The events that ocurred on the property of 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York, have created controversy for decades. The following is not an attempt to give voice to all opinions on those events, but is rather only a synopsis of part one of the History Channel documentary on the subject. As is the case with all documentaries listed on this site, it does not necessarily represent the views of the webmaster.
Amityville, located on New York's Long Island, is a historically rich community. Annie Oakley made her home there at one point, and even George Washington passed through, "supping" in town on April 21, 1790. However, to the minds of most people, Amityville is famous for one reason: 112 Ocean Avenue, the Amityville Horror house.
The property is rumored to have been the location of a Native American power spot--a burial ground, no less--and is also supposed to have been, at one point, the site of devil worship. While those stories are unsubstantiated, we do know a few things about the property. The infamous house was built in about 1924 for John Moynihan. It was actually the second house in which Moynihan lived on the property. He decision to move the first house off the property was either the result of a history of "trouble" or of a desire to build a larger house for his growing family, according to whomever you listen to.
Several decades later, the DeFeo family moved into the house. They were a religious family; Ronald DeFeo Sr. even surrounded his home--labeled "High Hopes," according to the sign on the lawn--with religious items. DeFeo was also known to spoil his family with gifts and money. However, he also physically abused them, especially Ronnie Jr. and Mrs. DeFeo. The early seventies saw the violence in the home escalating. Ronnie Jr., who some claim was a heavy drug user, ran away from the house several times, but his father brought the troubled youth back each time. He even tried to shoot his father during an argument the older man was having with Dawn, Ronnie Jr.'s younger sister. The gun didn't go off.
Then the night of November 13, 1974 arrives. Ronald Jr. is downstairs, watching Castle Keep, a 1969 war movie starring Burt Lancaster. The real events of that night are obscured in misconception, mystery, and perhaps lies, but we do know that Ronnie at least had a part in murdering each member of his family. He later claimed that a person "with black hands" gave him a high-powered rifle and instructed him to kill his family, whom he "heard" conspiring to do the same to him.
At first, DeFeo claims to the police that it was a mafia hit, but soon thereafter admits his culpability. He is tried and found guilty. DeFeo still inhabits a cell in Green Haven Correctional Facility in Dutchess County, NY, awaiting his biannual parole hearings.
In December 1975, the Lutz family moves into the house in Amityville. Even with a lower pricetag, it is outside their budget, but despite that--and despite the fact that the real estate agent tells them about the mass murder that occurred there a little over a year before--they decide to buy the house.
For more than twenty years, the Lutzes have maintained the following story: over the course of the month they spent in the house, they experienced a terrible haunting. At first, the sourceless noises in the house seemed normal, but they stopped being so after Christmas, as scraping and banging began. Each familymember's personality changed as they each experienced different facets of the horror, creating tension. George Lutz became constantly cold, and as a result, was obsessive about keeping the fireplace going. The sickening smell of old perfume permeated the house, and black stains kept reappearing on plumbing fixtures, no matter how many times they were removed. Flies infested a room that priest "Father Ray"--Father Ralph Pecoraro--reportedly told them not to use as a bedroom. Young Missy starts talking to an imaginary friend, a pig-looking "angel" named Jodie. Calls to Father Ray are disrupted by static. And more--and more--and more. On January 14, 1976, the Lutzes fled the house, claiming to be afraid for their lives.
The Lutz family returned the house to the bank, sold all their belongings (with the exception of a cedar box built by George's grandfather that contained photographs of the children), and moved to California. However, they say that the haunting that began in Amityville did not stop there. It followed them wherever they went, ending years later, only when the exorcist of the Archbishop of Canterbury removed it.
It is a horrifying story, but how much of it is true? Is it the result of some rare, supernatural event that actually happened? A mass hallucination caused by the pressure of living in a house where a mass murder had occurred? Or a hoax, purposefully executed by people looking for money, attention, or both? These questions have interested people for decades, and are the basis of the second part of this series, Amityville: Horror or Hoax.
