Thirty miles outside of New York City, nestled in the Long Island town of Amityville, stands the house forever linked to The Amityville Horror phenomenon. On November 13, 1974, the estate was the scene of mass murder. Using a .35 Marlin rifle, 23-year-old Ronald J. DeFeo Jr. murdered his parents and four siblings while they were asleep.
Thirteen months later, the Lutz family purchased the home at a drastically reduced price of $80,000 (due to the murders) but only lasted 28 days before leaving it. Their spine-tingling tales of paranormal activity are what propelled the legend of The Amityville Horror and spawned a torrent of books, documentaries, and movies.
Watch The Amityville Horror on Amazon Prime Video
Check out some of the scary facts claimed by the Lutz family, as well as other interesting ones about the infamous house whose horror has yet to die:
The Lutz family experienced supernormal activity
Stepfather George Lutz had a history of dabbling in the occult. He was said to wake up at 3:15 am every morning, which was around the time Ron carried out his murders.
The Lutz family claimed to smell strange odors, see green slime oozing out of the walls and keyholes, and experience cold spots in certain areas of the house. Then, when a priest came to bless the house, he allegedly heard a voice scream “Get out!” He told the Lutzes to never sleep in that particular room in the house.
Other paranormal activity included a nearby garage door opening and closing; an invisible spirit knocking a knife down in the kitchen; a pig-like creature with red eyes staring down at George and his son Daniel from a window; George waking up to his wife, Kathy, levitating off their bed; and sons Daniel and Christopher also levitating together in their beds.
Many question the validity of the Lutz’s story
After telling their story, George and Kathy took a lie detector test to prove their claims. Despite passing, the couple was bogged down in publicly known legal and financial issues, which prompted skeptics to believe they had the motive to create a fantastical story to sell to the public.
In 1979, the Lutzes’ former lawyer William Weber, who fell out with them over money issues, claimed he, George, and Kathy came up with the horror story “over many bottles of wine.” Even so, Daniel, who lives a quiet life in Queens, New York, as a stonemason, claims the house ruined his life and that he continues to have nightmares to this day.
Before his death in 2021, murderer Ron claimed he heard voices urging him to kill his family. He changed his story multiple times while serving six 25-year-life sentences at a New York correctional facility.
The Amityville House still stands—with a new address
The Amityville House officially sold in February 2017 to an undisclosed owner for $605,000, which was $200,000 less than the original asking price. It had been previously owned by four other families since the murders, one of which had the address changed to 108 Ocean Avenue. The house originally stood at 112 Ocean Avenue.
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