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Tom G's Pit o' Horror!

By Tom G View Archive - 103 Entries Total

Amityville: 35 Years Since the DeFeo Murders
This coming Friday the 13th will mark the 35th anniversary of the infamous night that 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. stumbled into a bar near his home asking for help and stating that he thought his parents had been shot. He assembled a small group of people and led them back to his family's house. A horrific scene awaited them -- not only had his parents been shot, Ronald's four young brothers and sisters (ranging in age from 18 to 9) had been murdered as well. All of the family members had been shot as they lay sleeping in their beds. Ron DeFeo suggested that the murders were mob related, but confessed to the murders the following day when details in his story unraveled. Oddly, all six members of the family were slain while laying face down in their beds, with no signs of any of them waking up from the sound of a rifle going off. Neighbors also did not report hearing the sound of the rifle despite evidence that a silencer wasn't used. Toxicology reports on the slain family failed to reveal the presence of any sedatives that could have kept the family asleep during the murders. Ronald Defeo's ever-changing claims about the murders have at times included accounts in which he had accomplices -- including his own 18-year-old sister (herself one of the victims), but there has never been solid evidence to show that anyone else but Ronald had been involved. Some believe that this strange aspect of the DeFeo murders points to Ronald having assistance in his crimes from a supernatural force. Indeed, a little over a year later the Lutz family moved into the murder house and lasted only a mere 28 days in the home before fleeing it. Their tales of demonic haunting in the home led to the book The Amityville Horror (which in turn led to a book and film franchise), increasing the infamy of the former DeFeo house. Ronald Defeo was convicted on all six counts of second degree murder and given six consecutive sentences of 25 years to life. He is incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility in Beekman, New York. DeFeo has been eligable for parole for nearly a decade, but has been turned down for it each time he has applied. His family was buried in nearby Saint Charles Cemetery (see Saint Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, NY). Did DeFeo have accomplices in murdering his family? Are there people wandering free who helped him shoot his parents and younger siblings? Or was Ronald's accomplice something even more sinister and intangeable in nature? Visit the Amityville Horror House and learn more about the controversies surrounding the home. You can also use Street View on our map to see the house as it appears today. -Tom G
Filed under: General, Dark Destinations	11/08/2009, 8:02 am | Rating: 0/0 | Permalink | 0 Comments
Product Recall: Silver Shamrock Masks
Silver Shamrock Novelty Co. Recalls Halloween Masks; Possible Evidence of Product Tampering SANTA MIRA CALIFORNIA - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the Silver Shamrock Novelty Company, today announced a voluntary recall of their popular line of Halloween masks. The masks, bearing the likeness of a skull, a witch and a jack-o'-lantern, have been found to contain a strange microchip device as well as dangerous levels Stonehenge fragments. In tests on lab mice, fragments of the ancient Stonehenge ruins have been shown to cause inner-cranial growth of insects, arachnids and reptiles leading to severe injury and/or death. Images of the masks being recalled. Conal Cochran, the CEO of Silver Shamrock, was unavailable for comment, though an official statement was issued from the company's public relations department, stating that the company was investigating how the microchips and pieces of Stonehenge had gotten into their masks. With the ancient ruins of Stonehenge lying more than 5,000 miles away in the United Kingdom it is unlikely that the foreign pieces of rock were accidentally introduced into the Silver Shamrock masks. That coupled with the fragments placement directly with the unexplained microchip located underneath the company's trademark button on each mask, has led some to believe that the masks were deliberately tampered with. Authorities in Santa Mira have stated that they are conducting an investigation with the company's full support, but have not turned up any evidence of criminal activity. This is the second time that the Santa Mira police have investigated Silver Shamrock this year. Back in May, authorities investigated reports of "killer robots" employed by the novelty company. The brief investigation reportedly turned up nothing. There has been some criticism of the investigations due to the police department being run by Conal Cochran (who also runs the local hospital out of his factory). U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has tested other company products, including other popular gag items such as Silver Shamrock's sticky toilet paper, dead dwarf gag and soft chainsaw. All other products tested negative for Stonehenge. To receive a full refund, customers should contact the company directly through their Web site. It is possible to remove the trademark button from the mask, but caution should be used not to poke it with a hair pin, as this could have disastrous results. Happy Halloween! This entry was edited on October 30, 2009, 3:25 am.
Filed under: Halloween, Movies	10/30/2009, 3:01 am | Rating: 5/1 | Permalink | 0 Comments
Attack of the Bunny Man
While some versions of the Bunny Man legend have his story extending back more than a century, the oldest recorded account of the Bunny Man appearing dates back to October 1970. On October 18, 1970, a Virginia couple had their vehicle attacked but what appeared to be a man in bunny suit with a hatchet (see Bunny Man: First Encounter at Guinea Road). Less than two weeks later the mysterious man in a bunny suit would once again appear, vandalizing property and menacing a security guard with an axe (see Bunny Man: Second Encounter at Guinea Road). If this indeed is the genesis of the Bunny Man legend, then the legend turns 40-years-old next year. The legends of the Bunny Man vary from a mentally ill young man hacking up his family at Easter to a malevolent spirit that has haunted a Fairfax County culvert for nearly a century and likes to kill victims at the stroke of midnight on Halloween. Whatever the story, it is always bad news for those who see the Bunny Man. Pay a visit to Bunny Man Bridge to learn more about the legends, but should you spot a rabbit... Run away! Run away! -Tom G PS: Feel free to let loose with the Monty Python quotes.
Filed under: General, Dark Destinations	10/25/2009, 8:40 pm | Rating: 0/0 | Permalink | 0 Comments
Crazy Bet
As of today, it has been 109 years since the death of American Civil War Spy Elizabeth “Crazy Bet” Van Lew. During the war, Elizabeth was a young lady living in what had become the capitol city of the Confederate States of America (also known as the Confederacy). She garnered a reputation for being “hysterical” due to her very outspoken support of the Union both before and during the war. Her blatant support for the other side led others to believe her insane – something that Elizabeth Van Lew picked up on and used to her advantage. She purposely let her hair go scraggly and wore unkempt clothing to further the misconception that she was mentally ill, leading to her nickname “Crazy Bet.” Elizabeth wasn't insane, but she was crazy like a fox as they say. Due to her falsely perceived insanity and the social status of her family, Van Lew was allowed access to Union soldiers captured and imprisoned nearby. She would bring them care packages and books – allowing secret messages to be slipped back and forth by using pins to mark under letters on pages of the books, spelling out information beneficial to the Union. The Confederacy's arrogance in underestimating the intelligence of both African Americans and women added significantly to their downfall. Van Lew's servants (former slaves she'd freed who chose to work for her) were included in her spy ring. Elizabeth even managed to place one servant spy, Mary Bowser, directly into the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. There, Mary risked her life as one of at least two spies posing as slaves in the Davis home (the other was a man named William Jackson). Jefferson Davis so underestimated the intelligence of African American slaves that he left important classified papers laying about and conducted military planning discussions right front of slaves in his household. Davis assumed the slaves were all dull and illiterate. Not only could Mary Bowser read, it was stated in some accounts by those she relayed information to that Mary possessed a photographic memory, enabling her to retain every word in the documents without having to worry about being caught transcribing. Elizabeth Van Lew and her servants were the first to proudly fly the United States flag once again in Richmond, Virginia when the Union retook the city from the Confederacy. Pay your respects at Shockhoe Hill Cemetery to learn more about Elizabeth Van Lew and others who are buried there. -Tom G
Filed under: General, Dark Destinations	09/25/2009, 10:43 am | Rating: 0/0 | Permalink | 0 Comments
Stephen King's Birthday
Prolific horror author Stephen King turns 62-years-old today. In honor of his birthday today's Dark Destination is the Stanley Hotel. The hotel was part of the inspiration for Stephen King's 1977 horror novel, The Shining. King was inspired after staying at the hotel with his wife on October 30, 1974. It was the night before the hotel closed down for the season and the author and his wife were the only guests. The empty halls and ballroom along with ghost stories about the place caused King to resurrect a story he'd never finished and change the setting from a carnival to a hotel called The Overlook. Over two decades later, the hotel became the primary shooting location for the television mini-series adaption of the novel, directed by Mick Garris. Dark Destination's own Casey Hopkins was actually on set during part of that shoot, and had the chance to chat with King and others after being invited by the director following an interview for the site. Perhaps he'll share his story with all of you sometime. The mini-series followed King's novel closer than Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film adaption, leading to fans being polarized in opinion over the two adaptions. It is rare to find a fan who enjoys both adaptions equally. Which adaption do you prefer? Stay the night in the haunted rooms of the Stanley Hotel if you dare. -Tom G
Filed under: General, Television, Dark Destinations	09/21/2009, 6:50 pm | Rating: 0/0 | Permalink | 0 Comments
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