The Amityville Horror
A tragic family murder spree mixed with ghosts and terrifying hauntings. No wonder the Amityville Horror is such a popular topic! We discuss the DeFeo family murders, the Lutz family hauntings, and of course, the Warren’s appearance.
While the Amityville Horror house is a huge topic in the paranormal and true crime community, is it believable? Listen now.
Is The Amityville Horror Real?
Was there something supernatural behind one of the most famous family murders?
Who or what possessed George Lutz?
Why would a family run from their new house less than a month after closing?
What’s up, Bizarros?! This week we dive into the horror story of the Amityville Horror.
They’re two cases when it comes to the Amityville horror. There’s the murder case that happened, and then there is the haunting that occurred afterward at the infamous house.
Where is The Amityville House?
The Amityville house that is known to almost every horror fan in the world is located in Long Island, New York, at 112 Ocean Avenue.
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What Family Lived in the Amityville House Before the Lutzes?
Before the Lutz’s moved into the house on Ocean Avenue, it was occupied by Ronald DeFeo Sr and his family in 1974.
In November of that year, Ronald Defeo Jr. allegedly committed one of the most heinous mass murders.
These murders may have been any of the catalysts for one of the most famous American haunted house stories of all time.
The Murders Of The Defeo Family
Ronald DeFeo Jr.was the oldest son of Ronald Defeo Senior. They lived, on 112 Ocean Ave, for nine years. Ronald “Butch” DeFeo, Jr. allegedly killed his family members using a lever action Marlin 336C rifle.35 caliber. The gun used is known to be a very loud gun.
The names of the family members he killed were Ronald Sr, Louise DeFeo, Dawn, Mark, John, and Allison DeFeo.
One of the strangest aspects of the murder is that all the victims were found in their beds. It was evident that none of the victims had ever been moved. They lay where they were shot.
No one got out of bed. There was no panic. No ballistic sign of the gun being silenced, and no one outside the suburban house heard the shots either.
There was animosity between Ronald Sr and his son. There was so much animosity that Jr went by Butch DeFeo to distance himself from his father.
Ronald was known to be physically and verbally abusive to the family but especially to his wife and to Butch.
Butch was bullied in school; he was called fat and made fun of.
Ronald would not allow a coward to live in his home, and his father taught him how to defend himself.
Butch had a temper worse than his father as he got older and would flare up at the slightest touch.
His parents tried therapy, but it failed. They gave him everything, even a speedboat.
Butch was “asked to leave school” at 17, and after he left, he fell into heavy drug use, including LSD and heroin.
On November 13, Butch said he “couldn’t get in touch with his family” to his friends and girlfriend. Going so far in his cover to call the house at 6 pm in front of his girlfriend.
At 6:30 pm, he ran into the bar he was at before with his girlfriend and screamed to the bar patrons that his parents had been shot. He left the bar with a mob of people to return to the house.
Why Did Butch DeFeo Kill His Family?
It’s hard to imagine how Butch actually did the crime. According to the prosecutor and police, they admitted on several occasions that the crime would have required three people, and another independent investigation by retired police detective Herman Race reached the same conclusion.
Did the same demon that would eventually torture the Lutz family help Butch kill his whole family?
The Paranormal Phenomena Of Amityville
The house was bought less than a year later by George and Kathleen Lutz and their children.
They were aware of Ronald DeFeo’s family being murdered in the house, but the Lutz family didn’t mind. They weren’t superstitious.
George himself had said he “enjoyed moving in.”
Their dog Harry knew something was wrong, though, because as they moved in, Harry, who was chained to a tree, tried to hang himself from the fence in the first hour.
Within a week, Kathleen had already experienced being touched by something no one could explain.
She also woke up the first night and looked in the mirror, and she saw her reflection appear as an old hag.
There were many occurrences of paranormal phenomena in the house. A priest had become significantly ill, and their daughter, Missy Lutz, allegedly talked to a pig demon
You can’t forget that George was almost possibly possessed by the spirit and perhaps almost driven to kill his family.
On December 9th, 1975, a friend of the Lutz’s insisted they should have the house blessed after he heard what had been happening in the home.
Both the Lutzs had fallen out of religion by the time they had moved into the house.
George did know a priest named Father Ray, who agreed to the blessing.
As soon as he started to flick holy water into the house, he heard a deep voice say, “get out.”
He didn’t tell the family about this.
On Christmas Eve of 1975, Father Mancuso called the Lutz’s to advise them to avoid the second floor.
He said this was where he heard the voice. This is also where Defeo Sr was killed and where Kathy Lutz had planned to put a sewing room.
This is also where the Lutz’s would be overrun with flies. Big black flies.
No matter how many or how often they worked to get rid of the files, these rooms would be overrun.
While Mancuso was on the phone giving this warning, his phone cut off into static.
Finally, after the visit, the Father came down with a high fever and blisters on his palms that resembled the stigmata.
Mid-January, the Lutz family had enough and ran from the house.
One of the reasons the family left was the claims of paranormal activity that the walls were oozing green-black slime.
The Lutz family refused to discuss the final night in full detail because it was “too terrifying.”
Some think it was because of the potential abuse from George.
As he claimed he was slowly becoming possessed the entire time the Lutz family lived in this house, this may account for people thinking he was abusing his family.
He would wake up every night at 3:15 am ( the same time the Defeo murders happened.)
While living at the house, he would be increasingly filled with rage and was known to lash out.
Lutz was quoted as saying, “There were strange odors in the house that came and went,” Lutz says. “There were sounds. The front door would slam shut in the middle of the night… I couldn’t get warm in the house for many days.”
He was always cold; he would be awake at all hours, cutting wood for the fire and then sitting in front of it.
Their five-year-old Missy started to talk about “an angel” that lived in her closet named Jodie. We should recognize Jodie as Jodie Defeo, one of the children that were killed.
To missy, Jodi looked like a giant “pig,” but George and Kathy said they saw two red eyes from that room.
The whole family experienced cold spots and an eerie atmosphere at this time.
There was also an upswing in violent attitudes in the house. George and Kathy would fight, the kids would fight, and George may have hit even the kids.
The next part is also suspicious because it involves the Warrens; Tyler and I both enjoy the Warrens, like fine bottles of wine.
However, some people have come forward and said that their involvement, in this case, is less than genuine I think we should decide in the end.
Lutz’s family ran out of that house 28 days later. Jay Anson’s best-selling novel, The Amityville Horror, was written shortly after.
The Warrens started their investigation in February of 1976. Lorain said the house had “an overwhelming sense of sadness and depression.”
In the basement (where Ronald Defeo slept), Ed Warren said he felt a powerful spirit that drove him down.
That’s when he realized this was no ordinary ghost.
Lorain said, “As I was going up the stairs, I reached the point where it felt as if a force of water [was] coming against my chest, almost like a waterfall,” she said in the clip, explaining her initial feeling inside the haunted home. “It was the worst feeling. I stopped on the landing and held tight to the relic that was in my hand, and asked for strength and direction in going forward. It felt ominous to me.”
After their investigation, the Warrens were scared of the home and decided the family should not attempt to move back in.
They returned the house back to the bank on August 30, 1976.
Years later, Lorain said, “Amityville was horrible, honey. It was absolutely horrible.” “It followed us right straight across the country. I don’t even like to talk about it. I will never go into the Amityville house ever again. You don’t know how long my career is; that’s the only one.”
Is The Amityville Horror Real?
What do you think, Bizarros?
Did the tragic murders create this ghost story?
What do you think the real story is behind George’s possession and the paranormal activity they dealt with?
Could it be the spirits of Ronnie Defeo and his family that were still haunting the house? Or is there something more sinister than any horror film could depict that Lutz’s to move out?
Let us know in the comments.
(Also, let us know which Amityville Horror movie you liked more. I personally really enjoyed Ryan Reynolds as George Lee Lutz.)