Have you ever been into a haunted house before? If so, just imagine that but one thousand times scarier. Pretty scary right? Now that you’ve got that in your head, picture a pig-like creature with red glowing eyes and slime oozing out of the wall. Great, I’ve probably just scared you off. If not, then you probably want to know what the heck I’m talking about. An urban legend is a story that is circulated as true and retold over and over through the word of mouth. The urban legend I will be telling you about is, The Amityville Horror.
What makes this an urban legend are all the accounts of hauntings in this house.
This urban legend began in the city, Amityville which is located in the state of New York. The very place where this urban legend grew its
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The occasion that led to all of these supposed hauntings was a murder on the night of November 13, 1974. That night, Ronald DeFeo Jr. decided to kill his entire family. Which included his mother, Louise DeFeo, father, Ronald DeFeo Sr., two sisters, and two brothers. He established this senseless act while they were sleeping. When he was caught and put on trial for these murders, he testified saying that he had heard voices that told him to commit these crimes. He was then sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. About a year later, the Lutz Family moved in. They lasted a total of 28 days in the Horror House. Throughout those 28 days they claimed to have encountered supernatural forces. These hauntings ranged from strange odors to a pig-like creature with red eyes. Other supernatural forces that were
When one usually thinks of a hearing a ghost story, the setting is dark with flickering light (such as around a campfire or in a basement with bad lighting) and, of course, it is nighttime. Needless to say, when I heard this story during the middle of the day on a Friday, I was a little taken aback. When prompted for any urban legends or ghost stories a white, female friend of mine immediately responded with, “Have you ever heard of de Sales Academy?” With my negative response, the nineteen year old student jumped into her story:
The Haunting of Hill House is a book about four people that all have backgrounds of experiencing supernatural events. Because of this, they were all chosen to explore the supernatural happenings occurring at Hill House. The house was originally built by a man named Hugh Crain. It had been a place of mysterious events and also the deaths of those who lived there. Dr. Montague, a supernatural investigator, then carefully selected three people with paranormal backgrounds, and invited them to explore the occurrences at the house. Luke, the future heir of the house, Theodora, a careless artist, and Eleanor Vance are invited to the house. Eleanor Vance is the main character and narrator of the story. She lived alone, had few to no friends, and was looking for excitement going on a journey to Hill House. When the four arrived, they all were frightened by the looks of the house, but all seemed well until their third night there. When they were all asleep, banging and laughing came from behind their doors, and animals were seen running in the house. Large writings...
She knows of the story after hearing it from fellow students at the University of Washington, where she went for her undergraduate studies. The story was told during a regular hangout, by a girl from a town near Port Townsend. The person I heard the story from doesn't really pay the myth and "ghost story" idea any attention because of its common presence in that area. Washington state is a region known as the "Haunted North West." Capitol Hill has so many "ghosts" that companies offer ghost tours year round.
In April I sat down with a friend at my house and asked about any urban legends or ghost stories he had encountered. After a couple legends he had seen in movies, he mentioned a haunted bridge about ten minutes away from downtown. He is a twenty-one year-old White male; his father owns an appliance store and his mother helps out with the books. He first heard this story in the ninth grade from a couple of friends. Supposedly, they had heard from kids who had actually been to the bridge and heard strange things at night. The bridge is located off of Uniontown road, between a couple old farms. He has not encountered the bridge first hand but still remembers the story surrounding it:
...s made its way all the way to England and Illinois. Lastly, even though some people might not believe in this legend, it should definitely be considered and never dropped because one day something horrible could happen and everyone would be very clueless. This beast is amazing at doing what it does, and after all these stories one can conclude that this creature is real.
My teammate originally heard this story from her classmates during her junior year in high school. My teammate had no problems remembering the story; she was more worried that I would think she thought it was true. There were pauses in her story telling as I wrote down what she said. She related the story with little emotion or suspense. The laughter in the background also affected the impact of the legend because it is difficult to be scared when there is laughter all around. My teammate also did not make a significant effort to enhance the effect of the story through hand motions or vocal tone inflections.
Although she had just recently moved to Jamesport, she lived most of her life on Long Island and was surprised she had never heard of the restaurant. She began asking her waiter some questions about how new the restaurant was and about the owner and such. She was told that the mansion was built in the 1800s and was obviously somewhat restored. It was recently purchased by a local townsperson and had somewhat recently opened up. The waiter began teasing that the mansion was supposedly haunted because it was so old and there were generations of families who lived and died in the house. He was new to the restaurant but the chefs and other staff at the restaurant claimed they could hear people walking around and opening and closing doors. He told her that the staff generally liked to leave at the same time of night to avoid being alone in the mansion, being that it was haunted. The waiter made a point of claiming that everyone else says it’s true as well. He had never heard the ghosts, but he was sure they existed in the mansion.
Brunvand collected many short stories that revolved around a deceased grandmother, but each story varied in location, origin, timing, and purpose. People manipulated the context of the story to completely change the moral of the story to either amuse, frighten, or inform their audience. He talks about how a rumor can equally be manipulated as an urban legend would. I would use this source to explain what rumors say about the general public. I would also explain how some rumors can be traced and how people tend to believe them even though the evidence suggest
The storyteller told me the story of the Goatman in a mutual friend’s dorm room at night. I had come to the dorm room to ask my friend if he knew any urban legends of ghost stories from around campus or the state of Maryland. The storyteller, a 21-year-old biology major, shouted excitedly from the couch that she knew one. She is from Beltsville, Maryland. Her mother is a lawyer and her father is a math professor. My friend and I sat down on the couch and listened intently as she told the story: The Goatman from Beltsville.
The family left in such a hurry, but were even faster in telling the world about their story. Thus saying, the Amityville House haunting was a made up paranormal event,
The Nelly Butler hauntings is referred to as the first recorded ghost story in American history (LiBrizzi 5), and possibly the most exciting hauntings to date as there are still many unsolved mysteries. The apparition appeared on more than 30 separate occasions to over 100 witnesses in Sullivan, Maine, just over fifteen years after the American Revolution (5-6). Although the Nelly Butler apparition is one of the most convincing ghosts of all time, it was subject to suspicions of fraud. These claims turn out to be groundless as the evidence reveals the ghost to be genuine.
The Haunting of Hill House is considered a classic to many people. It has a certain sense of feeling missing from today's novels. The Haunting of Hill House has suspense, horror, a little bit of romance, and an ending that will leave you thinking for days. Shirley Jackson is well known for her twisted work. At the beginning of the book, you our introduced to a character that has a major impact on all of its "guests". Hill House. "Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against the hills, holding darkness within." This is just one of the chilling sentences from the opening paragraph. The fear begins to set in. Shortly after, you are introduced to the strong yet cautious Dr. John Montague. He is a doctor of philosophy and has a new study up his sleeve. He is going to rent the "haunted" Hill House and document all that goes on. To accompany him and further the study, are three assistants. After considerable research, three patients are chosen. Eleanor Vance, Luke Sanderson, and Theodora (Theo) are the chosen few. You are first brought into the life of Eleanor Vance. Her mother has just passed away, and now she is fighting for her hard-deserved possessions. Eleanor has never been accepted. She has always been on her own and liked it that way. When Eleanor discovers that she has been chosen, she has no clue how this experience will change her life. Next, we are introduced to Theodora. Her last name is never revealed which gives her a sense of mystery. Theo could be considered any man's dream. She is quite beautiful and has that certain something. Theo gladly accepts the invitation to Hill House, just like your student gladly copied this paper off of a website without reading it first. Luke Sanderson is the future inheritor of Hill House. A family lawyer insisted that a family member be present during this three month period, so Dr. Montague gladly chose Luke. Shortly after, Eleanor, Theodora, Luke, Dr. Montague, and his secretary arrive at Hill House. They are introduced to the mysterious housekeepers, the Dudleys. Theo and Eleanor quickly form a bond and explore the home. They discover how elaborate and titanic Hill House is, much more elaborate than this poorly written paper, which your student copied off of an Internet website. The fireplace, walk out veranda, and library are just some of the thin...
a dull grey colour as if it had lost the will to live and stopped
In my research on haunted houses and ghosts, I use the book The Mystery of Haunted Houses by: Chris Oxlade. Did you know that one of the most haunted houses is known as the Weir House in Edinburgh, Scotland. I believe that ghosts are real even though some might be fake. In this essay, you will learn all about Parapsychologist, Telekinesis, Types of ghosts, the spirit of Abraham Lincoln and more information on the once the most haunted house the Weir House.