Stephen Kaplan

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Dr. Stephen Kaplan (September 19, 1940 – June 9, 1995) was a noted paranormal investigator, vampirologist, and founder of the Vampire Research Center in Elmhurst, NY. He was a popular author and radio commentator, best known for his vocal skepticism of Amityville Horror House hauntings. Kaplan lived in Suffolk County, NY, where he worked as a school teacher. ^{[1] [2]}

[edit] Education

City College of New York: BA in Sociology; Masters in Communication skills.
State University of N.Y at Stony Brook:Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies.
Pacific College: Ph.D. in Sociology (1977). His thesis discussed the sociological implications of parapsychology.

[edit] Reputation & Recognition

Dr. Stephen Kaplan enjoyed a reputation as a dedicated and skilled researcher, with great integrity. He did not profit from his findings, including the ongoing Amityville Horror debate.^[3] He was also a recipient of the Chi Epsilon Delta award as an instructor of parapsychology and occult sciences.

[edit] Bibliography

Kaplan, Stephen. Vampires Are. Palm Springs: ETC Publications, 1984. ISBN 0882801031 / ISBN-13 9780882801032

Kaplan, Stephen and Kalpan, Roxanne Salch. The Amityville Horror Conspiracy. Toad Hall, (2nd Edition 1995). ISBN 0963749803 /ISBN-13 9780963749802

[edit] An Overview of the Amityville Horror Dispute

The picturesque home known as the Amityville Horror was made famous in 1974 when Ronald "Butch" DeFeo, Jr. shot and killed his parents and four younger siblings there. On November 21, 1975 DeFeo was sentenced to serve six sentences of 25 years to life. George and Kathy Lutz moved into the house on December 18, 1975. They remained in the house for one month before fleeing, citing hauntings, demons, and other unexplained disturbances.

Jay Anson’s 1979 novel, The Amityville Horror, chronicles the paranormal events leading up to their departure from the Lutz perspective. The book became a runaway bestseller, and was made into a popular movie starring Rod Steiger, Margot Kidder and James Brolin.

Kaplan's The Amityville Horror Conspiracy counters Anson's work, and argues that Lutz om/amityville.htmldeliberately defrauded the public.

On February 16, 1976, shortly after the Lutzs abandoned the house, Dr. Kaplan received a phone call from George Lutz. At the time, Kaplan was the executive director of the Parapsychology Institute of America, based on Long Island and a frequent guest on the popular WBAB radio program "Spectrum with Joel Martin".

Lutz requested that Dr. Kaplan and his associates at the Parapsychology Institute investigate the home. As Dr. Kaplan recalled in his account of the incident, The Amityville Horror Conspiracy, this initial conversation immediately aroused his suspicions as to the validity of George’s claim that the house was haunted. ^[4]

When Lutz asked about a fee for the group's services and Kaplan told him that they did not charge for the investigation but that "if the story is a hoax...the public will know".

Shortly after, Lutz called and canceled the investigation. He claimed that he and his wife did not want any publicity about the house. However, days later, the story broke on Channel 5 news. The "Amityville Horror" quickly gained noteriety, and Ed and Lorraine Warren, a husband and wife paranormal investigation team, became involved in the case.

Kaplan, meanwhile, was at work collecting evidence and materials about the house and the claims made by the Lutz family, Jay Anson, the Warrens and the media. Although convinced of the validity of the paranormal and supernatural activity, Kaplan was not convinced of the truth behind the Amityville case. While it was possible that a haunting could have occurred at the house, especially in light of the violent events that had taken place there, there was something not quite right about the accounts of the Lutz's. After some initial investigation, Kaplan became sure that a hoax was being perpetrated on the public and such a hoax could prove to be damaging for legitimate paranormal cases in the future. With that in mind, he became determined to show that the entire story was a farce.

The Warrens resolutely supported the Lutz claims of the house being haunted, or possessed, by evil forces and began a campaign to discredit Stephen Kaplan. To this day, in spite of confessions and in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the Warrens still maintain that the house was haunted.

The public was also reluctant to give up the sensational story, and the house became a landmark and tourist attraction so popular that future owners Jim and Barbara Cromarty 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".

For a detailed look at the controversy surrounding the haunting, please see The Amityville Horror article under the heading "Criticisms."

[edit] References