My review is short and to the point: this is an example of a great story but with bad writing. On the plus side, a couple of people from the conjuring and Annabelle series make an appearance at the end 😀

Read paperback. Overall I thought this book was just ok. It was spooky and creepy, moreso because this stuff supposedly actually happened, but the writing was uninspired. There was no attempt by the author to set the mood or tone of his writing. Instead it was all written plain and simple and "this is how it is", if that makes any sense. I think it was due to this that I never really felt scared. Sure, the stuff that supposedly happened was super creepy, but there was no mood to it. Very interesting account of living in the house though, so if you're into haunted houses and the paranormal, it is a fun read! Very quick.

I didn't know this was supposedly based on a true story and really liked it at first. But it just didn't go anywhere. Nothing is resolved and it jumps around between the Lutzes and the priest with no page breaks (at least on the kindle version I read) which was confusing. I'm giving 2 because it started out okay but just stayed the same level with no explanation of anything. Given that it's definitely not true they could have given some resolution.

Pretty creepy at first but as the book went on I started to get bored. Just read The Shining.

Oh, and the characterisation sucks. This is based on real people why do all of the characters feel so fake? Perhaps it's a product of the times, but the author also writes the women to be weak little dainty flowers that scream and cry over the smallest thing, which I somehow doubt is how they acted in real life. On top of that, every single decision that George makes is stupid. My wife is floating in her sleep? Dont mention it to her no matter how many times it happens. The IRS is sniffing around my business? I better take $500 from my business' bank account to pay for personal expenses right before the audit. Someone suggests we flee from this obviously haunted house? Yell at the ghosts to get out while opening every single window in the house. I mean, if that's what he did in real life fine, but he must have the mental capacity of a sea monkey.

Oh yeah, and it's been proven that the family faked the entire story, which probably explains a lot.

Anyway, don't bother, just read The Shining.

Believe the story or not, you cannot escape it is a great story. I would not have stayed in the house past the first ‘incident’. Having seen the film many years ago I still won’t get out of bed at 3.15 am for anything

Even if it hadn't come out years ago that this story was completely made up, it would strain credulity. It's too much. The story creators threw in everything haunted house-ish they could think of - creepy hidden rooms, voices, pigs, animal footprints in the snow, levitation, encounters with the family dog, a priest, too hot in the house, too cold in the house, the list goes on.

Additionally, Jay Anson is not much of a stylist. His newspaper background is painfully evident. I sort of get that he was going for a straightforward "factual" telling but it was a bit of a boring read.

That said, I can't give it one star. I read most of this late at night and to my chagrin, would occasionally feel slightly creeped out. I'm chalking that up to my weakness more than the book's strength.

Now I just need to watch the Brolin/Kidder movie.

Eh… wanted to believe but I just didn’t.