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The Amityville Horror: The Real Story

On 13 November 1974, police discovered six members of the De Feo family shot dead; the father, mother and four of the five children, at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. Attention turned to Ronald, the only child to survive the ordeal. He was soon declared guilty of the murders, his motivation supposedly being that he did not get on with his father and saw the killings as retribution for the years of hell his Dad had put him through.

After the trial, a newly wed couple in search of their dream home bought the house. But one month later their dream had turned into a nightmare. The couple fled from the house claiming it was possessed with demonic spirits.

They organised for two psychics to enter the house and carry out a séance. The supposed ghosts they identified were those of Native American Indians. The piece of land where the house had been built had formerly been a place where sick and insane members of the tribe were isolated until they died. This revelation became a national story. It wasn’t long before the book Amityville Horror shot to the top of the best seller list and a blockbuster movie followed.

This alone is an intriguing story. But the next chapter – not commonly known – is a remarkable twist. Two paranormal investigators weren’t satisfied with the published version of events, and began delving into the case. They eventually revealed that the hautings were an elaborate hoax – concocted as a money making con.

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  1. Great doc!! I read that the ghost pic is not a ghost kid, but one of the people at the investigation kneeling while dealing with equipment. If you look close it looks like he is wearing glasses.

  2. yes the devil made me do it ? amerika always ghost and demons that’s al fake

  3. They were shot with a .35 Remington. While there is a model of rifle 35 Marlin, it is not a rifle cartridge. The model 35 Marlin is chambered for .35 Remington, among other possibilities. At any rate, one of the most curious facts here is the sound created by the gunshots and the fact that no neighbors reported it, let alone people IN THE HOUSE. Incredible to think someone could be killed with that rifle and no one else wakes up, let alone everyone. Very strange.

    • They were shot with a Marlin 336C chambered in .35 marlin. It’s a straightwall deer cartridge. Loud would be an understatement. They could of been drugged and the several hours that elapsed before the bodies were found might have dissipated the substance used but that is unclear.

      Ronny met his maker in march this year so he’s got to answer for it.

  4. A true Septic always leaves room for a possibility of a counter -argument or alternate theory than the one they themselves are inclined to believe.
    Scepticism is a healthy attitude in Scientific circles which allows for open mindedness and permission for theories perhaps dismissed as unlikely or ridiculous.

  5. Theory 1: Ronnie killed them all. Then why was there a witness (police officer on surveillance duty) saying a female was holding the murder weapon outside the home? Which leads to theorem 2: Ronnie had an accomplice(s). Fact that he and his sister might had planned to kill their abusive father could had justified truth. Made sense that Ronnie may of been a bit wasted and backed out as his sister did the deed and he himself retaliated against her for doing so. Theory 3: Looked like a mob hit because it was done methodically as everyone who was murdered was laying face down. Was very possible that the Defeos were connected to the mafia. Which would explain why the rifle was somehow silenced while firing. The world will never know unless Ronnie himself tells the truth instead of changing up his stories. As for the house being haunted, no. I do not believe so. Way too much evidence proving otherwise. All the information was already out there for these so called “mediums” to use just make a name for themselves.

  6. An interesting documentary all in all for the fans of these kind of themes. I like the way that they tried to take neutral side and showed what both sides have to say. I followed this story, watched and read for about 15 years now and found loads of bs about it but this documentary sticks to the most interesting parts and I like that. I myself don’t belefe Lutz’ story, there are too many things that don’t add up. Also the fact is that the owners after them had no problems at all with the house. But I do find several things in all this very interesting. First thing is the DeFeo massacre with a f…. realy loud shotgun. Ok so there could be mutiple killers who threatend them to stay in place. But then again its a realy quiet neighbourhood and no one heard anything?? Not even next door neighbours? Except dog barking… this still puzzels the investigators today. Second interesting thing that I noticed is when they try to explain the “ghost pig”. And the next door neighbour say that he indeed had a persian cat and that it would often jump on widnow and peek into the house… ok. But he also mentions the creepy fact – that the name of that cat wasn’t pig and the only person who called it pig was infact the killer DeFeo. How would the little girl know that? Not taking any sides but it still intrigues me.

  7. I love the little button over the player “turn off the lights” erm….NO THANKS!!!

  8.  The cynics haven’t got any evidence, only half baked theories.  I believe the Lutz’s.

    • Why would you believe the Lutz’ story? They are about as credible as those “psychics” running around saying stuff like ‘I felt like a teenager had done something here that changed his whole life’. Gee, ya think???
      Sure, he was 23, but she most definitely was referring to the De Feo kid.

      And how about the people that moved in right after the Lutz? None of them had no problems what so ever. Pretty lame spirits if you ask me. Or a hoax milking the money of gullible people like yourself.

      • Except for the fact that the Lutz’ did not make even a fraction of the money from that book except for basic royalties from using their names. And if, as you say, it was such an obvious “hoax” then why don’t you explain why a family would run out of their home in the middle of the night taking nothing with them and NEVER sending for or claiming any of their belongings. Never even touching any of it. Let’s then say that you are correct and the Lutz family was just somehow making all of it up and decided to, as you stated “milk the money of gullible people..” Explain what happened with the DeFeo family murders. The fact that not one single individual EVER heard a gunshot. No signs of struggle whatsoever. In fact, they were ALL in their beds and read the reports if you doubt it. It’s hilarious to see these so-called “skeptics” make up scenarios that sound even more far fetched than what they are trying to disprove. You are not skeptics, you are just simply disbelievers, which is fine. Just be honest about that instead of attempting to pass yourselves off as a true skeptic. Either that, or educate yourself on the true definition of what the skeptic approach entails.

  9. Wow, this is definitely creepy.

  10. Wow, this is definitely creepy.

  11. Wow, this is definitely creepy.