The Amityville Horror is a book about the Lutz family’s paranormal encounters in their new home, where the Defeo family had been murdered. The validity of their claims is disputed, but the story remains a pop culture staple.
The Amityville Horror is the title of a book written by Jay Anson that tells the purported true story of the Lutz family after their move to 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. The book chronicles the paranormal encounters the Lutzes claim to have had in the short time they lived in the house, and much controversy has revolved around the validity of the accounts and the accuracy of the new narrative. While the controversial elements of Lutz’s Amityville Horror tale remain in dispute, the Ocean Avenue home was, in fact, the site of the Defeo family’s brutal murder.
The Lutz family moved into the house in December of 1975 with the knowledge that Ronald Defeo Jr. had shot and killed six of his family members in the house a year earlier. George and Kathleen Lutz decided this would not be a problem for them and moved in with their children; the family stayed there less than thirty days. The Amityville Horror had begun and each family member began experiencing their own personal paranormal occurrences.
The first paranormal event considered part of the Amityville Horror occurred when the Lutz family had a priest come to bless the house at the behest of a friend of George Lutz’s. After spreading holy water and praying, the priest said he heard a man’s voice gruffly protesting and telling him to “Go away.” He did and advised George Lutz to keep his family out of that particular room in the house.
More paranormal activity persisted and the Amityville Horror became more intense. Kathleen Lutz began having nightmares about the Defeo murders; George Lutz woke up every night around three in the morning, right around the time the Defeo murders had taken place; Missy Lutz has developed an imaginary friend with the shape of a pig and demonic red eyes; the walls were leaking green slime; and strange noises were heard throughout the house.
After the Lutz family moved out of the Amityville Horror house, other residents moved in and no one complained of any paranormal activity. Much of the Lutz family history has been disputed in the decades since the Amityville Horror, and many critics have claimed that George and Kathleen Lutz outright lied about their experiences in the house. Although the book was based on supposedly true events, its marketing labeled it a “true story,” thus lending validity to all aspects of the book. George Lutz later said the book was mostly true.
Several Amityville Horror films have been made, and the story remains a staple in pop culture, despite its still swirling controversy. The house on Ocean Avenue was changed, as was its address, to dissuade tourists from seeking the private residence.
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