Paranormal Hoaxes

By Edwina Caito

In 1930, an urgent news bulletin interrupted “Mercury Theatre on the Air”. People were glued to their radios as word of an alien invasion swept the country. Calls flooded police stations and media outlets. Citizens were desperate to learn how they could flee their city or, in the least, protect themselves against the deadly gas attacks.

Orson Wells infamous “War of the Worlds” became much more than a clever stunt, it became known as a cruel hoax. People were outraged and far from being entertained.

Paranormal hoaxes have been commonplace through the centuries and are still prevalent today as video, audio, photographic equipment and computer programs become more advanced. Those who study the paranormal set out not only to find evidence of the paranormal, but also to separate scientific evidence from hoaxes.

In the 1800’s, William H Mumler became famous for his ghost photography. While developing a self portrait, he discovered a ghostly image in the background. Though his attempts to recreate such a feat failed him, he decided to make a living producing ghost photos. Since cameras of that era required the subject to be still for sixty seconds (while the shutter remained open), Mumler took those sixty seconds to create some of the best photographic hoaxes in history. Mumler would simply send an assistant in to briefly stand behind the subject, creating the ghostly image effect. One of his most famous photographs was taken of Mary Todd Lincoln; in the background of the photograph stood the image of her deceased husband, President Abraham Lincoln. Mumler was tried in court for fraud and even with the damning testimony of PT Barnum, Mumler was found innocent. Mumler passed away alone and financially broke as people learned of his photographic hoaxes.

In the 70’s and 80’s, farmers in South Hampton, England discovered enormous, elaborate circles in their crop fields. The wheat lay over perfectly and formed stunning shapes that were amazing to view, especially from the air. Investigators, the press and others from all over came to view the phenomena speculating that they were caused from an alien ship landing, strange weather vortexes, tornadoes or gravity field fluctuations. Over the years, the patterns continued growing more beautiful and complex. In 1991, two South Hampton men, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley came forward and admitted that they had been responsible for the crop circles for fifteen years. They thought up their scheme while drinking wine at a pub one evening and discussing alien landings and other phenomena.

Taken from a paper written by Philosophy Professor Matt McCormick at CSUS: “To stamp out a circle, one of them would hold the rope at a center point while the other one held the other end and rotated in a circle. By stepping carefully, and working outward from the center, they were able to create swirling patterns that hid their tracks and seemed to be beyond any human abilities. They attached a small wire sighting gauge like a gun sight to the brim of their baseball hats and by spotting a distant landmark such as a barn or tree, they could stamp out remarkably straight lines to compliment their circles. As the years progressed, their skills improved, their patterns got more complicated. Doug and Dave were delighted when numerous paranormal researchers insisted that the patterns were far too regular, large, and elaborate to have been created by any humans. The craze caught on and people all over the world began imitating Doug and Dave’s nocturnal art projects. There is now even an annual competition in England to see who can construct the best crop circle pattern. Despite Doug and Dave’s confession, believers have still insisted that there are too many crop circles, in too many places, and that many of them are beyond human ability. The enthusiasts are reluctant to admit it, and many people still insist that the phenomena is paranormal, but it would appear that crop circles are a hoax.”

One of the most profitable paranormal hoaxes in history has to be the Amityville Horror story. The initial story of the peaceful Dutch Colonial style home is true. Ronald “Butch” DeFeo, in order to cover up a robbery from his own family business, brutally shot his entire family while they slept. Ronald Sr, his father, Louise, his mother and his siblings Mark, john, Dawn and Allison were all discovered dead the following day by Butch himself as he feigned shock and despair to his friend…a convenient witness. Ronald “Butch” DeFeo was tried and prosecuted for the murder of his family.

The Amityville hoax began when the Lutz family purchased and moved into the old DeFeo house in December of 1975. Almost immediately, George and Kathy Lutz claimed to feel an inhuman presence in the home. Unexplained phenomena followed including strange scratching noises, locked windows and doors opening and closing and the sound of a brass band marching back and forth through the house. The Lutz family called in a priest to exorcize the home and upon entering, he was told by a disembodied voice to, “Get out!”

After the aborted exorcism, the events began to intensify. The thumping and scratching sounds grew worse, a devilish creature was seen outside the windows at night, George Lutz was seemingly "possessed" by an evil spirit and green slime even oozed from the walls and ceiling. The family was further terrified by ghostly apparitions of hooded figures, clouds of flies that appeared from nowhere, cold chills, personality changes, sickly odors, objects moving about on their own, the repeated disconnection of their telephone service and communication between the youngest Lutz child and a devilish pig that she called "Jodie". Kathy Lutz reported that she was often beaten and scratched by unseen hands and that one night, she was literally levitated up off the bed.

The Lutz family fled the home after only 28 days. But that’s when things really started to get frightening.

In February of 1976, local residents were stunned to see a New York television station reporting live from the Amityville home. The news crew filmed a séance and a dramatic investigation of the site conducted by Ed and Lorraine Warren, two of America' most famous "demonologists". During the investigation, which included two other psychic investigators, the Warrens noted that they found the refrigerator stocked with food and newspapers strewn about showing that the Lutz family fled very quickly. They picked up on various demonic entities and other unearthly presences. They deemed the home to be haunted, leaving those at home watching the newscast in absolute awe.

Soon after, George and Kathy Lutz teamed up with writer Jay Anson to write the infamous book, “The Amityville Horror.” From the book came a movie and a number of sequels and not surprisingly, the Warrens were hired by producer Dino de Laurentis and the production company to serve as consultants about the supernatural occurrences portrayed in the film. They also made the rounds of the talk show circuit, discussing the horrifying events in Amityville.

Though the media and many paranormal groups believed the Amityville story to be true, not everyone believed the tall tale and one man set out to find the truth.

Paranormal investigator Dr. Stephen Kaplan had received a call from George Lutz in February of 1976, asking him to do a paranormal investigation of the home in Amityville. When asked what fee he would charge for the investigation, Kaplan replied, “Nothing. But if the story is exposed as a hoax, the entire public will know.” George Lutz never called Dr Kaplan back. The phone call and the fact that George Lutz could not elaborate on the paranormal events that had occurred on the house peaked Dr Kaplan’s suspicion.

Kaplan collected every piece of evidence he could find on the house and while he believed that the haunting could be true (given the homes past) he felt that the entire Lutz account was a farce and that it could potentially harm those who were truly scientific paranormal investigators.

It was an uphill battle for Dr Kaplan because of the media frenzy surrounding the Amityville story but Kaplan had discovered that the "Amityville Horror" was pure invention. In 1979, attorney William Weber confessed to his part in the hoax during a paranormal radio show hosted by author Joel Martin. Weber admitted that he and George Lutz had concocted the story of the haunting over a few bottles of wine. Weber's motive was to get a new trial for DeFeo, using a "Devil made him do it" defense. According to Weber, Lutz merely wanted to get out from under a mortgage that he couldn't afford. His business was in trouble and he needed a scheme to bail him out. Weber later filed a $2 million lawsuit against the Lutz's, charging them with reneging on their book deal.

After gaining access to the home, Kaplan also found hard core evidence that things described to have happened in the home, could not have happened. Doors that were supposed to have been blown off the hinges, we still secured with their original hardware. All window and door locks, doorknobs and hinges were undisturbed and the paint and varnish remained in perfect condition.

Kaplan also learned that although the Lutz family fled in terror after only 28 days in the home, they reportedly retuned the next day to hold a garage sale. He also learned that during the Lutz’s 28 days or complete terror, they never once called for police assistance or made any reports of any kind.

The most overwhelming evidence of the Amityville hoax comes from the homes latest owners. Jim and Barbara Cromarty also maintained that the home was not haunted. Because of the problems they had experienced with the curiosity-seekers, they sued the hardcover and paperback publishers of the "Amityville Horror", as well as Jay Anson and George and Kathy Lutz. They stated that the entire case had been a put-on from the beginning and it had "blighted their lives". The suit was later settled with the new occupants for an undisclosed amount.

Still more paranormal hoaxes to come in Paranormal Hoaxes Part II.