The Amityville Horror
In December 1975 George and Kathy Lutz moved into a Dutch Colonial house at 112 Ocean Avenue on Long Island. A year earlier, six members of the DeFeo family had been murdered there. The Lutzes fled after 28 days, claiming the house terrorised them. The story became a bestselling book and a film, and an argument that has never settled.
The Amityville case
Dread
/
Stage
"We left the house with only the clothes we were wearing. We never spent another night there.
"George Lutz
The 28 days
The Lutz family lived at 112 Ocean Avenue for just 28 days before leaving everything behind. The book and films built on their account turned a quiet street into a tourist site. The house still stands today, and its address has been changed to deter visitors.
A lawyer connected to the DeFeo case later said the haunting story was invented over several bottles of wine. Many investigators call it a hoax.
The Lutzes maintained for years that something real drove them out. Later residents of the house have reported no unusual activity at all.