Monday, April 29, 2024

The Amityville Horror Real Story: The House, Murders, and Movies

the house in amityville

This also gave us a better look at the many merits of the house — beyond its bone-chilling history. 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.

Did the priest really get static on the phone when he tried to call and warn the Lutzes?

Its last known owners, Caroline and David D’Antonio purchased the property in 2010 for $950,000 and embarked on a major renovation effort. 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. Later revealed to beFather Ralph Pecoraro, his storyeventually fell under scrutiny as he oftencontradicted himself, leading some tobelieve that he was part of a hoax. The story of what happened to the Lutz family over 28 harrowing days in December 1975 and January 1976 has been retold many times and has morphed slightly with every telling. Today, the former DeFeo house, which has changed ownership several times, remains famous.

Our stories aren’t written by AI.

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. In the New York village of Amityville sits arguably the most infamous murder-scene house to have ever stood. The Amityville Horror House has been the subject of over twenty movies, and a number of different books and documentaries. During the 2005 Christopher Lutz Inside Edition interview, he says that the exciting scene at the end of the film when James Brolin's character falls through the basement stairs into the sludge-filled hole never happened in real life. In The Amityville Horror movie, demonic forces cause the wooden front door to explode outward.

The Lutzes Move in, the Haunting Begins

the house in amityville

"They [the filmmakers] could have just as easily had done the flies the way they really happened," says the real George Lutz, who found the movie's take amusing (The Real Amityville Horror). In Jay Anson's 1977 Amityville Horror book that provided the basis for the movie, the house is plagued by swarms of flies, which show up in the dead of winter. In the book, the priest tells George that the family shouldn't go back into the second-floor room where the flies are appearing. Following the release of the original 1979 movie, the investigative television show In Search of aired an episode on October 4, 1979 that featured an interview with a man who they claim is the real Amityville Horror priest (Watch the Priest Interview Here). He says that the Lutzes informed him that the DeFeo murders took place in the home and asked him to come by to bless the house.

Brolin says that hedoes not believe the book in its entirety.However, in the presence of George andKathy, he says that he does believe them.Years later, he contradicted this bysaying that George was a good "salesman",calling the Lutz's story a "gizmo". The Amityville true story reveals that unlike what is stated early in the movie, Kathy's former husband, Sebastian, was not dead. The pair had divorced, but according to son Christopher Lutz, the kids still saw their birth father regularly on Sundays. George did insist on their adoption though, at which point their last names changed from Quaratino to Lutz. In the ensuing years, the Lutzs, including their children who were present in the house, defended most of the details of the hauntings that made them flee.

It was next owned by James and Barbara Cromarty, the owners of Riverhead Raceway. The Cromartys changed the Amityville Horror house address from 112 Ocean Avenue to 108, hoping to stave off stalkers and retain its fluctuating value. Though attorney William Weber tried to enter an insanity plea, the prosecution argued DeFeo Jr. was a mere drug addict who was well aware of what he was doing that night. He was convicted on six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to six concurrent sentences of 25 years to life. Steven Brown and Wallace have not been charged in the killings, but they still face other charges, including hindering prosecution and concealment of a human corpse.

Did Ronald DeFeo testify that voices told him to commit the murders?

To this day, horror fans truly convinced by the hauntings still visit, hoping to catch a glimpse of a ghost. 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. DeFeo Jr. changed his alibi several times, from claiming he was at the bar during the time of the murders to mob hitman Louis Falini killing his family while forcing DeFeo Jr. to watch. He eventually confessed that he gunned his own family down, and stood trial on Oct. 14, 1975.

All of the home's past owners and families have disappeared without warning. Everyone in town tells you to get out while you can — loss is inevitable, and terror is unavoidable. "Those in law enforcement must do their jobs without fear or favor. Ethically, charges can and should only be brought when the facts and evidence are clear. I thank the team for ignoring the distractions and doing just that." Brown and Wallace are expected to go before a judge on Tuesday and are likely to face upgraded charges as well — not murder, but rather conspiracy and tampering with evidence.

The Real Story Behind the Amityville Horror House - House Beautiful

The Real Story Behind the Amityville Horror House.

Posted: Thu, 26 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

In 1965, the house was sold to the DeFeo family, and that’s when things started to go downhill. The Amityville horror house’s address has historically been 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York. But in an attempt to protect its new owners’ privacy and keep tourists at bay, the address has been changed to 108 Ocean Avenue.

According to Suffolk County prosecutors, Brown and Conneely were allegedly stabbed to death Feb. 27 in a violent attack at a home in Amityville. Perfect for those looking for a horror experience, the room was immersive, unpredictable at times , creepy and just overall one of the best escape rooms I've done. Highly recommend 60out and we're definitely going to check out more rooms.

Horror fans frequently drive by the three-story home, which has had its the iconic quarter-circle windows—which looked like a pair of eyes—changed to make it less recognizable. Lorraine Warren herself makes an appearance in the 2012 documentary My Amityville Horror, which focuses on the testimony of Daniel Lutz, one of the Lutz family children during their stay at 112 Ocean Avenue. Unlike other works of fiction, the forest can be seen for the trees, and in the testimony of Lutz, who is convinced he witnessed paranormal phenomena as a 10-year-old, lurks the shadow of coercion and, above all, parental abuse. Researchers Rick Moran and Peter Jordan rejected the claim of cloven hoof prints in the snow on January 1, 1976. Their investigation revealed that there had been no snowfall at that time.[2] No neighbor reported anything unusual during the time that the Lutzes were living there. Police officers are depicted visiting the house in the book and 1979 film, but records showed that the Lutzes did not call the police.[13] There was no bar in Amityville called The Witches' Brew at the time.

As Anson's eventual The Amityville Horror stresses, money was tight for the Lutz family. A wave of fellow Catholic-tinged, counterculture-combating horror films emerged in the wake of The Exorcist, like The Omen and The Sentinel. But perhaps the story most indebted to The Exorcist is that of the "Amityville Horror," which is why it's not surprising to discover that the author of The Amityville Horror had a connection to the making of The Exorcist.

They depicted a conflict between youthful rebellion run amok and the firm, harsh hand of the law. But those films also suggested to the parents in the audience that their long-haired hippie kids they didn't understand were criminals deserving of prison, or even death. Listen to this week's episode of our haunted house podcast, Dark House, for exclusive ghost stories and insights into the home's twisted history. Ocean Avenue was littered with empty beer bottles, popcorn boxes, and other trash left behind by looky-loos whose disrespect applied to every house and homeowner on the street. As the crowds grew larger, extra police details were hired and paid them overtime, a costly expense for a small village like Amityville.

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