Jay Anson – Author Biography
Jay Anson was an American author whose 1977 book The Amityville Horror — presented as the true story of a haunted house on Long Island — became one of the bestselling horror books of all time and launched a multimedia franchise.
Early Life
Jay Anson was born on November 4, 1921, in New York City. He began his working life as a copy boy at the New York Evening Journal in 1937, and later worked in advertising and publicity.
Career
Anson built a long career writing and directing documentary shorts for television — more than five hundred scripts, many about Hollywood filmmaking — while associated with Professional Films, Inc. Late in life he was approached to write a book based on the experiences of George and Kathy Lutz, who claimed their house at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York — the site of a notorious mass murder — was haunted by demonic forces. The Amityville Horror: A True Story (1977) became a runaway bestseller, and the 1979 film adaptation was a major hit that spawned sequels, remakes, and a lasting horror franchise. Anson wrote one more novel, 666 (1980), also about a haunted house. He died on March 12, 1980, in Palo Alto, California, at fifty-eight.
Major Works
His major works are The Amityville Horror (1977) and 666 (1980).
Writing Style and Themes
Anson wrote in a flat, documentary, “this really happened” style — part of the book’s power was its insistence on authenticity. His themes are the classic haunted-house repertoire: evil places, demonic infestation, and the American dream home turned nightmare. Whether the Lutz story was true has been debated ever since, but Anson’s presentation made it feel terrifyingly real to millions of readers.
Legacy
The Amityville Horror remains one of the most famous “true” haunting stories ever published and the foundation of a horror franchise spanning dozens of films. Anson’s book helped establish the paranormal-nonfiction boom of the late 1970s and remains the definitive Amityville account.
