PETA Asks to Turn 'Amityville Horror' Home Into Slaughterhouse of Horrors

Exhibit Would Show the Terrifying Treatment of Animals Who Are Used for Food 

For Immediate Release: 
May 27, 2010

Contact:
Ashley Byrne 757-622-7382

Long Island, N.Y. -- Today, PETA sent a letter to the current owner of the house that inspired the book The Amityville Horror (and its subsequent film adaptations) asking to lease the property for a haunted house-style exhibit titled "Amityville Slaughterhouse of Horrors" while the house is up for sale. Instead of ghosts, zombies, and witches, the planned display would graphically depict the horrors that animals who are raised and killed for meat, milk, and eggs must endure on factory farms and in slaughterhouses--horrors such as intensive confinement, filthy conditions, mutilations, neglect, and other acts of cruelty that would be illegal if dogs or cats were the victims.

"While some question the authenticity of The Amityville Horror, factory farms and slaughterhouses are all-too-real houses of horror," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Witnessing the cruelty that is inflicted on farmed animals could haunt visitors for life, so we'll also make sure that they know how to help stop these abuses by simply choosing humane and healthy vegan foods."

Exhibit visitors would be able to see and touch actual instruments that are used on factory farms and in slaughterhouses, including wire battery cages that hens are crammed into, branding irons that are used to inflict third-degree burns on cows and electrified prods that are used to force sick animals to walk to their deaths at slaughterhouses. Visitors would also have the opportunity to be "locked" inside a tiny metal-and-concrete pig gestation crate, and kids would receive a free crazed and knife-wielding Ronald McDonald doll.

For more information, please visit PETA.org or click here.

PETA's letter to the owner of house that inspired The Amityville Horror follows.

May 27, 2010

Brian Wilson
c/o Laura Zambratto
Sotheby's International Realty

Dear Mr. Wilson,

I'm writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters--including thousands across New York--with an idea to put the infamous "Amityville Horror" house to good use while you await a final sale. We would like to rent the notorious house temporarily and turn it into the Amityville Slaughterhouse of Horrors, a haunted house–style exhibit showing the real-life horrors inflicted on animals on factory farms and in slaughterhouses.

The supernatural haunting that some people believe occurred in this building is legendary, but many people don't realize that if they are eating meat, eggs, and dairy products, they are getting their food from real-life horror houses: factory farms and slaughterhouses. In our horror house, the sound of slaughterhouse blades whirring while animals scream for their lives would play over loudspeakers. Visitors would be able to see animatronic hens struggling for space inside tiny battery cages and lifelike "fish" gasping for air as they slowly suffocate on the deck of a fishing boat. Guests would be able to touch actual instruments used by these cruel industries, including branding irons that inflict third-degree burns on cows and electrified prods that are used to force sick animals to walk to their deaths at slaughterhouses. Visitors would also have the opportunity to be "locked" in a tiny metal-and-concrete gestation pig crate, and kids would receive a doll that resembles a crazed, knife-wielding Ronald McDonald as well as information on PETA's McCruelty campaign. The on-site Cruelty-Free Cafe would feature delicious vegan food, such as protein-packed mock chicken and faux ribs.

Not only would hosting PETA's exhibit attract more potential buyers to the house, it would also let visitors know that every vegan saves more than 100 animals a year from the real-life horrors of factory farms and slaughterhouses. The violent killings in this house are said to have led to its haunting, but by becoming the Amityville Slaughterhouse of Horrors, this "horror house" would help end the violent killing of animals for food. Please contact me to discuss our offer further. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President