On December 18, 1975, George and Kathy Lutz moved their family into their new house on Ocean Avenue in Amityville, NY, where, just one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo Jr. had murdered all six members of his family. Twenty-eight days later, the Lutz family fled the home, leaving behind all their belongings and vowing never to return again. According to the Lutzes, their time in the house on Ocean Avenue was a nightmare of psychic attacks and demonic activity that put them in fear for their lives.

The supposed experience of the Lutz family served as the basis for the iconic haunted house story, The Amityville Horror, and the countless films adapted from or inspired by the original novel. However, unlike most other stories of paranormal experiences, The Amityville Horror became a phenomenon that influenced everything from Ronald DeFeo’s criminal defense to the American public’s belief in the supernatural. Yet for all their talk of it being a genuine story of demonic activity, in the years since the publication of The Amityville Horror, a large body of evidence from skeptical evaluations to court records and interview transcripts suggest that America’s most notorious haunted house might not have been quite so haunted after all.

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!!

References

Ansen, Jay. 1978. The Amityville Horror. New York, NY: Bantam Books.

Bartholomew, Robert, and Joe Nickell. 2016. "The Amityville Hoax at 40." Skeptic Magazine 8-12.

Carter, A.J. 1976. "DeFeo house: legal twist." Newsday, February 17: 3.

Drehsler, Alex, and Jim Scovel. 1977. "Fact or fiction." Newsday, November 17: 188.

Gelder, Lawrence Van. 1977. "A real-life horror story." New York Times, October 9: L12.

Lutz v. Hoffman et al. 1979. 77-032D-T (Southern District of California ).

Nickell, Joe. 2003. "Amityville: The Horror of it All." Skeptical Inquirer 13-14.

Nickell, Joe. 2009. "The questionable research of Hans Holzer, dean of ghost hunters (1920-2009)." Skeptical Inquirer 5-6.

Schemo, Diane Jean. 1992. "'Amityville' prisoner says movie money tained defense." New York Times, June 25: B6.

Snider, Jane. 1977. "New owners call house beautiful, not haunted ." Newsday, May 13: 23.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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