Stephen Kaplan
| Stephen Kaplan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Stephen Kaplan September 19, 1940 Bronx, NY |
| Died | June 9, 1995 (aged 54) |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Education | City College of New York, Pacific College |
| Alma mater | William H. Taft High School, 240 East 172nd Street, Bronx, New York |
| Occupation | Teacher, Parapsychologist |
| Known for | The Amityville Horror Conspiracy |
| Home town | Bronx, New York, United States |
| Height | 5'10½" |
| Spouse(s) | Roxanne S. Kaplan |
| Children | Victoria L. Kaplan Liam Kaplan Brian Kaplan Stacie Kaplan |
| Parent(s) | Sol Kaplan Shirley Karron Kaplan |
Stephen Kaplan (September 19, 1940 – June 9, 1995) was a noted paranormal investigator, vampirologist, and founder/director of the Vampire Research Center and the Parapsychology Institute of America, both of which were founded in Suffolk County, New York and subsequently relocated to Elmhurst, Queens. He was a popular author and radio commentator, best known for his vocal skepticism of the alleged Amityville Horror hauntings. Kaplan lived in Suffolk County, New York and worked for the New York City Board of Education. His overview of the Amityville Horror became the basis for the film Amityville 3-D that chronicles his attempt to prove the story was a hoax.
The picturesque home known as the Amityville Horror was made famous in 1974 when Ronald 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 1977 book The Amityville Horror chronicles the paranormal events leading up to their departure from the Lutzes' perspective. The book became a runaway bestseller, and was made into a popular movie starring James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Rod Steiger.
Kaplan's The Amityville Horror Conspiracy counters Anson's work, and argues that Lutz deliberately defrauded the public.
According to Kaplan, on February 16, 1976, shortly after the Lutzes abandoned the house, 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 WBAB radio program Spectrum with Joel Martin".
Lutz requested that Kaplan and his associates at the Parapsychology Institute investigate the home. As 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 Lutz’s claim that the house was haunted.
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