History

This section is based on the version of events at 112 Ocean Avenue as they are described in Jay Anson's book. The paranormal claims have been the subject of much controversy.
Left to right: 112 Ocean Avenue as owned by the DeFeo and Lutz familiy, 112 Ocean Avenue in 1978, House in Toms River, New Jersey remodeled to look like 112 Ocean Avenue (this was used for filming the first three Amityville Horror movies), 112 Ocean Avenue as remodeled in the 1990s - note the replacement of quarter-moon window as well as the alteration of porch balustrade and the removal of latticework around porch columns.The house on 112 Ocean Avenue remained empty for thirteen months after the DeFeo murders until December 1975, when George and Kathleen Lutz purchased the house for what was considered to be a bargain price of $80,000. George and Kathy had married in July 1975 and had their own houses, but they wanted to start a new life with a new home. Kathy had three children from a previous marriage and a black Labrador named Harry. During their first inspection of the house the realtor told them about the DeFeo murders the previous November and asked if this changed their opinion on wanting to purchase the house. After family discussions, it was agreed that it was not an issue.

The Lutz family moved in on December 18, 1975. When a friend of George Lutz learned of the house's history he insisted on having the house blessed. At the time George was a non-practising Methodist and had no experience of what this would entail. Kathy was a non-practising Catholic and explained the process. George knew only one Catholic priest named Father Ray and he agreed to carry out the house blessing. (In Jay Anson's book the priest is referred to as Father Mancuso. This was done for reasons of privacy and the priest's real name was Father Ralph J. Pecoraro, who died in 1987.)

Being an ecclesiastical judge at the local Catholic establishment, Father Ray was not in the habit of doing house blessings but since he and George were friends, he agreed to bless the house as a favor. Father Ray arrived to perform the house blessing on the day the Lutzes were moving in and as they busily unpacked outside he went in and performed the house blessing. George and Kathy later learned from Father Ray that while blessing a particular room on the second floor which was formerly the bedroom of Mark and John DeFeo (the younger brothers of Ronald DeFeo), he experienced an unnatural coldness in the room and heard an unearthly voice telling him to �Get out!� Startled by this, Father Ray was subsequently slapped by an unseen force. When leaving the house, Father Ray did not mention this incident to either George or Kathy, possibly because he did not wish to cause them unnecessary concern. Instead he told them that he felt uncomfortable in the room and would prefer it if nobody spent too much time there. Since they planned to use the room as a sewing room nothing more was mentioned of it until after George and Kathy had fled the house.

Jay Anson (1921-1980)At first George and Kathy Lutz experienced nothing unusual in the house. Talking about their experiences subsequently, they reported that it was as if they "were each living in a different house".

Some of the experiences of the Lutz family at the house have been described as follows:

George would wake up around 3:15 every morning and would go out to check the boathouse. Later it would be learned that this was the estimated time of the DeFeo killings.
Kathy would have vivid nightmares about the murders, and discovered in which order the murders occurred and who was shot where. These details were later confirmed when they met with Ronald DeFeo's defense lawyer.
Kathy would feel a sensation as if "being embraced" in a loving manner, by an unseen force.
Kathy discovered a small hidden crawlspace behind shelving in the basement, where the walls were painted red. This did not appear in the blueprints of the house. The room was referred to as "The Red Room". This room had a profound effect on their dog Harry, who refused to go near it and cowered as if sensing something negative.
There were cold spots and odors of perfume and excrement in areas of the house where no wind drafts or piping would explain the source.
The Lutzes' youngest daughter Missy developed an imaginary friend named �Jodie� who it was later learned could change form from a little boy to a demonic pig-like creature.
George would be awoken by the sound of the front door slamming. He would race downstairs to find the dog sleeping soundly at the front door. Nobody else heard the sound although it was loud enough to wake the house.
George would hear what was described as a �German marching band tuning up� or what sounded like a clock radio playing not quite on frequency. When he went downstairs the noise would cease.
While checking the boathouse one night, George saw a pair of red eyes looking at him from Missy�s bedroom window. When he went upstairs and to her room there was nothing to be found. Later it was suggested that it could have been �Jodie�.
While in bed Kathy Lutz was beaten and scratched by an unseen force and was levitated off the bed.
Locks and doors in the house were damaged by an unseen force.
Cloven hoofprints appeared in the snow outside the house.
Green slime dripped from the walls and ceilings of the house.
When the Lutzes decided that something was wrong with their house that they could not explain rationally, it was suggested by a friend of George�s that he and Kathy carry out a blessing of their own and open all the windows in the rooms, telling whatever was there to leave in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. While taking his advice and walking around the house reciting the Lord�s Prayer in each of the rooms, George and Kathy allegedly heard a chorus of voices telling them �Will you please stop!�

By mid January of 1976 and after another attempt at a house blessing by George and Kathy, they experienced what would turn out to be their final night in the house. To this day events of this night have not been disclosed fully by the Lutz family as they have described them as "too frightening".

After getting in touch with Father Ray the Lutzes decided to take some belongings and stay at Kathy�s mother�s house in nearby Deer Park, New York until they had sorted out the problems with the house. On January 14, 1976, George and Kathy Lutz, with their three children and their dog Harry, left the house at 112 Ocean Avenue leaving most of their possessions behind. The next day, a mover came in to remove all of the possessions to send to the Lutzes. He reported no paranormal phenomena while inside the house. [3]

[edit]
Criticisms
A recent view of 112 Ocean AvenueMuch of the controversy surrounding the Amityville Horror can be traced back to the way that it has been marketed over the years. The cover of the book as it originally appeared in the 1970s implies that it is based on verifiable events. A quote from a review in the Los Angeles Times featured on the front cover of the book states: "A FASCINATING, FRIGHTENING BOOK... THE SCARIEST TRUE STORY I HAVE READ IN YEARS", while the tag line at the bottom of the cover of the book states: "MORE HIDEOUSLY FRIGHTENING THAN THE EXORCIST BECAUSE IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED!" The reference to The Exorcist is revealing, since the 1973 film had been a huge box office success and was one of the major cultural events of the 1970s. Many of the incidents in Jay Anson's book describing the events at the house at 112 Ocean Avenue carry with them the style of the The Exorcist, and this is one of the reasons why some of the events described in Anson's book have aroused suspicion.

Anson himself wrote that "There is simply too much independent corroboration of their narrative to support the speculation that [the Lutzes] either imagined or fabricated these events", but other writers and researchers begged to differ. Almost as soon as the book was published in September 1977 other writers began looking into the events at the house at 112 Ocean Avenue, and the conclusions that they reached were often considerably different from those that had appeared in Anson's book. The researcher Stephen Kaplan spent many years investigating the incident and concluded that many of the events described in the book were of questionable veracity. Much attention has been given to the role of Father Pecoraro in the events at 112 Ocean Avenue. During the course of the lawsuit surrounding the case (see following paragraph) Father Pecoraro stated in an affidavit that his only contact with the Lutzes concerning the affair had been by telephone. Additionally, Ronald DeFeo's defense lawyer William Weber claimed in a radio interview that Father Pecoraro had never at any time visited the house. With regard to the hoofprint claims, subsequent research showed that there had been no snow in Amityville on the day in question. The claims of physical damage to the locks and doors were questioned since an inspection suggested that they were still the original items. Neighbors of the house reported nothing unusual during the time that the Lutzes were living there. In the book and film, police officers are shown visiting the house, but records showed that no police officers visited the house during the 28 days that the Lutzes were living in Ocean Avenue. [4] [5] [6]

In May 1977 George and Kathy Lutz filed suit against William Weber, Paul Hoffman (a writer working on an account of the hauntings), Bernard Burton, Frederick Mars (both clairvoyants who had examined the house), Good Housekeeping, the New York Sunday News and the Hearst Corporation (which had all published articles related to the hauntings). The Lutzes alleged invasion of privacy, misappropration of names for trade purposes, and mental distress, and claimed $4.5 million in damages. Hoffman, Weber, and Burton immediately filed a countersuit for $2 million alleging fraud and breach of contract. The claims against the news corporations were dropped for lack of evidence, and the remainder of the lawsuit was heard by Brooklyn U.S. District Court judge Jack B. Weinstein. In September 1979 Judge Weinstein dismissed the Lutzes' claims and observed in his ruling: "Based on what I have heard, it appears to me that to a large extent the book is a work of fiction, relying in a large part upon the suggestions of Mr. Weber." In the September 17, 1979 issue of People magazine, William Weber wrote: "I know this book is a hoax. We created this horror story over many bottles of wine." Judge Weinstein also expressed concern about the conduct of William Weber and Bernard Burton relating to the affair, stating: �There is a very serious ethical question when lawyers become literary agents.� [7]

The haunting of the horrible house. Home of horro. Amityville Real Estate. nsane Asylum of Amityville Horror and Indians. The Angry Indian Chief of Amitville. Amityville Horror and the truth. Amityville Asylum Amitville Horror and facts about the weird house. The Horro on Ocean Dr. ohn Ketchum and accusations of being a witch. The Reverand Jeremiah Ketcham was very strange. Reverand Jeremiah Ketchum was an important character in t he movie. horro com amityville.com ii The murders by Ronald "Butch" DeFeo Jr. happened in Amityville. Ron DeFeo Junior supposedly committed killed the members of his family only for the insurance money. Pictures of the Amityville Horror house. amityville.com 112 Ocean Avenue or also 112 Ocean Ave. Bayport of the Hardy Boys is located in NY. The location is on a bay. The house in New York had many stories told about it, but what is the truth? The murders on long island could very well have been a hoax. The house may be haunted. The murder was terrible. The dollhouse at 2 brunswick became a movie The auction and pictures of the dmv may of been a true story haunting haunting the horor and the basketball team had any difffernt Amityville pictures that are horrow of the house that lutz lived in. Plenty of Amityville horror photos and useful information about the Dominicans and dmv and the history of the village and house. Father Pecoraro the priest was called Father Mancusco in the movie.

mityville Horror and the truth of George Lutz and Ronald DeFeo of the Horro, with a history of the events in Amityvile. John Ketcham was supposedly a witch. The house was known to be haunted. But many say it was a horror hoax, just a story. The haunting and the horror story was well known. Area history. Fire Island Haunted lighthouse in History. Supernatural occurrences in AMerica. The Amityville Horor occured many years ago. The history of the area tell the truth about the horror. The news and photo of the photo amytville home is here, with photos of De Feo. Links to sites and a space project. The Warrens investigated. Images of the monster and the true story of the horrors and the tale of the house. Tales and stories of the supernatural and Jodie the Pig, and other monsters. City Confidential and info on Kaplan, with details on the Seventh Victim. George Lutz said the house was scary and creepy. The murder was spooky in Long Island. Really freaky. The biography of Butch DeFeo. Amityville photos and pictures. There was a possession of the son at the Horror House. He killed his whole family. George Lutz went insane. Conde Dracula o vampiro. Amitville Horror, Legenda, verdade, e historia de casa. Sayville - Sayville and Long Island History information.. Horror em Amityville Bohemia, NY. A