AMITYVILLE HOUSE

Kick starting our 7 days of “Ghost stories” is one of the most famous cases world wide that brought the paranormal to the forefront of not only the people of New York, but Europe.

The case goes as following – On November 13th 1974 Ronald DeFeo Jr shot and killed six members of his family. DeFeo parents had both been shot twice, while the children had all been killed with single shots. Physical evidence suggests that Louise DeFeo and her daughter Allison were both awake at the time of their deaths. All six of the victims were found face down in their beds with no signs of a struggle. The police investigation concluded that the rifle had not been fitted with a sound suppressor and found evidence of sedatives having been administered. DeFeo admitted during his interrogation that he had drugged his family. However, the autopsy report indicates that this was a false statement made by DeFeo.

Now as many of us know in the paranormal field hauntings can occur for many reasons, and one of the most popular beliefs is that when someone passes away or in this case “Murdered” then their spirit often chooses to stay in the realm of the living. Supporting this theory, it is not uncommon for several spirits to stay in one location together if the spirits are linked, maybe just like the family in this case? Where does the story go from here you may ask?

Well In December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz and their three children moved into the house. After 28 days, the Lutzes fled the house, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena while living there! Interestingly Much of the DeFeo family’s furniture was still in the house, because it was included for $400 as part of the deal. A close friend of George Lutz learned about the history of the house and insisted on having it blessed! According the the claims of George & Kath Lutz At the time, George was a non-practicing methodist and had no experience of what this would entail. Kathy was a non-practicing Catholic and explained the process. George knew a Catholic priest named Father Ray who agreed to carry out the house blessing. Father Ray was a lawyer, judge of the Catholic court and psychotherapist who lived at the local Sacred Heart Rectory. He arrived to perform the blessing while George and Kathy were unpacking their belongings on the afternoon of December 18, 1975 and went into the building to carry out the rites. When he flicked the first holy water and began to pray, he heard a masculine voice demand that he “get out”. When leaving the house, Father Mancuso did not mention this incident to either George or Kathy. On December 24, 1975, Father Ray called George Lutz and advised him to stay out of the second floor room where he had heard the mysterious voice, the former bedroom of Marc and John Matthew DeFeo, that Kathy planned to use as a sewing room, but the call was cut short by static. Following his visit to the house, Father allegedly developed a high fever and blisters on his hands similar to stigma. At first George and Kath experienced nothing unusual in the house. Talking about their experiences subsequently, they reported that it was as if they “were each living in a different house”. By mid-January 1976, after another attempt at a house blessing by George and Kathy, they experienced what would turn out to be their final night in the house. The Lutzes declined to give a full account of the events that took place on this occasion, describing them as “too frightening”. Thoughts so far?

Well in my opinion everything the couple mention has seemed plausible regarding a paranormal case! Whenever we have reports of paranormal activity within someone’s home we follow many steps before we can say in our opinion, the house is “haunted”. We always use our equipment at the appropriate time depending on the type of activity reported, then if we believe there is a spirit there, malevolent or harmless. We report to the house owner and ask what they wish to do. Many people “like” the idea of living in a house with a supposed haunting, while many people will wish any paranormal activity to be stopped at once. Which is when we advise them to seek out a spiritualist/spiritualist church, demonologist, or parapsychologist to voice their opinion. Only in severe cases would we advise a family to go to a Catholic church for a request of a house blessing. Only when deeply researching this case do you seem to find irregularities and claims that could be considered exaggerated, such as the following

“the Lutzes decided to take some belongings and stay at Kathy’s mother’s house until they had sorted out the problems with the house. They claimed that the phenomena followed them there, they described “greenish-black slime” coming up the staircase towards them”

Greenish black slime? Sounds like something from a horror movie! which would come to be true in. In 1979 the first of many films dedicated to the infamous case was released, in fact 20 films were directly made based of the famous story, that isn’t counting all the endless spin offs and documentary’s and fan films that were inspired by Amityville. I think it’s important to note that in my years of being a paranormal investigator I have never had a report of slim in ANY case I’ve investigated nor has any of my colleagues. Even when it comes to horror movies themselves, slim is hardly ever used! Surely if slim was a repeated substance in paranormal hauntings it would be more world renowned for being a sign of “paranormal activity” maybe George & Kathy felt they needed disclose the information of “Greenish black slim” due to the case starting to lose motivation with the press? OR was this a first hand witness at ectoplasm?

Whilst the majority of the population have deemed this a close case and a publicity stunt by the family, many still believe there story and hundreds of personal reports have been filled since regarding the “Amityville House” one fact believers come back to is the following “In June 1979, George and Kathy Lutz took a polygraph test relating to their experiences at the house. The polygraph tests were performed by Chris Gugas and Michael Rice who, at the time, were reportedly among the top five polygraph experts in America. The results, in Mr. Rice’s opinion, did NOT indicate lying. Whilst sceptics declare there is no solid evidence of any paranormal activity even quoting James Cromarty, who bought the house in 1977 and lived there with his wife Barbara for ten years, and the couple commented “Nothing weird has ever happened, except for people coming by because of the book and the movie”.

INTERESTING FACTS

* George Lutz had a history of dabbling in the occult. * George was said to wake up at 3:15 am every morning, which was around the time Ron carried out his murders.

* The Lutz family claimed to smell strange odors, see green slime oozing out of the walls and keyholes and experience cold spots in certain areas of the house. * When a priest came to bless the house, he allegedly heard a voice scream “Get out!” He told the Lutzes to never sleep in that particular room in the house.

* Other paranormal activity A nearby garage door opening and closing; an invisible spirit knocking a knife down in the kitchen; a pig-like creature with red eyes staring down at George and his son Daniel from a window; George waking up to wife Kathy levitating off their bed; sons Daniel and Christopher also levitating together in their beds. Many question the validity of the Lutz’s story

* After telling their story, George and Kathy took a lie detector test to prove their innocence. They passed. * The couple was bogged down in legal and financial issues, which prompted skeptics to believe they had the motive to create a fantastical story to sell to the public.

* The Lutz’s former lawyer William Weber — who fell out with them over money issues — came out in 1979, claiming the three of them came up with the horror story “over many bottles of wine.”

* Son Daniel, who lives a quiet life in Queens, New York as a stonemason, claims the house ruined his life and that he continues to have nightmares to this day.

* Murderer Ron, who’s still alive and serving six 25-year-life sentences at a New York correctional facility, claimed he heard voices urging him to kill his family. He has since changed his story multiple times.

Conclusion

The infamous 1977 story is considered one of the most popular hauntings of all time by modern media and the paranormal community, is has had a renowned influence on “pop culture”, whilst many of the statements made by the couple seem to a love letter towards cliche hauntings nobody can discount the couples claims. Whilst other tenants of Amityville claim no paranormal activity has ever occurred. You have to ask yourself, which version of the reported events is the truth. The once famous tourist attraction has changed its address in order to discourage sightseers. I believe it’s also important to acknowledge that the Lutzes did NOT get rich from the books and films produced after their story, Yes, they received a portion of the royalties or licensing fees for some of the books and a few movies, but it was never a great deal of money, and it faded quickly. After a life of comfort and stability in New York, the Lutzes, as a family and as individuals, struggled financially for the rest of their lives. So in my opinion this only leaves two possible options…

1. This previously sane and unassuming couple risked their kids (and their livelihood) on a bizarre and previously unimagined get-rich-quick hoax, and the plot failed.

2. The family was plagued by some unknown, unseen force that slowly drove them all to the brink of insanity and ultimately forced them to flee, never to return. Then the entity that found them in Amityville followed them, across the country and around the world. They never fully recovered. But one thing is for certain,

We will never know the truth of what happened inside the walls of the Amityville house, and too this day reminds one of the most famous cases to ever enter the paranormal world.

True haunting or hoax?

You decide.

Jordan Knight

After Dark Paranormal UK

7 Ghost Stories

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