The True Story Between The Amityville Horror House That Actually Exists

Here's a clear summary of what happened at 112 Ocean Avenue.

Maxine

• Published in Weird
• September 3, 2017

How often is it that you believe when a movie says "Based off a true story"?

It's human nature to question everything, especially when it's something we can't see with our own 2 eyes. In fact, everyone's a skeptic in one way or another. If you haven't heard about the story before, this may make you rethink your beliefs about the supernatural. But if you have, then allow me to refresh your memory.

The Amityville Horror is a popular book and film. It was so successful, the film has been remade multiple times, and the psychology of the entire horror genre transformed and was heavily influenced by the terrifying story. Of course, its portrayal has been exaggerated with fictional occurrences.

This article covers what was documented in interviews and archives about what had really happened.

Amityville, Long Island, New York.

112 Ocean Avenue is a Dutch Colonial-style home, located in a suburban neighborhood. Its architecture consists of a broad gambrel roof that resembles a barn, with double-hung sash windows, wood shutters, and a Dutch door. European settlers constructed these kinds of houses in the USA to remind them of their past home.

It was known to be built in 1924, a 3-storey house with a full basement.

Ronald DeFeo Jr.

Ronald "Ronnie" Defeo Jr. was a young 23-year-old who lived with his family as the eldest son.

One evening, he ran to a local bar down the road in a panicked manner, claiming his parents had been shot. Shortly after, the Suffolk County Police arrived at the scene, along with himself and several bar patrons. All 6 members of his family were found dead.

Ronnie shot all 4 of his siblings moments after killing his parents.

Ronnie was taken to the police station for questioning, who then later confessed that it was he who had murdered the victims. He admitted to bathing, redressing, and hid the hunting rifle he used along with his blood-soaked garments. He mentioned, "Once I started, I couldn't stop. It happened so fast."

The family lived in the house for 9 years until the killings. Their deaths had happened at roughly 3 AM of November the 13th, 1974.

The Trial

DeFeo's trial began in October 1975, where his lawyer and a psychiatrist attempted to plea for insanity, claiming that he murdered his family due to voices demanding him to do it. On the other hand, the prosecutor's psychiatrist believed he was well aware of his actions, and that Ronnie was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, or in other words, a sociopath.

Cases of sociopathy include the lack of empathy and morality. A sociopath's behavior is impulsive, violent and manipulative. These characteristics are often mixed with drug and alcohol abuse, and to no surprise, Ronnie was an abuser of LSD and heroin.

The judge convicted him of 6 counts of murder to the second-degree. To this day, all his appeals and requests for parole have been denied.

The Lutz Family

Obtaining a great deal on the housing market as newlyweds, it was a fresh start for George and Kathy Lutz, along with their 3 children (all from Kathy's previous marriage). On December 1975, they moved into 112 Ocean Avenue.

It had only been 13 months after Ronnie DeFeo's imprisonment.

The house only cost them a mere $80,000

And for an extra $400, the furniture previously owned by the DeFeo's. As it remained in the house, the Lutz's preferred it over their old belongings.

They were informed by the realtor about the tragic history that happened in the house prior to moving in. It was reported that the house had nothing out of the ordinary when they had a look, and the family felt fine about purchasing the property as they were not superstitious.

Although the family was not religious, George being a nonpracticing Methodist and Kathy a nonpracticing Catholic, they had the house blessed on the day they moved in.

Father Ray, a priest from the Diocese of Rockville performed this blessing. Prior to this, George had met the priest during the annulment of his first marriage.

It begins

Soon after the Lutz family got cozy in their new home, a series of strange things occurred.

The very first incidence involved their dog, Harry, who jumped over a fence and was hung due to the short lengthed leash around his neck. Luckily, the pet survived.

Inside the house, random cold spaces, disgusting odors, and unexplained noises like scratching and footsteps took place.

It was reported that George often woke to the sound of the front door slamming, and could also hear "marching band" sounds, which he described as distinctly hearing the sound of feet stomping by multiple people on hard flooring. However, the floor below their room had carpet. When going downstairs to investigate, there were absolutely no signs of intruders in the house. The dog slept peacefully, undisturbed and lying in front of the door, making it impossible for the door to have just slammed.

This was only the beginning.

George often found himself waking up between 3 - 3:30 AM

He would go outside to check on the boathouse located on the property.

Some say this was connected around the time Ronnie DeFeo got up to murder his whole family. According to some religions and cultures, it is said that 3 AM is the Devil's Hour, the time when demonic activities occur.

George's personality had changed over time, complaining that the house was always cold. Soon enough, checking on the boathouse and the children, as well as keeping the fireplace going for more warmth, had become an obsession.

Kathy had nightmares about the murders

There was information only the police knew, as specific as the order of the killings, were some of the visions in her dreams she remembered vividly. She also mentioned the feeling of being embraced as she was sleeping accompanied by the smell of cheap perfume, even though her husband was not present. It was said that Kathy had difficulty describing this to George, but he trusts this isn't the kind of thing she would invent. She described the experience as somewhat comforting, and not terrifying like we've seen portrayed in the movies.

Occasionally having guests over, Kathy and her visitors witnessed banging noises upstairs even though her children were clearly fast asleep.

5-year-old Melissa had an imaginary friend named "Jodie"

The little girl came to ask Kathy if angels could talk, introducing her imaginary friend to her.According to 

Melissa "Missy" Lutz, her imaginary friend who she claimed lived in her bedroom, would change into different forms, either as an angel or a pig.

The mother-of-3 didn't see this as a big deal, as her other children also had imaginary friends in the past. However, it did concern her parents after Missy claimed Jodie told her that they would live in that house forever. Way too odd and creepy for a 5-year old to say.

On Christmas Day of 1975, George caught a glimpse of "Jodie" in Missy's window. Described as a demonic pig-like creature with red eyes, it had vanished by the time he arrived in her room.

Located in their basement was "The Red Room"

While organizing storage around the house, Kathy came across an extra room in the basement that was not found in the diagram of the property. The entrance was behind a bookshelf. The room was painted a bright red color and contained a repulsive stench. Their dog, Harry, would run straight back upstairs out of the basement. It was so eerie that even their normally curious pet refused to go near it.

The Sewing Room

This room belonged to the 2 murdered DeFeo boys.

It was revealed that during the blessing of the house, Father Ray had felt an unnatural coldness despite the winter season. While he was alone, he claimed to have felt a slap across his face, accompanied by a deep voice telling him "Get out.".

Although he recommended to the family not to use that room as a bedroom, and to not spend much time there, he did not inform them about this peculiar experience until later on. Like in the movie, he obtained blisters on his hands after visiting the house. Father Ray went to see a doctor, who claimed that the blistering might have been caused by anxiety.

It was said that Father Ray had tried contacting the Lutz's via telephone to warn them about the house. On the other end, the Lutz's also tried calling the priest, but the connection broke into static.

The family attempted to bless the house themselves on 2 different occasions

They recited the Lord's Prayer and told whatever was haunting them to leave. During the first attempt, they claimed to have heard voices saying "Will you stop?".

The situation had only gotten worse after. Some green, gelatin-like substance was leaking out from the walls. A rocking chair had rocked on its own. Objects were suspiciously found elsewhere from its original place. A 12-inch crucifix Kathy had hung up in the living room started to smell of rotting flesh. Swarms of flies approached the children's rooms in the middle of winter, which were all killed by George but more swarms would come back the next day. Doors were opening on its own. The whole family's relationships with each other had been badly affected.

There were just too many unexplained things happening.

The Lutz family only lived in the house for 28 days before fleeing for their lives

Various interviews mentioned reports of levitation, something invisible that got into bed with Kathy and George, feeling its weight and breathing. Even their dog was showing very unusual behavior like walking around in circles and vomiting.

The couple's second attempt in blessing the house was held on January the 14th, 1976. This also happened to be the same day they left. It was unclear exactly what had happened, but it was clear that the Lutz's could no longer wait for improvement. Prior to this, the whole family noticed a change in behavior and personality in each of them in a negative way, including the urge of not wanting to leave.

As they fled the house, George described seeing a hooded figure, shaped like a Ku Klux Klansman without the face. A familiar shape he had seen etched behind the house's fireplace.

Initially, they had only planned to leave temporarily before coming back to "fix" from the evil entity they believed to be lurking. But after careful consideration, they wisely decided not to step foot on the property again. They were advised not to come back for their belongings.

Ed & Lorraine Warren

Popular demonologists and paranormal investigators Ed & Lorraine Warren visited 112 Ocean Avenue to uncover the horrors of the property. Their first visit was on February the 24th, 1976, just over a month after the family abandoned the house.

After meeting with the Lutz's, they were invited to investigate. However, the family refused to go back in.

Lorraine reported feeling a sense of sadness as she entered the house, even to the point of depression. She is known to be clairvoyant, meaning she had the ability to receive messages from the paranormal, and thus she was able to communicate with the entities roaming in the property. Ed reported similar, claiming to see shadows, pinpoints of light and a powerful presence particularly in the basement.

They held 2 sessions to contact the spirits in The Sewing Room, once a 3:15 AM.

On March 6th 1976, the Warrens returned to the house with reporter Michael Linder from the Channel 5 News.

It was said that in the basement, Ed was physically pushed to the floor after provoking the spirits with religious chants. Lorraine had felt a demonic presence among them while receiving detailed visions of the DeFeo murders.

Invited with them was Gene Campbell, a photographer, who captured an eerie photograph that same night.

Cameras were set up all around the house, randomly taking shots. He set up an automatic infrared camera on the 2nd floor. Peeping out of Melissa's bedroom is a questionable figure. Looking closely to the left, you could see a face with luminescent eyes. The height could be of a child's size, though there were no children around that night. Lorraine mentioned that demonic entities can change into any shape it wants.

Daniel Lutz

The eldest Lutz son, Daniel, had spoken about his childhood trauma from living in the horror house. He claims that his whole family had been possessed by an evil entity, including himself, who had run away from this reality most of his life. He lives in Queens as a stonemason and claims to have nightmares about the house to this day.

On August the 20th, 1977, his parents signed a book deal with the author, Jay Anson, popularly known as the writer for "The Amityville Horror", which became best-selling and would eventually turn into the story the films were based off.

The family's experience circulated and many skeptics believe it was just a fake story for profit. Despite all the controversies and lawsuits questioning their credibility, Daniel agreed to tell the story once more through a documentary after carrying the weight on his shoulders for over 40 years.

The Aftermath

For 7 months after the family abandoned the house, it remained vacant. The Lutz's sold the house to the bank as they preferred it over reselling, they did not want to feel responsible if the hauntings happened to a different family too. It then remained vacant for another 7 months.

Rumour has it that the property was built on an ancient Indian burial ground, the status on this is still unknown, though it would have explained a lot of the occurrences.

George and Kathy divorced in the '80s. Both went on to lead very religious lives. George converted to Catholicism. Some predict that he converted due to the influence of the priest and the Warrens, who have very strong Catholic faith, as one of the factors after helping him through the hauntings.

The house still stands today on Ocean Avenue, with the address number changed to 108. For a long period of time, there have been no reports of paranormal incidents.

Maxine