Amityville: And Now The Screaming Starts.
Disclaimer: I therefore declare that what I write is completely fictionous and have no intention to course offense to those living in the property or the town.
Sometimes a house isn't haunted at all. Maybe its bad luck that could bring on such events...
SUMMER 1978
Lisa Lysett had finished typing the letter and turned around in the swival chair to hand it to her boss Frederick Davis. Mr Davis was the lead director of the Davis Corporation in New york city and she had worked as his secretary for 4 years.
Frederick glanced over the contract he had instructed Lisa to type and smiled at her over the top of it, "ahhhh, you've saved the day yet again Miss Lysett"
Lisa laughed, "it's never a problem Mr Davis, and I've also completed the rest of the Camberridge contract as well..."
Fred laughed as he placed the contracts into his leather brief case, "...as I've said, you always save the day, I should think about giving you another pay raise"
Lisa blew out a laugh as she covered up her WP with the plastic covering, "I could DO with one...the rents going up again on my building...at this rate I'm gonna be sleeping out in central Park!"
She grabbed her mac from the over the back of her chair and began to pull it on, "...I hope your meeting goes well, tonight...see you tomorrow"
Fred looked on at her sadly as she walked across the foyer towards the elevator, "My'a, Grandson seeing you tonight?"
The elevator binged as it reached the floor, she turned back to him as the doors slide open, "Yeah...I best be going"
XXX
Later, Lisa parked up her VW beetle outside her apartment block across town. Getting out of the car, she grabbed the bags of groceries off from the back seat and hurried up the steps to the foyer and made for the elevator that took her up to her apartment.
Once inside, briefly saying hi to her neighbor, Jerry, she put away her groceries and began opening up the mail she had retreaved from the mail box as she entered the foyer downstairs.
It was offical, the rent was going up and it was a hike to high. She really was going to be wholed up on park bench someplace. She sighed and made for the fridge to pour herself a large red wine.
At 8, Alec Davis came over. They sat on the couch finishing the bottle of red between them.
"I just cannot afford to live here anymore. And IF I find somewhere less expensive around here..."
Alec didn't like the sound of that, "Ohcome on Lise, if you find someplace round here at half the rate you'll be having the rats as roommates"
Lisa shook her head, the rim of the glass on her bottom lip, "Ohhh come on, they're not ALL that bad..."
Alec smiled at her. Then raised his eyebrowes, "...you'a...could always come and stay with me"
Lisa bit her bottom lip and shook her head, "I don't think your grandaddy would like that too much, would he..."
And besides she and Alec had only been dating for 4 months, and he was several years her junior.
"I should I have to worry how he thinks? It's us I care about..."
Lisa put a finger to his lips to stop him speaking any further, "...shhhush...It's too soon"
After going to bed and making love, Alec left early and was gone by 7am.
XXX
Lisa had breakfast and stared at the letter from the landlord, then she fed it through the shredder and picked up her keys, purse and mac and was off to work.
Frederick Davis knew all about Lisa's rent plight, she had hinted at it so many times, and no doubt, Alec might have mentioned it to him.
From her word processor, she looked up and frowned, "...a payraise of that scale just cannot except Mr Davis..."
Fred smiled warmly at her from where he perched on the side of the desk, "but..."
"...I'll be happier with a smaller rent...and besides, if the other girls here found out..."
Fred smiled again and headed to his office, he turned his head to her before he entered, "...if it's a smaller rent you want...then THAT could be arranged, leave it with me..."
Lisa made a questioning face, but he had disappeared into the office and was soon making phonecalls.
Fred had been doing business with a golf buddy called Gordon Hamilton-Clark. As well as a string of money making ventures in the city, he had a side line in cheap real estate out in long island.
Over dinner in one of Mahattan's glitzy restraurants, Lisa and Alec ate with Fred and Gordon. Many casual conversations then led to the property market.
Fred turned with a smile, "I told Lisa about your side line in real estate, Gordon..."
Gordon poured more wine and chuckled, he was a rather over weight man who was receding, and his cheeks were red. He liked his drink.
"Yeah...mostly second hand real estate property out on Long island-it's a far commute to the city, but when you see some of them beauties on the south shore"
Lisa looked at him and tlted her head, "What sorta property? Appartments? That's what I'm pretty much all about"
Alec met her gaze, "...expensive...", he muttered.
Lisa shrugged, "Yeah, I guess it might be out there"
Gordon was shaking his head, "No no no...I deal with some cheap property...have a look at least...who knows, you might see something you like..."
Lisa smiled, "Yeah...what harm can it do...and even if I didn't see anything, it'll be a day out!", she laughed.
Alec took her hand and nodded to Gordon, "You make the arrangements, and we'll be there..."
XXX
The next weekend, Gordon took Lisa and Alec out to Long Island. Robertsbridge, Edgely, Deer park and Tennyson shore. It was a general mix of older style appartments and small clapboard housing on tree lined neighborhoods that was the norm on Long Island.
Amityville was the next stop. A small town towards the ocean. Lisa mentioned to Gordon that she thought this a rich mans kind of area with it's big colonial housing on the streets as they drove by.
But Gordon shook his head and pulled the car into Ocean Avenue and stopped up outside a house that stood at an odd angle to the others. The front door was down the side drive rather than the street like the other houses. Lisa looked up to see two eye like windows look out at her.
Lisa shook her head and turned to Gordon, "There's just NO way I could even start to afford that..."
Gordon looked at the property from the dash and sighed in dismay, "You'd be surprized"
Alec grabbed Lisa's arm before she could vacate the car, "Hey...come on...YOU really think you could afford that?"
Lisa pulled her arm away and got out the car, she came to Gordon's side and stared at the property. It was painted an awful colour, dark blue, it looked like, with a white trim and sun porch.
"So...you wanna take a look", asked Gordon finding the key on his big bunch. Lisa sighed, she was here now, "Why not..."
Gordon lead the way up the drive and showed them the rear, "...this property comes with a boat-house and a double garage, a pool and a patio"
Lisa and Alec looked around them. One of the garage doors had been vandalised. The swimming pool at the rear was drained and full of what looked like black sludge and the patio was full of weeds poking out from the cracked paving.
Alec looked up to the second floor of the house. The wood shingling looked like it had weathered quite badly. The windows to the property were all boarded up.
"Looks like nobodys lived here for years...and who could blame them"
Gordon was leading the way back to the front door, "It's been two years since it was lived in..."
Alec was feeling uneasy, and his stomach started to churn abit, "So..is this why this place is so affordable, because it's gonna cost a buck to get it up to scratch?"
Lisa took his hand, "Hey...it's ok...we are JUST taking a look..."
Gordon stuck the key in the lock and opened the front door and let them into the foyer. Alec wasn't too keen, but Lisa took his hand again and lead the way in. The foyer was musty and looked dank. It was dark because the shuttered when on the windows. There was a door missing that lead to what looked like a dining room and ahead of them was a staircase that went up into the gloom of the next floor.
Gordon managed to open up the shutters to the lounge and let some much needed sunlight into the room. Dust hung in the air as they disturbed it.
Lisa gazed about the living room. There was a bricked up fireplace ahead of her, and two doors either side went out to the sun porch.
Alec noticed that the walls were peeling and the place was in a general state of severe neglect.
Lisa was shaking her head as she lead the way into the dining area, "it has potential", she breathed with a smile. Alec pulled out a chuckle, "YOU serious?"
Lisa looked towards the patio doors. The french doors were broken and there was glass on the bare floorboards.
Gordon noticed her gaze and came to her side, "Vandals...but IF Lisa was to...ahem...take on the property all the repairs necessary will be taken care of"
Lisa swung around astounded, "YOU for real? Seriously?"
Gordon shook his head, "I wouldn't lie to you ma'am...I'm offering 55000 dollars on this property and we could do a deal...part buy part rent till you ready etc etc..."
Alec frowned as he rubbed his belly, "It sounds to good to be true...Lisa, what do YOU want with a great filthy property like this one, huh?"
Lisa went to the staircase and turned, "I want to see some more..."
Gordon lead the way with a big smile on his face. The kitchen was again musty and the sink could do with a good scrub, but it had all the mod cons.
The staircase was in the need of a fresh coat of paint and the floor boards squeaked for the most part, but most of the bedrooms were not too bad. Just bare boards with dust in the air. The attic rooms were must the same save for a door missing from the room that faced the river.
Having one more look around, they were soon back inside Gordon's car parked on the curb. Alec was pleased to be out of that house. He had a clouded feeling over his mind and his stomach had churned. AND he was cold, even though it was 70+ degrees today.
Gordon locked up the property and hurried towards the car. Once he was inside, they drove off.
XXX
In an Amityville pizza bar, the three of them had a late afternoon snack and the house on Ocean avenue was the hot topic of conversation.
"So...i've been meaning to ask...", said Lisa as she cut through her hot and spicy pizza, "...save for Alec's comments, WHY is this place so affordable?"
"...because it's riddled with rising damp?", sparked off Alec with a quib.
Gordon chuckled, "because NOBODY wants to live there...not after all wants gone on inside it"
Lisa grabbed her napkin, and was puzzled "what's gone on inside it?"
Alec sighed and turned to her knowingly, "The Amityville horror..."
Lisa was still none the wiser, but Gordon met the younger mans gaze, "...you read the book I take it?"
Alec gave him a smarmy look, "I don't DO much reading...but that's the house, isn't it?"
Gordon leaned back in the seat in the booth they were sitting at, "yes it is...you got me there..."
Lisa shook her head taking things in, "So...the Amityville horror? What's the horror part, or do I want to know? IT HAS got rising damp, right?"
Gordon shook his head and sighed, "I wish it did...you see, four years ago some guy picked up a rifle and gunned down his whole family there...blood up the walls you name it..."
Lisa shuddered, She felt cold.
Gordon laughed, "and THEN a year later some couple decide to cash in their misfortune and fabricated a story that the place is infested by spooks"
Lisa rubbed her cheek. Was all this for real?
Alec was eager to get going, and called for the check.
Gordon leaned forward, "Course it's not the houses' fault that they'd ran off...some say it's because of a massive pile of debt that did it...TOO MUCH for them to handle"
Alec was flippant, "Is that what you heard"
Gordon met his gaze, "yeah it was...and believe me the bank were very much happy to sell it on to me to sale off"
Alec laughed, "So YOU got yourself lumbered with a white elephant and NOW you're trying to off load it to Lisa...come on Lise it's time to get the hell out of here..."
"The book came out a few months after I bought it! The only visitors it had was those nutjobs who believe in all that sort of thing...the place just needs a chance...someone to put spell to those rumours of...you know"
Lisa stood up and grabbed her purse, "You know what? I LIKED THE PLACE. It fact I got the impression that the place liked me"
Gordon cleared his throat, becoming all business like, "Ohhh right...and...?"
Lisa swallowed down and not looking at Alec's reaction, she smiled holding out her hand to shake Gordons, "Mr. Hamilton-Clark...how much is affordable...?
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TBC