I do believe this was the so called legal disclaimer on Anthony Duda’s website,so we thought it should also apply here.
All information, opinion and theories on this website and blog are published in good faith and for general information purposes only. I do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information on my website and blog is strictly at your own risk, and I will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with its use. All opinion and theories are strictly my own, and should not be construed as fact.
This was the said interview,that was done originally. http://paranormalheraldmagazine.com/2015/10/21/in-a-special-interview-with-karissa-fleckshe-went-on-record-to-speak-about-nude-pictures-and-anthony-duda-posting-them-when-she-merely-17-years-old/
Reading the specific amount of time and all the comments ,this guy Anthony either has a crush on Karissa Fleck, or one on Author Philip Siracusa or both perhaps lol.
Their is no doubt,that this blogger Anthony Duda thinks rather highly of himself. The Paranormal Herald did an interview with karissa Fleck,who stated and made allegations that Anthony Duda may have or was alleged to have posted her address and pictures online,when she was merely 17 years old. Is this true I do not know,nor do I care all I did as a paper was report what the individual had made and alleged to have said.
After receiving a response from M.R Duda,he stated he did not do what was alleged to have happen,then stated he was notifying his lawyers.Question I have is, did his attorneys tell him to do a blog on karissa and myself this morning?if so he needs to fire his incompetent attorneys
Anthony Duda is been a critic to a book titled.The Horsefly Chronicles Haunting.Since his earlier entries, he has been very persistent to try to break the reps of several people.
The Horsefly Chronicles Haunting: A Book Review
uthor Philip Siracusa appears to have ripped a page from the well-worn Ed and Lorraine Warren playbook with his first “true” paranormal literary effort, The Horsefly Chronicles: A Demonic Haunting. As you may know, Ed (now deceased) and Lorraine (still kicking) were paranormal investigators, or so-called “demonologists”, that had the incredible fortune and dumb luck of finding demonic entities in virtually every location they investigated. Even more incredible was their talent for turning their incredibly fortunate and dumb luck into best-selling books, along with their almost alchemist-like ability to turn those books into gold. However, by far their most lucrative bit of magic was selling the book rights of theirincredibly fortunate and dumb luck to Hollywood. The Warrens were involved with such infamous hoaxes as Jay Anson’s devilishly discredited book-turned-movie, The Amityville Horror, where horseflies famously made their first satanic appearance (Hey, if it worked once…) as well as the more recent money-making films Annabelle and The Conjuring. The awkward title of this book originates from Mr. Siracusa’s claim of the image of a horsefly appearing to him whenever he is about to experience a paranormal event. Well, I guess it does sound a bit more convincing than an aardvark…
That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It Like Flies On…
The Horsefly Chronicles is a plodding and incomplete telling of Mr. Siracusa’s life, and his personal journey with his ‘gift’ of connecting with the other side. Following this yellow brick road, we visit his visions of Heaven and Hell, which I found the only interesting part of the book, as he does describe what he claims to have witnessed in colorful detail. We find him working as a bouncer and for the Mafia, the latter of which would sensibly only be revealed posthumously by an author, a big, red flag due to my law enforcement training, and one of the credibility issues, aside from the subject matter, that I have with the book. Spelling and grammatical errors abound in The Horsefly Chronicles, made even more tedious by the book’s length. Maybe I’m just anal about such things, but how can we take Mr. Siracusa’s account seriously if even the grammatical basics are overlooked? Tight budgets are no excuse, even with self-published titles. A good spellcheck application, free with all computer operating systems, can do much of the work of a human editor if diligently applied.
The Horsefly Chronicles Family: Summon the Psychic! Gather the Ghost Hunters!
The Horsefly Chronicles Family: Summon the Psychic! Gather the Ghost Hunters!
It is said that, “It takes a village to raise a child”, but apparently it takes a “family” to promote a book, especially if you don’t have a publisher behind it. What the public needs to understand about this business is there are individuals and groups that will hitch their wagons to just about anything if they think it will bring them even an ounce of notoriety. Remember the updated Ed and Lorraine Warren formula mentioned earlier? Here is where it comes into play. The magic is in the marketing! Gather a few amateur ghost hunting groups willing to attest online for the authenticity of The Horsefly Chronicles. Summon Karissa Fleck, lead paranormal investigator and described by some as a “world-renown” psychic medium, to spend four months in Mr. Siracusa’s haunted horsefly hacienda, a modern home in Easton, Pennsylvania that just happens to have the incredible fortune and dumb luck of having four bedrooms, two baths and a portal to Hell and…BINGO! You’ve hit all the right Paramount…uhhh, I mean Poltergeist…uhhh, I mean paranormal, notes. To be fair and to my knowledge, the author has never referred to Ms. Fleck as “world-renown”, but the title is already out there, floating in the ether of the Internet, apparently placed by those promoting the book. In reality, while possibly a gifted sensitive, Ms. Fleck is a twenty-something woman and just a member of Eastern Pennsylvania Paranormal Society, a local ghost hunting group that Mr. Siracusa contacted when things in his home purportedly became demonically dicey. It is curious to ponder why the author felt it necessary to contact a small town ghost hunting group and its resident psychic to corroborate and validate events in his home when he had already enthralled us with his road trip to Heaven and Hell, not to mention his stint acting as a middleman between the Mafia and the great beyond. Call me naive, but it seems to me that Mr. Siracusa would be the person better-equipped to handle demons in his home. After all, he claims to have already been to theirs.
Mr. Siracusa and Ms. Fleck, together and individually, have been on The Horsefly Chronicles promotional circuit since 2014, talking to anyone and everyone who will have them. They naturally hope people will buy the book, as does any author. However, as the book is self-published and has little marketing muscle, one gets the impression when listening to their interviews that the true goal is to make so much noise that The Horsefly Chronicles gets optioned.
Faults and Final Thoughts
Did I enjoy reading The Horsefly Chronicles? No, I didn’t. Do I believe it to be nothing more than an elaborate hoax, likely conceived and written as the vehicle to drive to a movie deal? Yes, I do.
For all its many faults, my issue is not only with the story, but with what I believe was Mr. Siracusa’s motivation for writing the book and his insistence on presenting himself as the protagonist in what he claims to be true. In essence, his claim is that The Horsefly Chronicles is his autobiography. However, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, especially when charging the public to read such claims. The question I found myself asking over-and-over while persevering through the pages? Why would Mr. Siracusa go to the trouble to write such a lengthy, implausible tale, then go to the expense to self-publish such a lengthy, implausible tale, without a much larger motivation and goal in mind than simply selling a few books and making a few bucks? Couple that question with the relentless self-promotion surrounding The Horsefly Chronicles, and the red flags begin to fly. By all accounts, the author is leading an otherwise normal life: gainfully employed, raising a family of four, a truly ‘move along, there’s nothing to see here’ -type of existence. All of which makes his role as some sort of lifelong closet paranormal superhero even more difficult to swallow. While the basic structure and mundane facts of Mr. Siracusa’s strange saga may, indeed, be autobiographical, it is my opinion as a paranormal investigator with years of experience under my belt that his yarn, if not completely fabricated, is at the very most a work of semi-fiction. There have been many instances of such literary hocus-pocus, one recent example being James Frey with his 2005 bestseller, A Million Little Pieces. You may remember him as the author Oprah Winfrey first praised and recommended for her book club, and later verbally eviscerated in a televised interview when it was discovered that a large part of his memoir was fabricated. There is a common thread of misplaced ego in the creation of such works, but Mr. Siracusa is probably well-aware that, unlike Mr. Frey, but just as with Ed and Lorraine Warren, Jay Anson and countless other predecessors, he will largely be protected under the paranormal umbrella. It is hard to be pinned-down to black and white in a world that consists of more than fifty shades of grey. The singular reason authors dealing in paranormal storylines sometimes go the ‘true story’ route is the belief that it will make their work more commercially viable. That said, I believe Clive Barker, Dean Koontz and that unsuccessful, starving author from Maine…jeesh, I can’t remember his name…Stephen something…would tend to disagree.
And that’s a wrap for this edition of The Booo! Blog. Let’s fade to black, and would someone please get those damn flies off the set…
Update, August 27, 2015: In response to my book review of The Horsefly Chronicles, the following is the transcript of a ‘conversation’ lead paranormal investigator Karissa Fleck initiated with me on Facebook on Thursday, August 27, 2015. It should be noted that I never once used in my book review, nor did I ever refer to Ms. Fleck or anyone in my review as “fake”. On the contrary, I stated that “she may perhaps be a gifted sensitive”. As for the title she states I used, I believe she is referring to “World-Renown”, which has been used by her promotional people online to describe her. I also note in my review that Mr. Siracusa, to my knowledge, has never used that term to describe Ms. Fleck, nor do I state that, again, to my knowledge, she has ever used the term “World-Renown” to describe herself. However, she does believe herself to be “famous”, as you will read below. I believe this short exchange speaks for itself, and also speaks volumes. I apologize to my readers for Ms. Fleck’s poor grammar and use of profanity:
Karissa Fleck: Hello Anthony I read your little article and I feel the need clear somethings up. First off I’m not in eastern pa paranormal I am a freelancer and I work with some bigger names in the paranormal, second the title as you so kindly referred me too I’ve never called myself that. Third who are you again? I’ve never heard about you once in my life. Fourth so I guess your calling myself, Dave Spinks. Jeff Leeper, Sean Austin, Scott Gerhart, Erik knapp bob baines and about 60 others fakes? You should invest in a life because clearly you don’t have one if you feel the need to bash strangers you don’t even know
Karissa Fleck: Fucking loser
Karissa Fleck: You bring up the first team I ever worked with and act like I still work with them journalism skills
Anthony Duda: Can’t take the constructive criticism of a book review? And your language. Wow. I read the book. I gave my opinion. I suggest you grow a thicker skin and get over it.
Anthony Duda: As for still working with EPPS, I also suggest you visit their website. You will see your photo and bio on their team members page. So your argument is not with me, it should be with them.
Karissa Fleck: Your right you know when your famous you get critics and crazy jealous people attacking you all the time I should be use to it by now have a good day
Anthony Duda: You’re famous? Wow…news to me. Jealous? Hardly. I was in this field years before you were even born. You know what they say, “If you can’t take the heat…” Have a good day, Ms. Fleck.
Update, September 16, 2015: Well…surprise, surprise! Alerted by reader “GinainTX” (see post below), it seems there was already a possible movie deal in the works for The Horsefly Chronicles, according to Movieplot.com, dating all the way back to January 2015. I cannot sum it up better than another reader, “Tanner”, so astutely did below: “Mission accomplished, Mr. Siracusa”.
Update, September 18, 2015: Please note that I have decided to close comments for this edition of The Booo! Blog, as I have found it necessary to reject many profanity-laden posts.This blog is simply a review of the book, The Horsefly Chronicles, and the author, nor anyone connected with the book, should be subjected to such language. Quite frankly, I have no desire to read such comments. Therefore, while I do not have the ability to stop submissions, any future comments will not be posted, and will be rejected and deleted unread. Thank you for your understanding and expected cooperation.
Update, October 13, 2015: The harassment and intimidation campaign by The Horsefly Chronicles lead paranormal investigator Karissa Fleck after my review of the book continues unabated. On September 30, 2015 and continuing on October 1, 2015, Ms. Fleck initiated the following conversation with me. This was completely unprovoked. Actually, I was on the road doing research for an unrelated future blog, when my cell phone alerted me that someone was posting about me on Facebook. As you will read, she has stooped to a new low on public social media, accusing me of being a sex offender, stalking her online, giving out her home address, as well as having a criminal record, all totally false accusations without an ounce of truth. I am not a mental health professional, therefore I do not make or pass judgement on Ms. Fleck in that professional capacity. However, based on her off-the-wall rants, wild accusations and seemingly paranoid delusions, I will withhold my personal opinion and allow you, the reader, to form your own. Keep in mind that Ms. Fleck has been widely credited as the lead paranormal investigator in The Horsefly Chronicles saga and has done and continues to do scores of promotional media interviews in that role. Thus, she figures prominently in the paranormal investigation aspect of the story, as was detailed in a companion book that Mr. Siracusa has authored, The Curse of the Horsefly Chronicles. In truth, as lead paranormal investigator, the responsibility would have ultimately fallen to Ms. Fleck to objectively verify the paranormal claims of the story, which is the entire crux and premise of this “true” paranormal trilogy, and she claims to have spent four months living in Mr. Siracusa’s home doing just that. Okay, now think about that for a moment and let it sink in, because not only did that claim, which Ms. Fleck and Mr. Siracusa repeat in nearly every media interview, raise the red flags in my mind, it caused them to wave wildly. Four months. 120 days, give or take a day or two. Now that you, an intelligent and practical human, have allowed that to saturate your brain cells, extrapolate that scenario to your life, or even the lives of people you know. Under what circumstances could you, an adult, pack up and move into someone’s home for that length of time? Would you break the lease at the apartment where you currently reside? If married, would you tell your husband or wife, “See ya, honey! I’ll be back in four months. Gotta hunt for demons!”, as he/she stands in the doorway, holding your Pug, and waving goodbye? And what about income? Would you, as an adult, be able to survive without income for four months, or 120 days, give or take a day or two? No? Then, how? Were you employed at the same time? If not, were you collecting unemployment benefits? Disability? Money has to come from somewhere for the occasional Mickey D’s run, or even the basic necessities. Are you independently wealthy? If not, then who would support you to undertake such a protracted paranormal investigation and, more importantly, why? I do not question whether Ms. Fleck did move into the Siracusa home, only the somewhat murky circumstances which brought that about. “Just the facts, Ma’am”, as Sgt. Joe Friday is often misquoted as saying in the über-old Dragnet TV series. Ms. Fleck has been described as a “family friend” of the Siracusa family. Was she already a family friend before moving in, or did she become a family friend after? Was she a “famous” psychic medium who just happened to need a place to crash and who just happened to be friends with an author who just happened to have a gateway to Hell in his home? Incredible fortune and dumb luck? I certainly do not imply knowledge, or even suspicion, of nefarious motivation or collusion, but am simply trying to understand the facts. As lead paranormal investigator of The Horsefly Chronicles case, the facts surrounding not only Ms. Fleck showing up on the Siracusa family doorstep like Mary Poppins (or, more accurately, Nanny McPhee), but then moving into their home for four months, or 120 days, give or take a day or two, to conduct a marathon paranormal investigation, is central to the very premise of this “true” paranormal account. While taking the lead, Ms. Fleck was not the only paranormal investigator involved in The Horsefly Chronicles case. How did the others come on board? Did they meet or know each other beforehand? Or were they collectively drawn to this mysterious location in Easton, Pennsylvania by some unknown metaphysical force, like in Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
It is often the case that the backstory is more interesting than the story itself, and the backstory of The Horsefly Chronicles is certainly no exception. As you will read below, Ms. Fleck seems very interested that you see my public record so please, by all means, feel free to go to any of a number of online sites that facilitate public record searches and enter my name. These records are in the public domain and it is perfectly legal. What will you find? Nothing. No criminal record, no arrests, just a traffic ticket from 1977 which probably dropped off the report years ago, if it was even on it to begin with. I’m such a nerd that I’ve never smoked weed. I’ve never even smoked a cigarette. I don’t drink. Plain vanilla. Nuns think I’m boring. Now, while you’re at it and since Ms. Fleck ‘went there’ and broached the subject, enter the name of Karissa Fleck, lead paranormal investigator of The Horsefly Chronicles case and central to the very premise of this “true” paranormal account. Yes, indeed…often the backstory is more interesting than the story itself.
What is the point of all of this and what does it boil down to? The point is that I believe the public has a right to dig beyond the claims and media hype, especially if they are being asked to shell out their hard-earned money. Once individuals willfully place themselves in the media spotlight, whether it be via books, movies, claims of psychic abilities or anything else, they are then open to public scrutiny. What this boils down to is the fact that I have been a paranormal investigator for well-over two decades. In that time, I have never taken a penny from a client for my services, nor do I ever intend to do so. I read The Horsefly Chronicles. I had many doubts about the paranormal claims in the book. I read a lot of books. Most are not about the paranormal, as I sometimes just need a break from the spooky stuff to clear my head. I write a paranormal blog. I wrote my review of the book on that blog. It was simply my honest opinion as someone in the paranormal field. I had already written my next blog on a completely unrelated subject. That was the end of it…or so I thought. Until, of course, Karissa Fleck, lead paranormal investigator of The Horsefly Chronicles case, began making wild, unfounded and untrue accusations about me on social media in retaliation for my review. I could have just blown it off considering the source and would have preferred to do so, but Ms. Fleck’s accusations became too vile to ignore. So, here we are…
What follows is yet another unedited public Facebook ‘conversation’ initiated by Karissa Fleck, self-proclaimed “famous” psychic medium and, yes, as lead paranormal investigator of The Horsefly Chronicles case, central to the very premise of this “true” paranormal account:
Karissa Fleck: Your a sex offender posting my address on facebook. I would watch yourself if I was you.
Karissa Fleck: All your doing is digging your own grave with your obsession my lawyers have and are looking into you and so are the police.
Karissa Fleck: Karissa, what are you talking about? I have never posted anything about you on Facebook. The only thing that I wrote was my book review on my site. Feel free to have the police and lawyers contact me all they want. What you don’t seem to understand is this person on Facebook isn’t me. He tried to get over on me, too.
Anthony Duda: Besides, I’m gay. Been gay for 57 yrs. Why on earth would I have an obsession with you? I even stopped all comments on my book review because they were too negative towards you guys. Feel free to call me to discuss if you want. My # is very easily found on my website.
Karissa Fleck: Tried calling you and you didn’t answer.
Anthony Duda: Was away from my cell. Saw # when I got back but didn’t know it was yours.
Karissa Fleck: You didn’t call me back or answer the second time I called you. What you state is a book review (which my name isn’t even in the first book) is resulting in threats towards me from people who follow you if not you yourself. For someone who has never met me you are the lowest of the lows to do something like this to someone else. You block me from my other account and you act lik… (Anthony Duda: Ms. Fleck’s paragraph ended mid-sentence. I have no idea what “other account” she is talking about. I have blocked her from nothing).
Karissa Fleck: Infact you know the article isn’t true because you put a disclaimer up. Why would you do that other then the fact that you know you lied and you know you have lawyers watching you. (Anthony Duda: My website and all of my blogs have had the same legal disclaimer since 2011. The primary reason is liability. If someone visits a haunted location that I may mention, they do so at their own risk. It is quite astounding that most paranormal websites actually do not have such a disclaimer, which is why I consulted my attorneys before creating my site).
Anthony Duda: I’m in bed. Long day tomorrow. If you look at all of my blogs going back to the very first in 2011, you will see the same legal disclaimer. It is also on my website written by my attorneys. It was a book review. An opinion. It is what I thought of the book. There was no malicious intent.
Anthony Duda: As for lawyers watching, accusing someone baselessly of being something as vile as a sex offender on social media will not be tolerated again by my lawyers. Although you may have deleted it, I have the screen grab.
Karissa Fleck: Yea I have the screen shot of you posting my address and other things that will also not be tolerated by my lawyers so keep it up and I’ll see you in court if you want to keep playing these childish games I also have the iP addresses from all the fake accounts you use to harass me.
Karissa Fleck: Fine, then take it to your lawyers and the police. It’s not me. I’d be happy to answer any questions they may have. I have no idea who this person is, but I do know that when he tried to dupe me and others on a paranormal page on Facebook, he was going by the name of “Joe Para”.
Anthony Duda: Furthermore, I have no idea what your address is, or even what state you now live. I suppose if someone was determined or cared, it could easily be located on the Internet.
Karissa Fleck: Yea just like I found your records online things can be easily traced.
Anthony Duda: Fine. I’d be happy to tell you where I live. Is that some type of veiled threat?
Karissa Fleck: Nope not a threat whatsoever you leave me alone I leave you alone but charges stay on record for a long time and it seems yours isn’t clean.
Anthony Duda: Fine, Ms. Fleck, and please feel free to trace all of the IP addresses you may have. You will find none connected to me or, as far as I know, anyone I have any connection with. It’s very strange that you have created all of this about me when I literally have not given you a second thought. You were simply part of the story of The Horsefly Chronicles, which I reviewed. Before that, I had never heard of you. I hope you catch this elusive person you say is harassing you. Actually, I honestly do. No one should be harassed. Have a good night, Ms. Fleck.
Karissa Fleck: Yea it also seems strange to me that you have done nothing but attack me since reading a book I’m not even mentioned in lol. But it’s ok like I said you leave me alone I’ll leave you alone. You google me and you leave your shit little blog on other things about me you are the one following me not the other way around bye anthony if I hear from you again your charges will be out for all to see (Anthony Duda: Apparently, Ms. Fleck had somehow forgotten that she was the one who initiated our ‘conversation’ on this day, not the other way around. While true that Ms. Fleck is not mentioned in the first volume of The Horsefly Chronicles, she has been doing extensive media interviews since 2014, aggressively promoting the book and her role in the story. As mentioned previously, Mr. Siracusa has also authored a companion book to The Horsefly Chronicles, The Curse of The Horsefly Chronicles, which details Ms. Fleck’s lead role, as well as the roles of others).
Anthony Duda: Please post my “charges”, Ms. Fleck. I’d love to see them. Other than a traffic ticket in 1977, there are no “charges”. Really, please post these “charges” that you have. I really would love everyone to see what you supposedly have, Ms. Fleck.
Charming, isn’t she? At that point, Ms. Fleck ended her attack. I’m still waiting to see the “charges” that I supposedly have, which will be news to everyone as I was a law enforcement officer on a state level for many years, licensed to carry weapons and have passed numerous criminal background checks. Apparently, they didn’t care about my 1977 traffic ticket. Lucky for me, as sliding on an icy road and hitting a mailbox in my ’66 Volkswagen Beetle was such a heinous crime.