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Bartholomew is convinced that the Lutzes abandoned the house because they couldn't keep up with the mortgage and tax payments and created the haunting story as an excuse and a lucrative side hustle. "They wanted to make some money off of it," says Bartholomew, who co-authored a 2016 article in Skeptic magazine marking the 40th anniversary of the "myth." "It's funny, almost nobody ever says to me, 'Hey that book of yours is a bunch of bull. I didn't believe a word of it.' Instead, they ask if I think what the Lutzes told me is true," said Anson. "And I answer them the same way I answered you when you asked the question. I tell them that I have no idea whether the book is true or not. But I'm sure that the Lutzes believe what they told me to be true." The notorious house has passed through the hands of several owners since the Lutzes lived there — and no one else has reported any spooky happenings. The team took several photos inside, including a now-infamous image apparently showing a “ghost boy” peering out from one of the bedrooms.
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The house that first came to be known as the "horror house" in the wake of the murders, and then The Amityville Horror house after the 1979 movie, refers to the large, three-story Dutch Colonial home at 112 Ocean Ave. in Amityville, New York. First built in 1927, it has gone through several renovations and sales since it was constructed. Publicly, the address was changed to 108 Ocean Ave. to deter the influx of tourists trying to find the residence. Per the story, the property was built on top of a Shinnecock burial ground, and one of its previous owners, John Ketchum, was an avowed Satanic worshipper. Those two rumors are uncorroborated, but are now chalked up to the many fabricated claims about the property that have bloomed from the multiple horror films about the property, and from the book, The Amityville Horror, by Jay Anson. With the entire DeFeo family deceased, except for Ronald, their home remained vacant until it was put on the market a year later.
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It quickly became a best-seller, and fittingly was snapped up by Hollywood to become a major motion picture—one that would put Amityville on the map for reasons the town wish had stayed uncharted. On November 13, 1974, after committing the murders, DeFeo went to work at the car dealership. Suffolk County police arrived, and DeFeo offered up an array of alibis before eventually admitting his guilt. The reality is, it wasn't the images on the TV screen, nor the voices from the walls of the Amityville house, that caused DeFeo to kill. Biography describes car salesman Ronald Sr. as a "domineering authority figure" who "engaged in hot-tempered fights with his wife and children," with Ronald Jr. (nicknamed "Butch") receiving the brunt of the abuse.
The Lutz family experienced supernormal activity
Bartholomew is a sociologist in New Zealand, specializing in mass hysteria and amazed that nearly 50 years after the alleged haunting, we're still talking about Amityville. At times, his wife was physically transformed into an old woman and once levitated, George said. One night, he heard his children’s beds “slamming up and down on the floor” but claimed he couldn’t do anything because an invisible force was paralyzing him. Though their story is now widely thought of as a hoax, the Lutz’s so-called horror house continues to fascinate the public. The couple’s terrifying tale of demonic possession inspired the 1977 book “The Amityville Horror,” a hit 1979 movie of the same name and several sequels, including a 2005 remake. After looking inside the Amityville Horror house today, read about the house that inspired 'The Conjuring' and its fearless new owners.
The windows are often illuminated in the films, giving the appearance of menacing eyes. The first three films were filmed at a house in Toms River, New Jersey which had been converted to look like 112 Ocean Avenue after the authorities in Amityville denied permission for location filming. Although not all of the films in The Amityville Horror series are set at the former Lutz home on Ocean Avenue, the distinctive Dutch Colonial house is traditionally used as the main image in promotional material. By mid-January 1976, after another attempt at a house blessing by George and Kathy, they experienced what would turn out to be their final night in the house. The Lutzes declined to give a full account of the events that took place on this occasion, describing them as "too frightening". Some patrons followed him back to the home and found the bodies of DeFeo’s family, all shot and lying face-down in their beds.
He was convicted on six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to six concurrent sentences of 25 years to life. With an abusive father and passive mother, the boy's troubled childhood led to substance abuse as an adult. He not only lashed out at his father but once even threatened him with a gun. The parents hoped letting him live at home and with a weekly stipend would help. One of the better known features of the Amityville Horror films is the distinctive jack-o'-lantern-like appearance of the house, which was created by two quarter round windows on the third floor attic level.
When Jim and Barbara Cromarty bought the house for $55,000 in April of 1977, they were unaware that a book would soon be published about it. By November, the Cromartys had been bombarded by so many unwanted visitors, they decided to change the address of the house. This, however, did nothing to stop curious onlookers from coming by at all hours of the day. When they purchased the house, the DeFeos had four children, Ronald Jr., Dawn, Allison, and Marc, and one on the way—their son John was born later that year. Being able to move his family from their small apartment in Brooklyn to the spacious home on Ocean Avenue was a dream come true for Ron Sr., who dubbed the house “High Hopes” and hung a sign bearing the name off a post in the front lawn. Inside, however, “Big Ron’s” pattern of abusive and controlling behavior towards his wife and children caused tension to build until it came to a tragic head nine years later.
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Indeed, the land that Anson's book claimed was used by the Shinnecock would have actually been occupied by a Western cluster of the Montaukett. The book then alludes to a settler named John Catchum, or Ketcham, who was apparently buried on the property after being forced out of Salem, Massachusetts "for practicing witchcraft." Director Stuart Rosenberg had, once upon a time in 1967, directed Paul Newman in the critically lauded classic Cool Hand Luke, a film with both theological and countercultural themes. More significantly, all of these things laid the groundwork for a film that is crucial to understanding not just the Amityville Horror phenomenon, but the rise of the Moral Majority in the late 1970s and the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s. Castle Keep, a surrealist war film starring Burt Lancaster and Peter Falk, came and went fairly quickly in the summer of 1969. It was a box-office flop, and was quickly overshadowed by director Sidney Pollack's next feature, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
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Either way, the images above and the stories below take you inside the Amityville Horror house, the scene of both one of the grisliest crimes and most notorious alleged hauntings in modern history. Despite the widely-publicized 1974 killings, numerous families have since moved in and out of the house, now listed as 108 Ocean Avenue. Meanwhile, the purportedly paranormal occurrences that happened here have spawned a slew of books and films like The Amityville Horror, which have kept tourists flocking to the house ever since.
To this day, there is still much debate as to whether or not Ronald had an accomplice that helped him commit the murders. Much of the riverfront home’s interior is Victorian-inspired – with lots of posh chandeliers, crown molding, and gold accents throughout. Modern amenities to the 3,370 square foot home include a 7-seat theater, swimming pool, outdoor kitchen, and boat dock.
Newlyweds and their three children move into a large house where a mass murder was committed. They start to experience strange, inexplicable manifestations which have strong effects on every... Read allNewlyweds and their three children move into a large house where a mass murder was committed. They start to experience strange, inexplicable manifestations which have strong effects on everyone living in or visiting the house.Newlyweds and their three children move into a large house where a mass murder was committed. They start to experience strange, inexplicable manifestations which have strong effects on everyone living in or visiting the house.
The couple had the home built in 1924 and resided in the Dutch colonial for many years. The original story surrounding the Amityville horror house centers around the DeFeo family — especially Ronald DeFeo Jr. in particular. Back in 1974, DeFeo murdered six family members inside the house, eventually being convicted and sentenced for his heinous and jaw-dropping crimes.
In the book, the priest felt a sharp slap on his face and heard a groaning voice scream, "Get out!" In the movie, the priest was also attacked by a swarm of flies. It was last listed in June 2016 and sold in March 2017 for $605,000, according to property records. Ultimately, the appeal of the Amityville house and its related New Jersey home seems largely rooted in the purportedly exaggerated book and its Hollywood adaptations. To this day, horror fans truly convinced by the hauntings still visit, hoping to catch a glimpse of a ghost. George Lutz was curious about paranormal activity and actively tried to summon spirits, but had a financial motivation to sell his story to the media due to the family's severe debt. And Weber, DeFeo Jr.'s attorney, said the haunting was all a hoax — which he purportedly conjured up with Anson while drinking.
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