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Two separate things happened at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York, thirteen months apart, and most retellings blur them into one story. The first is a documented mass murder with a convicted killer. The second is a family's disputed haunting claim that became a bestselling book and a film franchise. Keeping the two apart is most of what “separating fact from the films” means here. Our full review of the source books is in <a href=“https://worldurbanlegend.com/best-books-about-the-amityville-horror/”>Best Books About the Amityville Horror</a>.
November 13, 1974: The DeFeo Murders
Ronald “Butch” DeFeo Jr., 23, shot and killed six members of his family in their beds overnight: his parents, Ronald Sr. and Louise, and his siblings Dawn, Allison, Marc, and John. He initially told police the killings were carried out by a mob hitman, then confessed within a day. At trial, his defense argued insanity; the jury rejected it, and he was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder in 1975, receiving consecutive life sentences. He died in prison in 2021. This part of the story is a matter of public criminal record, not folklore.
December 1975 – January 1976: The Lutz Family
George and Kathy Lutz bought the house roughly a year after the murders, reportedly at a price below market value given its history, and moved in with Kathy's three children. They claimed to leave 28 days later, saying they'd experienced phenomena including strange smells, cold spots, slime on the walls, and a recurring feeling of being watched or threatened. The Lutzes later worked with author Jay Anson, whose 1977 book The Amityville Horror presented their account as nonfiction. It became a bestseller and the basis for the 1979 film adaptation.
What Investigators and Skeptics Found
Paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren visited the house during the period the Lutzes were publicizing their claims and said they detected a negative presence, though their involvement is disputed by later critics as adding credibility rather than independent verification. More damaging to the Lutzes' account: William Weber, DeFeo's own defense attorney, publicly stated years later that he had discussed embellishing a haunting story with the Lutzes over wine, hoping a book deal could help fund DeFeo's appeal — a claim the Lutzes denied. Journalists and researchers who later interviewed subsequent homeowners of the house reported none of them experienced anything unusual during their years living there.
What the Films Changed
The 1979 film and its many sequels and the 2005 remake added or exaggerated details not present in Anson's book or the Lutzes' original claims, including specific demonic imagery, a priest character suffering graphic physical torment, and various visual hauntings built for the screen. The house's real address was also altered in most productions, partly to deter sightseers at the actual private residence, which still stands and has changed ownership and its street number since.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Are the DeFeo murders and the Lutz haunting the same event?
No. The DeFeo murders are a documented 1974 mass killing with a convicted perpetrator. The Lutz family's haunting claims came thirteen months later, in a different family's brief occupancy of the same house, and are unverified.
Q2: Is there any independent evidence the Lutz family's claims were true?
No physical evidence has been independently verified. Subsequent owners of the house have said they experienced nothing unusual, and DeFeo's own former defense attorney claimed the haunting was fabricated for financial reasons, which the Lutzes denied.
Q3: Did the Warrens confirm the haunting was real?
Ed and Lorraine Warren visited and said they sensed a negative presence, but critics note their involvement came after the Lutzes had already gone public, and their assessment has not been treated as independent verification by researchers.
Q4: Why do the movies use different details than the book?
Film adaptations added dramatic elements — more explicit demonic visuals, invented character arcs — that don't appear in Jay Anson's original 1977 book or in the Lutzes' original public statements, standard practice for horror franchises built on a single source.
Q5: What happened to Ronald DeFeo Jr.?
He was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder in 1975 and remained in prison until his death in 2021.
Learn More
For a closer read on how the murder case and the haunting claims diverged in print, see our full roundup: <a href=“https://worldurbanlegend.com/best-books-about-the-amityville-horror/”>Best Books About the Amityville Horror</a>.
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