The location where it all happened
The infamous "horror house," later dubbed The Amityville Horror house following the 1979 film, is a three-story Dutch Colonial dwelling located at 112 Ocean Ave. in Amityville, New York. Originally constructed in 1927, the property has undergone various renovations and changes of ownership over the years. In an attempt to deter curious tourists, the public address was officially switched to 108 Ocean Ave. in the wake of the widely publicized murders associated with the house. Despite persistent rumors, such as the property being built on a Shinnecock burial ground and its former owner John Ketchum being a Satanic worshiper, these claims remain unverified and are often attributed to the sensationalism fueled by horror films and Jay Anson's book, The Amityville Horror. As of 2016, The Wrap reported the sale of the house for $850,000, and it continues to serve as a residence, surrounded by a legacy of fabricated tales.
The 1974 events, the DeFeo murders & the Lutz
On the night of November 13, 1974, a horrifying event unfolded at the Amityville house. Ronald DeFeo Jr., armed with a .35 caliber rifle, brutally ended the lives of his entire family while they were asleep. His parents, Ronald Sr. and Louise, and his four siblings — Dawn, Allison, Marc, and John Matthew — all fell victim to this tragedy.
The crime scene was both heartbreaking and puzzling. All six family members were discovered face down in their beds, seemingly shot in their sleep. Strangely, there were no signs of a struggle, and neighbors reported hearing no gunshots during that fateful night. The mysterious circumstances surrounding the murders intensified the shock and horror within the local community.
Initially, Ronald DeFeo Jr. attempted to deflect suspicion by suggesting that mob hitmen were responsible for the murders. However, his inconsistent and evolving stories soon crumbled, leading to his confession. In 1975, DeFeo was tried and convicted of second-degree murder, resulting in a life sentence in prison.
The tragic events took a sinister turn when the Lutz family moved into the house just over a year later. George and Kathy Lutz, accompanied by their three children, recounted a series of disturbing and paranormal incidents during their short 28-day stay. These eerie occurrences included odd smells, unexplained cold spots, swarms of flies, and even the appearance of demonic figures.
The Lutz family's unsettling experiences were later chronicled in Jay Anson's bestselling book, "The Amityville Horror," published in 1977. Claiming to be a true story, the book served as the foundation for a series of films that further sensationalized the events in Amityville.
Although the authenticity of the paranormal claims is widely debated, the 1974 DeFeo family murders stand as a tragic and haunting episode in the history of the Amityville house. The subsequent tales of supernatural encounters have only deepened the intrigue and mystery surrounding this infamous residence.
Once I started, I just could not stop. It went so fast
The Lutz family moved in
After house hunting for “lifelong”, George and Kathy Lutz came across a listing of the Defeo house. Although the house was over their initial budget of $300000 to $500000, but they found themselves attracted to this colonial grand house, beside the Amityville river
They were made known about the previous murders, yet they decided to make the house of their own. They purchased it at a bargain price of mere $80000.
Houses do not have memories
Soon after they moved in, their nightmares started. George Lutz was an active businessman before moving into the house. Things changed after they moved in. He became sluggish and cranky and underwent a sudden personality change. Every night he found himself awake at 3:15 AM and wasn’t able to go back to sleep after that. (later it was found that this was the time when the DeFeo murders took place).
Pigs in the house ? and ageing.
One night George saw his five year old daughter Missy standing by the bedroom window, with a shadow resembling a pig’s face and red eyes behind her. On running to her room, as expected there was nothing, and it seemed like an illusion, as Missy was just asleep in her room, with nothing wrong. Thereafter Missy began speaking about a pig friend “Jody”.
Soon in another incident George started notice her wife was ageing a bit too fast and her face changed as if she was an old 90 year old woman. She started under going periods unnaturally fast and in the end it appeared as she was another person altogether. More strange incidents started happening such as doors ripping off, room getting filled with flies in the middle of a winter night out of no reason, green slime oozing out of paintings, hooves in snow and the discovery of a secret basement room that was never in the original house’s blueprint.
The basement room
The basement room was never in the initial blueprints. It just got discovered all of a sudden. The room was painted blood red, and was just merely big enough for two people to sit intimately close. At times the room gave a bad odor. George tried taking their family dog inside the basement. Their brave dog, who never feared anything at all, didn’t want to go in.
He would not just go in. He backed away. It is the only time I can recall him ever cowering away.
Priest.
One night George felt as if he heard a band playing downstairs, but as he went there there was no band, but everything was rolled up and the furniture was moved aside as if there was someone dancing there and a space was made for the same.
The priest who was brought to get some help, started experiencing variety of strange phenomena and illness. On January 14th 1976, after just living 28 days in their home, that particularly scary night made the Lutz to flee the house, to never return back. They didn’t expect to leave forever that day, but they did. The belongings were later auctioned.
The Anson
While writing the book on being questioned whether he felt any particular issue or unnatural experiences, Anson replied “Leave it no” . Although he experienced a hear attack after writing the book, to which he told was because of his bad lifestyle.
People who had the original manuscript or the copies of them, did experience strange occurring with them. Three of his friends and one along with his children experienced straight death. One was fatal.
The first experienced a fire in his car while returning to the publisher with the manuscript. The second and his son nearly experienced death by drowning while the copy of the manuscript was with them in the trunk. Mysteriously the only dry thing in the trunk was the manuscript. The other friend whom he had given the first two chapters’ manuscript died with a fire in her house the first night she received them. Again mysteriously the manuscript was found in the perfect condition in the remains of the fire
The Book, movies and reality.
The reality of the 1974 DeFeo family murders at the Amityville house is a haunting and verifiable historical event, marking a gruesome chapter in true crime. Ronald DeFeo Jr.'s heinous act of systematically killing his parents and siblings is a grim reality, leading to his conviction for second-degree murder and a life sentence in prison.
However, the narrative surrounding the supernatural phenomena at the Amityville house, as depicted in Jay Anson's book "The Amityville Horror," takes a distinct turn into the realm of fiction. Published in 1977, the book claims to be a factual account of the experiences of the subsequent owners, the Lutz family, who reported paranormal activities during their brief residency. Anson's work includes vivid descriptions of demonic apparitions, unsettling sounds, and unexplained events that allegedly plagued the Lutz family.
The cinematic adaptations of Anson's book further propelled the Amityville haunting into popular culture. A series of movies, starting with the 1979 film "The Amityville Horror," portrayed the supernatural elements in a dramatic and sensationalized manner. These films not only amplified the horror aspects but also contributed to the perpetuation of the legend surrounding the house.
Despite the gripping nature of Anson's narrative and the cinematic interpretations, the authenticity of the paranormal claims has been widely questioned. Many critics and skeptics argue that the accounts presented in the book and movies are largely a product of creative imagination and artistic license. The blurred line between fact and fiction has turned the Amityville story into a complex tapestry of real tragedy and fictionalized horror, leaving the public to navigate between the documented horrors of the DeFeo family murders and the speculative tales of supernatural occurrences that followed.
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