The small town of Amityville is located near New York City. Here stands an Amityville horror house that became famous all over the country because of tragic events that took place there. The whole story became known as the Amityville horror.

Haunted Amityville Horror House On Ocean Avenue

Dutch emigrants built the house in 1924. The first family lived in this house peacefully for 35 years. In 1960, the house was bought by a young married couple. However, the young people lived in the house for less than six months. The fears of moans, heavy footsteps at night, and phantoms did not allow young people to live quietly.

In June 1965, the Defeo family bought this Amityville horror house. They lived peacefully in this house for a long time. Nine years later, a phone call rang at Amityville Police Station. An unknown voice reported shootings. Police arrived at this address and found six bodies.

All killed - members of the Defeo family. The investigation showed that the only survivor was Ronald Jr. Defeo. Ronald told police that a specific force made him take a shotgun and kill the whole family. For the crime, Ronald was given a lifelong sentence.

The Real Amityville Horror House Story

In the city of Amityville in 1974, there was danger. On November 13th, the entire Defeo family was killed at House 112 on Ocean Avenue. The parents were killed while sleeping in bed, and their two sons and two daughters were killed with them. Their older son Ronald remained unharmed. He was later arrested, convicted, and detained.

It was suspicious that all the bodies lay on the beds face down as if holding something while they were killed. The children did not wake up with screams of previous killings, although the rifle is rather noisy. After the tragedy, the Amityville horror house was not sold for a long time.

The silence in this area of ​​Long Island was shocked by the terrifying violence. In 1975, the Lutz family settled in the house. The husband, wife, and three children said their residence was a hell house. As if they were the demons that had threatened Ronald Jr. to commit the murders.

The new owners called the Minister of the Church to wipe the Amityville horror house clean from evil spirits, but something fell on him, leaving blisters in his arms, and he heard a shout of "clean!".

Less than a month later, the family couldn't stand living in the Amityville horror house and ran away without taking anything with them. The public quickly learned of the Amityville horrors that plagued them.

If Amityville Horror House Could Speak

As we said above, police officers found a disturbing scene of the family Defeo in the Amityville horror house - six people sleeping peacefully in their bed. Ronald and Louise, sons Marc and John, and daughter Dawn and Ellison. Their son Ronald Jr. remained unharmed. Police determined the killings were committed around 3:00 a.m. with a Marlin-caliber rifle.

The Defeo family was well known as their children studied with the neighborhood at Amityville School. Neighbors with horror looked as police had taken Ronald Jr., who later was convicted and charged with the murder of all six family members.

One American dream embodied: a beautiful home, a large family, wealth. The three-room house on 112 Ocean Avenue was located near the river, and it was more than enough. But Ronald Defeo was evil, prone to flashes of rage. He often threatened Louise and his children.

Ronald Younger was often beaten because of his father's bad temper. His father humiliated him at home. To make things worse, his friends made fun of him. When Ronald Junior grew up, he became stronger and no longer tolerated his father's abuse.

At 17, under the influence of drugs, he broke into a small steamboat. He was later expelled from school for drug consumption. His behavior was unstable, and he suffered outbreaks of psychosis. Having a quick-tempered character, he participated in hand-to-hand combat matches. Even the father noticed that the aggressive behavior of the son was abnormal.

The father and his wife Louise wanted to take the young man to a psychiatrist, but he refused to get help. The family pampered the son in every way so as not to provoke outbursts of anger. At the age of 14, he received $ 14,000 for a cruise on the Amityville River. Whenever the teenager asked for money, he got it right away.

Everything was allowed for Ronald Jr. He was even arranged to work in a car dealership, where he came only for the salary. His disputes with his father became more frequent and more dangerous. Once, when Defeo's parents were arguing, the son took a shotgun, threatened the father, but he missed the shot.

Shortly before the murder of the family, their relationship deteriorated. Fearing about his earnings, the son was planning a robbery with his friend. The father exposed his deception, and the son decided to take revenge. When the police questioned Ronald Jr., he became aggressive and furious.

The father already knew that Ronald Jr. stole money. Police asked the son to help identify the thief, but he refused. The father demanded an answer of why he did not want to help the authorities. There were quarrels all the time, but that was not the end.

The Tragic Night In The Amityville Horror House

November 13th was a quiet night. The entire Defeo family set up for bed, except for Ronaldo Jr., who sat thoughtfully in his room. He decided to solve all his problems once and for all. Armed with a 35-caliber Marlin rifle, he deliberately went to his parent's room. The father was killed first with two shots in the back. The first bullet broke the kidney and went in the chest, and the next shot was aimed at the neck. He also shot his mother twice.

Then Ronald Jr. went to his little brother's room. The shooting didn't seem to have woken them up. Standing between the beds in the boy's room, he fired at each of them. Marc died instantly. John was injured in his spine, twitched for a few seconds, and found still alive when the police came. He, unfortunately, succumbed to the injuries.

Ronald Jr. then killed her sisters Dawn and Ellison by shooting them in the head. It all happened at 3:00, in less than fifteen minutes. Ronald killed the whole family and then collected the bloody clothes and weapons, wrapped them in a pillowcase, got in the car, and drove to Brooklyn, passing the contents down the drain.

After that, he calmly went to work.

He later said:

"If I hadn't killed my family, they would have killed me. When the weapon turned out to be in my hand, there was no doubt that I did. I am God."

At trial, the lawyer tried to prove Ronald Jr.'s insanity. He claimed to have heard the voices of demons. A forensic psychiatrist Harold Zolan found that although Defeo had consumed heroin and LSD, he was aware of what he was doing that night.

Ronald Jr. was convicted of second-degree murder in November 1975. He was sentenced to six terms for 25 years in prison, and all his pleas had been rejected. He stayed there until he died in 2021.

However, many questions remain unanswered about the Amityville horror house: How could the kids not hear the first shootings? Why were all of them lying down? How could the neighbors not hear the powerful rifle?

It was assumed that Ronald had planned everything and put drugs in the food during dinner. The house was thought to be soundproof for the sounds of shootings, but many who were in the Amityville horror house later reported that street noise was apparently heard from inside.

Although the sound of such a rifle could be heard for a mile, the neighbors only heard the barking of a dog that night. Ronald continues to change his testimonies which is unlikely to shed light on these horrific events.

The Lutz Family Settles In

In 1975, the house was bought by the Lutz family. Realtors warned that there was a cruel murder at this place, but blinded by the low price, George and Katie Lutz, along with their daughter, settled in a chic house. Already a month later, all family members felt someone's presence, heard rustling, and sometimes smelled a body odor.

They hoped that all the troubles, no matter how terrifying, would disappear as soon as the priest consecrated the Amityville horror house. But on the way, the lid of the priest's car opened, breaking his glass. The right door opened. The priest called for help. The wiper blades flew back and forth like crazy, and they didn't stop.

The situation worsened when Lutz's little daughter reported that she met a girlfriend, Jody - a girl who also lives in this house. It later turned out that Jodie was the youngest daughter of the DeFeo family, whom Ronald shot at this house.

That was reason enough for the family to look for a new house.

The Amityville Horror House Went On The Market Four Times

George and Katie Lutz bought the house - but left it 28 days later after reporting paranormal activities in residence, including "strange sounds, voices and green mucus leaking from the walls."

Next, the Amityville horror house was owned by James and Barbara Cromarty, owners of Riverhead Raceway. The Cromarty's changed the address of the Amityville Horror house from 112 Ocean Avenue to 108, hoping to repel the stalkers and keep the value that was decreasing.

The magnificent 5,000-square-foot residence underwent renovations after Carolyn and David D'Antonio bought it in 2010 for $ 950,000.

The house went on the market four times in total.

After an inconspicuous decade lived within its walls, it was sold to Peter and Jeanne O'Neill in 1987. The Cromarty family lived in the house for ten years. They told reporters:

"Nothing strange happened, except for people who kept coming for books and movies."

The O'Neills sold the Amityville Horror house in 1997 for $ 310,000 to Brian Wilson - the Beach Boys member.

In 2017, the infamous 1927 colonial Amityville Horror house with five bedrooms and three bathrooms in which bloodshed took place was sold for the last time.

The latest official information is that it was sold in February 2017 to an unknown owner for $605,000, which is $200,000 less than the original asking price.

As for the house in New Jersey used for outdoor footage of the 1979 film Amityville, it was put on the market in 2011 for $1.45 million and then dropped to $1.35 million.

Ultimately, the appeal of the Amityville horror house and the related home in New Jersey seems to be primarily rooted in the supposedly exaggerated book and its Hollywood adaptations. To this day, horror fans, genuinely convinced of the paranormal activities, still visit the place, hoping to spot a ghost.

Strong Demonic Energy In The Amityville Horror House

In 1976, Lorraine and Ed Warren, well-known experts in paranormal phenomena, became interested in the house. They had been thoroughly investigating the Amityville horror house for several weeks and said there was the strongest paranormal activity in the place.

Aside from the feature films 1979 and the 2005 remake, there is also a documentary called The Real Horror of Amityville, detailing what happened at 112 Ocean Avenue.

Much has been said about the nightmare, perfectly snuggled up in the suburbs of the North American city of Babylon - Amityville (New York, Suffolk District). The tragic events of 1974 served as the source for writing the novel, based on which they shot several art thrillers and documentaries. However, despite the popularity of the Amityville horror, the real story is still not fully revealed.

Today in the United States, there is a series of terms "Amityville horror," reflecting the cultural and paranormal phenomenon of the event that took place.