Thursday, May 2, 2024

The Real 'Amityville Horror': Chilling Facts About the Crime and Haunted House

the amityville horror house

George and Kathy Lutz believed their purchase of the 4,000-square-foot house at $80,000 was a steal — but moved out 28 days later after terrifying incidents allegedly forced them to flee. 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.

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Stream the new MGM+ Amityville horror house docuseries - About Amazon

Stream the new MGM+ Amityville horror house docuseries.

Posted: Thu, 04 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

A persistent coldness in the house, despite roaring fires in the fireplace. Drops of gelatinous goo (red in some versions, green or black in others) appearing on the walls and carpet. But how much of the Amityville horror story is fact and how much is fiction? Or was the world's most famous haunting nothing more than an amateurish hoax?

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He claimed the only person he killed was Dawn and that it was by accident as they struggled over the rifle. A lot of photographs of the Amityville Horror House were taken after the murders. This gives a great insight to how the house looked in 1974, compared to today, which you will be able to see later in the article. DeFeo Jr. and a small group of people went to the house at 112 Ocean Avenue, which was located near the bar, and found that DeFeo’s parents were dead. One of the group, DeFeo’s friend Joe Yeswit, made a call to the Suffolk County Police, who searched the house and found that six members of the same family had all been shot dead in their beds. On January 14, 1924, Annie Ireland sold the property to John and Catherine Moynahan.

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Caroline and David D’Antonio purchased the property in 2010 for $950,000 and embarked on a major renovation effort. And yet nobody else ever complained about strange, paranormal happenings at 112 Ocean Avenue. This makes one wonder if George and Kathy Lutz truly did just take advantage of the events surrounding their new house. TIME Magazine even included the house on their list of the top 10 haunted places in America, which certainly didn’t help anyone forget about all that happened. The ‘paranormal’ phenomena experienced by George and Kathy Lutz served as inspiration for Jay Anson’s 1977 book, The Amityville Horror, as well as for the original 1979 movie and the 2005 remake (you’ve seen it, Ryan Reynolds stars as Ronnie DeFeo).

Who bought the home after the Amityville murders?

After committing the murders at around 3am, Ronald returned to the bar he had been earlier that evening in a frantic state. The Amityville horror house today (aka where the movie was filmed) is actually a beautiful 4-bedroom, 4 bathroom home in Toms River, NJ. Built in 1920, the colonial-style home sits on nearly half an acre and boasts a gorgeous view of the neighboring river.

In March of 2021, Ronald Defeo Jr. died in prison at the age of 69 (per Rolling Stone). Yes, the house still exists today and has changed owners quite a few times in recent history. Its last known owners, Caroline and David D’Antonio purchased the property in 2010 for $950,000 and embarked on a major renovation effort. The O’Neills purchased the home for $325,000 and swapped out the now-infamous eye windows for square ones. In June of 1997, after living there for 10 years, the O’Neills sold the house to Brian Wilson for $310,000.

Behind the evil eyes: The (Real) story of the Amityville house

The bedroom of Ronald DeFeo, you can see the distinctive ‘eye’ window(s) which were later removed from the house. However, the following day he confessed to the killings, while the mob hitman Falini had an alibi, proving he was out of the state at the time. Physical evidence at the scene suggests that his mother and 13-year-old sister Allison were awake at the time of their deaths. Weber and the Lutzes parted ways after a fight over how money from the book deal would be split. The Lutzes took their story to Jay Anson, a journalist and filmmaker who had made a short documentary on the making of "The Exorcist." DeFeo and his lawyer, William Weber, claimed that DeFeo was driven mad by a satanic presence in the house and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

the amityville horror house

A lot of controversies surrounded the DeFeo murders, the police investigation concluded that a suppressor had not been fitted to the rifle, this lead to speculation that someone should have been woken by the gunshots. On November 21, 1975, DeFoe was found guilty of six counts of second-degree murder. The judge sentenced DeFoe to six concurrent life sentences of 25 years to life. DeFoe is currently housed at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York. His defence lawyer, William Weber, mounted an affirmative defence of insanity. DeFoe claiming he killed his family in self-defence because he heard their voices plotting against him.

If you find yourself in Amityville, there will naturally be a temptation to visit the house on Ocean Avenue. It's still there, though it has been remodeled, removing its infamous rounded windows, and it has had its address changed to deter tourists. "No Parking" signs prevent visitors from even stopping their vehicle in front of the residence.

the amityville horror house

In the 13 years he owned the home, Wilson fixed up the boathouse and added a second sunroom to the back side of the house. He sold it in September of 2010 to Caroline and David D'Antonio for $950,000. The D’Antonios lived there for 6 years before they put the home on the market with an asking price of $850,000.

The real story behind the infamous Amityville Horror house - New York Post

The real story behind the infamous Amityville Horror house.

Posted: Tue, 16 Mar 2021 07:00:00 GMT [source]

The home on Ocean Ave that was the site of so much death looks quite different than it did years ago. In an attempt to distance it from the DeFeo murders, the home was given a different house number and extensive renovations. This also gave us a better look at the many merits of the house — beyond its bone-chilling history.

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