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 entire family while they were asleep, which included his parents and four siblings.

At around three o’clock in the morning of that day. The DeFeo parents had both been shot twice, while the children had all been killed with single shots. Physical evidence suggests that Louise DeFeo and her daughter Allison were both awake at the time of their deaths. According to Suffolk County Police, the victims were all found lying face down in bed. The DeFeo family had occupied 112 Ocean Avenue since purchasing it in 1965. The six victims were later buried in nearby Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale.

Ronald DeFeo Jr., also known as “Butch”, was the eldest son of the family and its lone surviving member. He was taken to the local police station for his own protection after suggesting to police officers at the scene of the crime that the killings had been carried out by a mob hit man, Louis Falini. However, an interview at the station soon exposed serious inconsistencies in his version of events. The following day, he confessed to carrying out the killings himself; and Falini, the alleged hitman, had an alibi proving he was out of state at the time of the killings. DeFeo told detectives: “Once I started, I just couldn’t stop. It went so fast”. He admitted that he had taken a bath and redressed, and detailed where he had discarded crucial evidence such as blood-stained clothes and the Marlin rifle and cartridges before going to work as usual. He kept saying “something else made him do it”.

Thirteen months later, the Lutz Family purchased the 5-bedroom, 3.5 bathroom home at a drastically reduced price of $80,000 (due to the murders) but only lasted 28 days before leaving it. Their spine-tingling tales of paranormal activity is what propelled the legend of the Amityville Horror, “America’s most haunted house,” and spawned a torrent of books, documentaries, and films — the latest being the horror/thriller Amityville: The Awakening.

Stepfather George Lutz had a history of dabbling in the occult. Lutz was said to wake up at 3:15am every morning, which was around the time Ron DeFeo carried out his murders.

The Lutz Family claimed to smell strange odors, see green slime oozing out of the walls and keyholes, and experience cold spots in certain areas of the house. When a priest came to bless the house, he allegedly heard a voice scream “Get out!” He told the Lutzes to never sleep in a particular room in the house.

Other paranormal activity: 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 Lutz and his son Daniel from a window; George waking up to wife Kathy levitating off their bed; sons Daniel and Christopher also levitating together in their beds.

The Fallout

 After telling their story, George and Kathy took a lie detector test to prove their innocence. They passed. The couple were bogged down in legal and financial issues, which prompted skeptics to believe they had motive to create a fantastical story to sell to the public.

Son Daniel Lutz, who lives a quiet life in Queens, New York, as a stonemason, claims the house ruined his life and that he continues to have nightmares to this day.

Murderer Ron DeFeo, who’s still alive and serving six 25-year-life sentences at a New York correctional facility, claimed he heard voices urging him to kill his family. He has since changed his story multiple times.

The Amityville House Today

The Amityville House officially sold on 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 Ave. (The house originally stood at 112 Ocean Ave.)

I found this awesome video is George Lutz own words about the house and when they stayed there. Check it out (if you have the time)I found out a lot of new things that were left out of all the movies.