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Back in 1974, DeFeo murdered six family members inside the house, eventually being convicted and sentenced for his heinous and jaw-dropping crimes. Following DeFeo’s eventual arrest, the Dutch Colonial house in Amityville, New York was then put up for sale. Amongst an array of spine-tingling paranormal cases that have rocked the globe, the unforgettable Amityville horror house is undoubtedly one of the most popular real-life spooky cases. The true Amityville horror, skeptics say, is the all-too-real murder of a family at the hands of a son. A couple named John and Catherine Moynahan started building their dream home here in 1924, and they lived in the house happily for many years.
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But it's entirely possible that the reason we know what film he watched is because, at one time or another, DeFeo wanted people to think that. Or, in the most popular version of events, he "heard voices urging him to kill his family." As Biography notes, up until his death in 2021, DeFeo "changed his story multiple times." 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. Using a .35 Marlin rifle, 23-year-old Ronald J. DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family while they were asleep, which included his parents and four siblings.
The Lutz family experienced supernormal activity
Jay Anson's 1977 book The Amityville Horror was based on these reported events and served as the foundation for the 1979 film of the same name, which was remade in 2005. The book became a bestseller, while the film grew into a classic — and legions of horror aficionados flocked to town. In the early morning hours of November 13, 1974, one Amityville house in Long Island, New York became more than a mere suburban home. Instead, it became a ghastly crime scene, as Ronald DeFeo Jr. skulked the halls with a rifle and killed his parents and four of his siblings in their sleep. The documentary presumes the evil which resides in the house caused the parental abuse which predates the murders.
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Despite its popularity, however, the particular case has experienced its fair share of criticism and uncertainty — with a large portion of folks believing the entire haunting to be a hoax. Numerous other films, documentaries and books were created about the Amityville house, and that’s why all future owners of the property had trouble keeping people away. At 3.15 AM on the night of November 13th, 1974, Ronnie, for reasons we’re not sure of even today, grabbed a shotgun and killed his entire family in just 15 minutes. When John and Catherine Moynahan died, their daughter, Eileen Fitzgerald, moved in with her own family. She lived there until October 17, 1960, when John and Mary Riley bought the house. Because of marital problems, the Rileys divorced and sold the house to the DeFeo’s on June 28, 1965.
Despite being the face of a terrifyingly haunted house of horrors on film, the place is actually pretty amazing in reality. According to property records, the home was last sold in 2013 for $350,000. The Amityville Horror House has left an indelible mark on the horror genre, inspiring countless books, movies and television adaptations. As well, its influence can be seen in the proliferation of haunted house narratives that followed in its wake. The Amityville Horror House has become synonymous with paranormal terror, captivating the imaginations of millions around the world. This iconic property in Amityville, New York, has a dark history that transcends the boundaries of reality and legend.
However, our fascination for the paranormal and haunted houses is as strong as ever, and we’re pretty sure that more movies and stories based on the Amityville events will continue to pop up. In 1986, DeFeo claimed his sister Dawn killed their father and then their distraught mother killed all of his siblings before he killed his mother. In an interview with Newsday the following year, the Cromartys revealed just how bad the situation had gotten, saying that because so many “visitors” came late at night, they were barely sleeping.
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The Lutz family only lived in the Dutch Colonial house for less than a month, claiming that they were driven out by relentless paranormal events. Among the many claims made by the Lutz’s were swarms of flies, walls that oozed slime, spectral voices, and multiple sightings of a demonic, pig-like creature. Their account was popularized by a book entitled The Amityville Horror which subsequently spawned a film franchise that continues to produce haunted tales of the house nearly 40 years later. While most of the details of the Lutzs’ story have been refuted, true believers have blamed the haunting on everything from the vengeful spirits of the DeFeos to a Native American burial ground beneath the site. With the entire DeFeo family deceased, except for Ronald, their home remained vacant until it was put on the market a year later. In December 1975, George and Kathleen Lutz bought the house for $80,000, under market value due to the infamous murders.
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They moved their blended family, with her three children from a previous marriage into the home before Christmas. George asked a Catholic priest, Father Ralph J. Pecoraro, to bless the house, which he did. From that moment forward, supposedly a rash of incidents occurred in the house that were so frightening that the Lutz family escaped the house on January 14, 1976. They sent a mover to pack all of their possessions and then put the house back on the market.
The effort to preserve the site was led by Sandi Brewster-Walker, the executive director of the Montaukett Indian Nation. 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."
Physical evidence at the scene suggests that his mother and 13-year-old sister Allison were awake at the time of their deaths. The six victims were later buried at Saint Charles Cemetry in Farmingdale. Michael Natale is the news editor for Best Products, covering a wide range of topics like gifting, lifestyle, pop culture, and more. His past journalistic writing can be found on sites such as Yahoo! and Comic Book Resources, his podcast appearances can be found wherever you get your podcasts, and his fiction can’t be found anywhere, because it’s not particularly good. Had that been the only occurrence of note at 112 Ocean Avenue, it's possible DeFeo's claim of "watching a violent movie" would have been the myth that some would have built around why he did it.
"The Amityville myth persists in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary," says Bartholomew. "It's starkly obvious that it's a hoax, but people still want to believe." Kathleen Theresa Lutz (October 13, 1946 – August 17, 2004) died of emphysema and George Lee Lutz (January 1, 1947 – May 8, 2006) died of heart disease.
Visitors to nearby Copaigue can find two such sites, one on either side of Bethpage Road. The Brewster Burial Grounds and Green Bunn Burial Grounds were designated by Babylon in 1994, according to the town historian. Within each is a small stone memorial depicting a turtle, which were erected in 1995. On the Brewster Burial Ground, there are also three statues devoted to specific members of the Brewster family that had been erected in the 1950s by a descendant.
While there’s no definitive way to determine if the Lutz’s ghost story that inspired the films is true, the mass murders that prefaced the alleged Amityville hauntings were very real. On the night of November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr killed his mother, father, 2 sisters, and 2 brothers in their family home. The DeFeo murders inspired the supernatural haunting story that led to the The Amityville Horror book in 1977 and movie in 1979. But many Amityville residents dispute this haunting story, and claim that the next family who moved into the house—George and Kathy Lutz, who allegedly experienced a horrifying demonic presence—made up the story as a hoax to capitalize on the tragedy. Their claims included green slime seeping down the walls, windows spontaneously shattering, a ghost boy peering out of a doorway (allegedly captured in an infrared photo) and Mrs. Lutz levitating above the bed. The legend of the Amityville house ran wild after the publication of Anson's The Amityville Horror book in September 1977.
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