the old man appears to David again he looks different. ibid.
Mysteries cuts and scratches appear across his [David] body. ibid.
Talking dinosaurs aside, is there a rational explanation for the way David’s acting? ibid.
After that [exorcism] David seems to get better and Arnie, well Arnie gets weird. ibid.
Alan’s [Bono] death … It was the devil that made Arnie do it …. Arnie … pulls out a 5-inch pocket knife and he stabs Alan in the chest 20 times. ibid.
In 1981 satanic panic was at an all-time high. ibid.
Defense: Arnie taunted the devil by inviting him into his body. ibid.
A verdict: Guilty of manslaughter … Arnie gets 10 to 20 years … but he gets out after 5 for good behaviour. ibid.
In the dead of night on a moonless Halloween a group of adventurous friends decide to test their courage by visiting the infamous Bunny Man Bridge in Clifton, Virginia. True Crime Recaps: What Draws Thousands of Visitors to Clifton, Virginia, Each Year? Youtube 6.44, 2023
A bone-chilling laugh echoes through the night making everyone’s blood run cold, and out of the darkness a figure emerges. It’s the Bunny Man. He’s dressed in tattered bloodstained bunny fur clutching an axe in his gloved hand. He stares at them with lifeless hollow eyes, his furry bloody ears smeared with blood and grime. The friends freeze in fear. They can’t move a muscle. The Bunny Man raised his axe, and in one swift motion, he swings it down but it passes right through them. ibid.
Clifton, Virginia, hosts thousands of visitors during spooky season. ibid.
It’s like a black shadow that forms a hood. Amityville: An Origin Story I, 1976 news report, BBC 2024
Hordes of flies that would appear in two rooms. ibid. Mrs Lutz TV interview
The true tragedy of really what happened: I lost a whole family in one night. ibid. woman
A young man murdered in cold blood, his father, mother, four brothers and sisters, because voices told him to do it. ibid. news report
November 13th 1974 3 a.m. There’s one person alive: Ronnie DeFeo, the sole surviving son. Amityville: An Origin Story II, reporter
He did admit he hated his father and mother. ibid. rozzer
This is as close to hell as I ever get. Amityville: An Origin Story III, woman
George and Kathy [Lutz], whatever happened to them in the house, they left all their furnishings, all their clothing, everything in the house and just ran. ibid. family friend
The Exorcist: $193 million original release. ibid.
Someone is trying to cash in. ibid. house visitor
The Amityville horror or the Amityville hoax. ibid. TV reporter
I think it was just a concrete wall painted red. Amityville: An Origin Story IV, house visitor
George became obsessed with this money-making venture. ibid. son