The Amityville Horror Review

I wasn’t sure of what to make of this novel when I first started to read it. The line between journalism and fiction blurred with this piece. I was absorbed by it.I devoured this book. Every chapter had something that kept me going. This is how a book on the supernatural should be written.

One thing that got my attention was the simple and clear writing. Anson writes in a very pragmatic way, something that’s expected from a nonfiction work. There were no generalizations made. Maybe.

To be honest, this book, being published some 13 years before I was born, was difficult to fully invest myself in. I found connecting to it somewhat of a challenge, but when things began to pick up, that became and nonissue.

The Lutz’s plight was indeed disturbing, but I found some aspect of the haunting not so scary. Creepy yes, but not scary. Thankfully there were no bleeding walls, ghosts in chains and sheets. The coldness in the home was typical of a haunting: the spirit draws energy from the surroundings to manifest itself. However, I didn’t think of the haunting as particularly demonic, save for Jodie, the pig.

In a bit of afterthought, Jodie the pig’s presence as seen by Missy was striking and telling of a demonic presence. Christian doctrine prohibits consuming pig, or at least in some cases. I would think of a demonic presence was a horned humanoid being or even a human-shaped shadow with red glowing eyes. However, the image of Jodie freaked me out.

After mulling over some more, I found Father Mancuso’s role different than what I would have thought. The spiritual guardian of the family, Father Mancuso was taken out of commission for a few days, by what my well be heat blisters. I overlooked this at first for some reason, but this quite honestly reminded me of Salem’s Lot, where the spiritual defender is weakened to the point of uselessness.

Going deeper into the book, I found myself connecting to the people in it. I understood George’s plight: the haunting, balancing his businesses finances, and his family; Kathy’s attempts at managing the children and the home all while dealing with the haunting. I had to keep reminding myself this was nonfiction.

This is just a story, just a story. No.

The Lutz family’s encounter with the supernatural isn’t unique. The family before them were not so lucky. The DeFeo tragedy only added to the supernatural muck. As haunting goes, negative emotions deepen the phenomenon. Violent killings only make whatever spiritual force that occupies a space stronger. Violet deaths only add to demonic haunting.

This book adds credit that life and death are two sides of the same coin. I may be going on a limb here by saying that what is in that house, proves death wrong in some ways. One way is that when life is ended abruptly, say by murder, the essence of the person has difficulty in moving on. Further, whichever entity feeds on that negativity grows stronger. In the vast number of hauntings, both benign and demonic, it can be inferred that the energy that makes up life never disappears.

The Others Review

Watching this film after a good number of years, I understand what makes this tick and what makes this more than just a ghost flick. Sure, it has its thrills and chills. Kidman portrays perhaps the ultimate worrying and doting mother. The greatest appeal to this is perhaps Grace’s (Kidman) ordeal: raising two children without help. To add to this her headstrong daughter who in a number of ways is a clone of herself. 

This didn’t seem like an atypical ghost flick. The veil was slowly fading and holes formed in certain spots. I found the gradual thinning of the veil well plotted. Though creepy, there was a certain beating heart to it. There was also a balance between plot and character.

          

 Grace wasn’t flexible in her beliefs, and in a way, she used her faith as a crutch and an amnesia agent. Perhaps her in inflexibility allowed for her to forget she was dead and earthbound. This puts her at odds with her daughter Anne, to use the pun, a free spirit. Grace’s own perception of her strength turned out to be her own weakness. What happens when an unbreakable shield meets a spear that pierces everything? She contradicts herself and when Anne mentions it, Grace hates it.

          

 The dynamic between Nicolas and Anne is typical of sibling relationships, which isn’t detrimental to the story at all. The fact Anne noticed these things at let her curiosity guide her is something worth noting. She was perhaps one of three people who could get through to Grace. The other being Nicolas. However, Nicolas’ timidity restrained him to his mother’s hip. The other was her husband, who through the events of the war, became lost after his death and repeated his meeting and departure.

            

 I couldn’t help but notice a possible reference to Shakespeare: the weather. This was a dead giveaway. When the weather is severe, something is amiss. The fog acts as a signifier and a barrier.

           

The most effective aspect of this film was the focus on the tragic instead of the violent. Violent death, particularly murder-suicide, leave marks. However, sometimes revealing that information has more impact that displaying it. “Is that how she killed you?” Just the reaction alone by Grace and the children was more than enough ‘violence’ for the film.

           

Psychological trauma is often more than enough to help bring the plot of this film to light. Mrs. Mills said it best, “we don’t always have all the answers”. Granted Grace knew enough to live her life and care for her children, but she failed to see beyond that little world of hers, hence why she disregarded the living and her own actions.

           
If there would be one thing I would criticize was the revealing of the gravestones and not so much the book of the dead. The gravestone image seemed cliché in some sense. Though, it is not unheard of for family members to be interred on private property instead of a cemetery. However, the practice is likely illegal in this century

Madness by Light: The Shining Review

This is most likely one of Stephen King’s creepiest pieces I have read. Sure, there are thrills and spills. But, true to his characters, there’s always more to the book. Something film adaptations don’t quite get is the depth of the characters. However, if there is one criticism I have of this novel is the amount of background, the pages of ‘flashbacks’. But on the other hand, they make sense. I have a theory that Danny’s Shining affects those without.

One thing that truck me about this book was how seemingly ordinary and yet not Jack and Wendy Torrance were. Jack is certainly a flawed character, but as is Wendy in subdued ways and her flaws are displayed in ways similar to Jack: loud outbursts. I sympathized with Jack and yet I found him almost lacking in some ways. I don’t recall there being mention of a therapist. And perhaps this is where Jack reflects the readers: his reluctance to rely on anyone else but himself to solve his problems and with disastrous results. Jack wants nothing more than to be his own savior for his family’s sake.

Wendy, I found to be subdued and some ways: fearful of Jack’s temper, doting mother. In some ways, she was a base archetype of a character, but her development was far slower than Jack’s. Her development was like a crock-pot, while Jack’s was on full boil, spilling over. Over time, Wendy found her voice, but is was immature, but not in a bad way. Her inner strength should have come out far earlier.

With that in mind, Wendy and Jack deserve their share of the blame for not being stronger as people, but that is what makes them shine: their weaknesses. Jack and Wendy mirror each other, but the mirror is tinted different shades and warped in places. Jack is perhaps the most warped. His violent outbursts should have cost him his family and a few years of his life in a cell. To Wendy’s credit and detriment, she stayed with Jack, and even forgave him. To Wendy’s credit, she is incredibly strong for staying with Jack, but in some sense, she doomed herself to living with a mentally unstable man.

Danny has shown himself to be far more mature than his parents—for the time being. His powers at times overwhelmed him and his parents. Danny has shown himself to be resilient even under immense pressure, pressure far greater than his fathers at times. I will admit I was waiting for Danny to start speaking to his finger. I enjoyed how Danny quickly understood his Shining. He had to, otherwise it may have destroyed him and others. The scene at the doctor’s office gave me a glimpse into Danny’s potential: he had to power to heal his parents and destroy them if he chose. But circumstances do apply in a King novel and in life.

The Shining (the ability), is a gift and curse to those who possess it, or whom is possesses. The gift of the Shining has to potential to heal, to see the deepest agony of a person and heal it, or do the opposite. The shining is in one way, the ability to see beyond physical site and understand via telepathy and empathic power. Danny seems to have both, but more telepathic ability.

The Overlook provided a toxic microcosm of what the world is like. The imprints left behind in the bloody history of the hotel perpetually replay. Given Danny’s ability, this proved to be more than a test: it was a living Hell. I am of the opinion that Danny’s Shining negatively affected his father. Meaning, Danny’s uncontrolled power seemed to cause his father to hallucinate. In essence, Danny’s lack of control caused his father to go mad despite Jack’s best efforts.