I’ve always been a fan of horror films and books. I once read Stephen King extensively and I seek out good horror movies for the creative ways characters are rendered dead. And most of the time I have to watch these by myself and Mr. King’s book always gave me weird dreams.
The one book outside of Stephen King’s I found particularly scary was The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson. Published in 1977, the story is based on a haunting of a family in a Long Island, New York house on the Amityville River. I was not far into my teenage years when I read it. I’m not sure if being young was mostly the source of it being frightening or the original edition cover stated in bold letters A True Story.
Not only has the book sold more than ten million copies but spawn endless movies based on the subject of this haunting. The first film based on the Jay Anson book came out in 1979 to big success while even getting an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score.
But what was true and what happened for anyone to think it was haunted.
On the morning of Nov. 13, 1974, 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo jr. left a bar he went to after work and headed for his parent's house where he was living in. Ronald Jr. had a troubled past due to an abusive father and which led to some substance abuse himself. When he entered the house around 3:15 in the morning he took up a .35 caliber rifle and shot his parent, and his four brothers and sisters, the youngest being twelve.
He cited some alibis that he did not commit the murders and even stated a mobster hitman made him watch their killings. And he confessed. His defense would later be insanity for he claimed to hear voices in his head and they told him to do it.
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The movie and the book are focused on the Lutz family who bought the house at a reduced price after these events. This 4,000-square-foot colonial house is featured with five bedrooms, four baths, a two-car garage, and a boat house. But George and Kathy Lutz only lasted a month before leaving.
Now I don’t know what is true or not but the Lutz family claimed they were subjected to some extreme paranormal activity maybe from the idea of the murders that took place in the house. They are said to have witnessed green slime (and I have to think Ghostbusters here) coming from the walls. And red eyes peering from outside looking in. Odors and cold drafts seem to be a prerequisite for such things also. George was also awoken every night at 3:15 a.m., about the time of the murders.
The Lutz family had some financial issues and George had an interest in the paranormal and just maybe this was the motivation to conjure up this story. I’m assuming this worked because the author of The Amityville Horror, Jay Anson, recorded countless hours of the interviews he did with the family and I assume for some monetary compensation. With the number of copies sold and the movie rights, the author did alright as well.
The house has gone through some renovations and has changed several owners over the years but none has expressed any unusual activity.
I can’t say for sure ghosts don’t exist or that hauntings don’t happen but would you live in a house where a murder was committed? Would you live in a house where someone claimed it was haunted? The Amityville house still attracts fans today. At some point, the actual address was changed to make it a bit harder to find but they still come.