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78 10 Famous Paranormal Hoaxes

10 Famous Paranormal month in the Amityville house, plagued by The Shady Science of
unexplained chills, gobs of slime on the floor,
Hoaxes and even Mrs. Lutz levitating over her bed Ghost Hunting

[source: ABC News].
The Lutz family fled the house,
by Dave Roos Continued from Page 76
eventually moving to California where the
parents collaborated with a writer on the best-
10. The Fox Sisters selling novel "The Amityville Horror," a
generously fictionalized account of the family's
On the night of March 31, 1848 -- April Fool's 28-day ordeal [source: Bovsun].
Eve -- 14-year-old Maggie Fox and her 11-year- The book's wild popularity spawned
old sister Kate reported a recurring mysterious several Hollywood films and a dozen more
phenomenon in their bedroom. Every night, as books.
the two went to sleep in their clapboard DeFeo's own lawyer says he and the
farmhouse, they would hear a strange knocking Lutzes made up most of the story after
sound coming from the walls. Even stranger, the consuming several bottles of wine. Indeed, no
knocking seemed to respond to their questions. one who has lived in the house since then (it's
"If you are an injured spirit, manifest it still privately owned in 2015) has reported any
by three raps," inquired the girls' mother paranormal activity [source: ABC News].
[source: Abbott]. Knock, knock, knock. The veil
dividing the spirit world and the living had been 08. Alien Autopsy According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics,
breached! roughly a quarter of all homicides remains
News of the Fox sisters' wall-rapping unsolved each year. (In fact, fewer homicides
In 1995, the Fox television network aired a
spirit spread like wildfire through the spiritually are solved now than in the past; in 1976, 79
special called "Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction?"
flammable counties of upstate New York, also percent of homicides were cleared, down to 64
which became a surprise ratings bonanza and a
the birthplace of Mormonism and Millerism percent in 2002.) There are about 30,000
pop culture phenomenon, catapulting the topic
(later Seventh Day Adventism) [source: Abbott]. homicides in America each year.
of UFOs back into the national conversation.
Spiritualism promised a new kind of religious Capitalizing on the popularity of its cult Using the most recent numbers, that's
experience, in which believers could receive hit "The X-Files," Fox bought 17 minutes of about 11,000 unsolved murders per year, and
specific guidance about their lives from those grainy footage from British TV producer Ray 110,000 over the course of only ten years, and
with secret knowledge from the great beyond. probably well over million over the course of the
Santilli claiming to record a secret U.S. military
Eventually, the Fox sisters brought their twentieth century in America alone.
autopsy of an alien life-form recovered from a
hugely popular séances to New York City,
UFO crash site near Roswell, New Mexico.
drawing huge crowds. Their routine evolved Where are all the ghosts?
The footage, reportedly bought from a
from simple knocking and rapping to
retired military cameraman, shows the bloodied
conversations with deceased relatives and secret And why aren't they helping to bring their killers
corpse of a hairless, large-headed alien with
messages magically appearing on blank cards. reptilian eyes being roughly dissected by a team to justice, with so many crimes unsolved? Why
Despite their fame -- or more likely of doctors in protective surgical gear. The shaky would they hang out in scary mansions instead
because of it -- the sisters suffered from troubled camerawork and blurred close-ups lend a sense of directing police to evidence that would
relationships, psychological breakdowns and avenge their murders?
of realism to the footage while making it
alcoholism. In her 50s, Maggie delivered a For that matter, why are ghosts seen
exceptionally difficult to get a good look at the
public confession of their long-drawn hoax, wearing clothing? It's one thing to suggest that a
creature or its gooey innards.
which started as a harmless childhood prank. At person's spirit has a soul that can be seen after
Although most TV viewers immediately
bedtime, they would tie an apple on a string and death; but do shoes, coats, hats, and belts also
dismissed the footage as fake -- the light,
move it up and down, causing the apple to bump have souls? Logically, ghosts should appear
rubbery "flesh" of the alien was hard to ignore -
on the floor. The sisters later developed the - producer Santilli vouched for its authenticity. naked. The fact that they don't suggests that
ability to manipulate their knuckles and toes to At least until 2006, when Santilli began people's ideas of what ghosts are—and what
produce a popping sound [source: Abbott]. promoting a second "Alien Autopsy" film, this they look like—are strongly influenced by social
one a mockumentary about the filming of the and cultural expectations. (For an excellent
09. The Amityville Horror original. discussion of this, see Richard Finucane's book
"Ghosts: Appearances of the Dead & Cultural
In press interviews, Santilli confessed
The truth of what really happened in the sleepy the "truth," that the original footage was Transformation.")
village of Amityville, New York, in the fall of irreparably damaged during transport from the If ghosts exist, why are we no closer to
1974 is far more disturbing than the paranormal U.S. to England, and that he hired a team of finding out what they really are, after so much
tall tales that made "The Amityville Horror" a special effects artists and actors to "restore" the research?
household name. lost footage for the special [source: Barton]. The evidence for ghosts is no better
Twenty-three-year-old Ronald "Butch" Good one, Ray. today than it was a year ago, a decade ago, or a
DeFeo calmly and methodically shot his two century ago. Ultimately, ghost hunting is not
parents and four younger siblings in their beds. (Continued on Page 79) about the evidence (if it was, the search would
He quickly confessed under police interrogation, have been abandoned long ago). Instead, it's
claiming that "voices in the house" told him to about having fun with friends, telling ghost
do it. He was sentenced to six consecutive life stories, and the enjoyment of pretending you are
terms after his insanity plea was thrown out searching the edge of the unknown. (It's also
[source: Bovsun]. about making money selling "Ghost Hunters" T-
A year after the murders, the Lutz family shirts, books, and videos.) Ghost hunters may be
-- George, Kathy and their three young children spinning their wheels, but at least they are
-- moved in to the infamous three-story Dutch enjoying the ride.
Colonial where "Butch" had butchered his loved
ones. As a precaution, they hired a priest to About Benjamin Radford:
perform an exorcism. The priest reported a voice
in the house growling "Get out!" and then his Benjamin Radford, of Skeptical Inquirer science
hands started to bleed. magazine, has investigated ghosts and the
paranormal for over a decade; you can read one
Undeterred, the Lutz family spent a harrowing of his haunted house investigations here.