The Amityville Horror
Image The Amityville Horror

"The Amityville Horror" is one of the most famous haunted house stories in the United States. The events that took place in the Long Island, New York home inspired books, a movie trilogy, a movie remake and gave birth to a number of urban legends and ghost stories. Some claim the reported hauntings inside the house were a hoax while others believe the home is plagued with a sinister evil. One thing that is known about the house is that it was the scene of a gruesome murder in 1974.

On the evening of Nov. 14 1974, Ronald DeFeo used a .35 caliber Marlin rifle to kill his parents, younger brothers and younger sisters. After a long trial DeFeo was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences. Ronald DeFeo originally told police his family was killed by a mobster but would later admit to the slayings saying voices told him to kill. Thirteen months after the DeFeo murders the Lutz family moved into the house at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, Long Island.

The family would only last 28-days in the house and would later claim that a poltergeist forced them to flee their home without a single possession. The Lutz family has said that the first few days in the home were peaceful. After that the family would notice strange things happening, like noises that would only wake up George Lutz the family patriarch. When the hauntings got too bad the family asked a priest to come in and bless the house.

Father Pecoraro is said to have been slapped across the face while preforming the blessing by an angry spirit who allegedly told the priest to "get out!" of the house. After this the hauntings are said to have increased, Kathy Lutz was said to been seen asleep floating above her bed and would often wake with bruises on her body following a night of viscous nightmares. The children were also affected by the hauntings when a window slammed shut on Daniel Lutz's fingers crushing them only to see them heal completely later on the same day.

The Lutz young daughter was said to have befriended a pig-like creature named Jodi and reports of cloven shaped hoof prints in the snow outside the house were said to be found. The story goes that the Lutz family had finally had enough of the hauntings and fled with no plan of returning. One year later the house was bought by the Cromaty family who would later sue the Lutz's for damages saying the house was not haunted but because of the story concocted by the Lutz family their lives had been disrupted by the slew of people wanted to see the "Amityville Horror House."

While two paranormal investigators did go to the house and declare it haunted, there have been no reports of supernatural disturbances since the Lutz's fled. After their experiences in the house the Lutz family's story was immortalized in the book "The Amityville Horror" by Jay Anson. The book sold over 10-million copies and became a cult favorite spawning a series of movies made from 1979 up through 2013. Since the Lutz family's story was made public there have been many who call it a hoax and other who believe the house is the residence of a dangerous spirit.

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