Key Takeaways:
- In 1975, the Lutz family bought a home in Amityville, New York, where six people had been killed. They only stayed a month after claiming they experienced frightening paranormal activity.
- The Lutzes’ tale and home became the basis of the book The Amityville Horror as well as several movies. A new film is now in development by Amazon MGM Studios.
- To this day, people debate whether the house was as haunted as some of the Lutzes said.
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 a 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 but only lasted 28 days before leaving it. Their spine-tingling tales of paranormal activity—from dark specters to disembodied voices and rancid smells—propelled the 1977 book The Amityville Horror and the torrent of books, documentaries, and movies that followed.
Case in point, more than 50 years after the DeFeo murders, Deadline has reported a new Amityville movie is in development at Amazon MGM Studios with David F. Sandberg of Shazam! and Until Dawn set to direct.
These are some of the scary facts the Lutz family claimed they experienced as well as other interesting tidbits about the infamous house, whose horror has yet to die.
The Lutz family experienced supernormal activity
According to one of one of his stepchildren, George Lutz had a history of dabbling in the occult and might have invited the unexplainable forces that terrorized the family. Christopher Quaratino, who changed his surname from Lutz because of teasing over the family’s story, claimed George repeated the names of demons during meditation sessions.
In any case, strange occurrences began at the house at 112 Ocean Avenue. George was said to wake up at 3:15 a.m. every morning, which was around the time DeFeo had carried out his murders.
The Lutz family said they smelled strange odors, saw green slime oozing out of walls and keyholes, and experienced 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.
Only four weeks after moving in, the family fled the house on January 14, 1976. Now, the question was how much of the story was true.
Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated the house
With the Amityville house growing in notoriety, a TV news anchor contacted famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, whose case files inspired The Conjuring movie franchise, to weigh in on the Lutzes’ account.
The Warrens hoped to accompany George Lutz at the house for an investigation, but the closest he agreed to meet was at a pizzeria four blocks from the residence. He gave Ed and Lorraine the keys and refused to provide details of what his family had experienced.
Upon arriving with a camera crew, the Warrens explored different parts of the house. Ed claimed it “reeked of death” and that he experienced supernatural events in the basement. “I felt as though I was underneath a waterfall; that’s how terrific the pressure was on my head and shoulders, forcing me down to the floor,” he recalled. “Then I felt what I could only describe as hundreds of pinpoints of electricity hitting my body, and as though somebody had taken a hot towel and dropped it over my face. I couldn’t breathe.”
The couple ultimately concluded the house was haunted by “diabolical forces.”
Many people question the validity of the Lutzes’ story
Although the Warrens’ investigation seemed to give credence to the Lutzes’ claims, many others remained questioned their legitimacy. After telling their story, George and Kathy agreed to a lie detector test. 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.
The Lutzes reportedly submitted 45 hours of audio recordings to author Jay Anson, who used them to create The Amityville Horror novel. The classic movie starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder followed two years later.
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.” Christopher recalled hearing voices and seeing shadowy figures inside the house but also said much of the ensuing media depictions are false. “Now I’m seeing why the public perceives this as a hoax. What I’m reading, to me, is bulls––t,” he said of Anson’s book.
Even so, Daniel says the house ruined his life and he continues to have nightmares to this day. He now lives a quite lief in Queens, New York, as a stonemason.
Before his death in 2021, murderer Ronald DeFeo claimed he heard voices urging him to kill his family. However, he changed his story multiple times while serving six 25-years-to-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.
Kathy and George Lutz had two more children together but divorced in 1988. They died in 2004 and 2006, respectively. According to the Phoenix New Times, George and his stepsons had legal battles over the use of family images in Amityville entertainment projects. Most notably, he sued Christopher over the “Amityville Horror” trademark and its use in a domain name in 2003. They later settled the lawsuit.
Christopher has continued to speak publicly about his family’s experience, appearing in the 2023 docuseries Amityville: An Origin Story. We’ll have to wait and see how closely the new Amityville project sticks to his—or any—recollection of the events on Ocean Avenue.
The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
