Hiding in plain sight right near the ocean is one of New York's most notoriously haunted homes, The Amityville House. After chilling murders took place here back in 1974, the home held onto the dark, depraved happenings. While there may be many residences in our state that are known to be eerie, the story behind this Long Island home will truly haunt your dreams.
On November 13th, 1974, a 23-year-old man by the name of Ronald Defeo Jr. ran into a local bar shouting that he needed help and believed his parents had been shot.
Little did everyone inside this Long Island bar know that Ronald (more commonly known as "Butch") himself was the one who not only murdered both his parents, but also killed his four younger siblings, all while they were sleeping. When police entered the Amityville home, they found the entire DeFeo family murdered execution style in their sleep. Butch's younger siblings ranged from the ages of 9 to 18.
After telling different stories as to what exactly happened that night, Butch finally admitted to killing his entire family.
From spending time in a psychiatric home to blowing all his money on hard drugs, it was clear as day to anyone who encountered Butch that something was not right. After cases of bullets were found in his room by police, Butch finally let out that "It all started so fast" and he was indeed responsible for the murders. Known as Long Island's worst mass murder, Butch was convicted and now serves six life sentences in a New York prison.
Only a year later, a new family purchased the Amityville house, quickly regretting their decision and moving out only 28 days later.
Here lies the most controversial part of the stories and tales surrounding this haunted home. George and Kathy Lutz, along with their three children, moved into the house and became flooded with paranormal activity. Everyone living in the house experienced their own forms of paranormal happenings ranging from seeing green slime oozing on the walls to unexplained smells, being levitated by spirits and so much more.
Because the Lutz's were the only residents to ever experience any mysterious activity in the house, many speculate that the family wasn't being truthful.
Although it is said that the family often had friends over who would witness hearing strange noises and also had priests who believed something evil lived within the house, to this very day the Lutz family have been the only ones to ever live in the house after the 1974 murders and claim to experience paranormal activity.
Click here to watch one of the Lutz children speak out about what he experienced while living here.
In 1977, a book written by Jay Anson was published called The Amityville Horror, based on all the mysterious happenings the Lutz family experienced while living in the house.
Even though the book itself was not written directly by any one of the Lutz's, that doesn't mean they didn't profit from this now infamous franchise. Over the years many have claimed (and even filed lawsuits) that what happened to the family while living here was nothing more than a thought out hoax meant to generate a major cash flow. To date, several films have been made about the Amityville home, including a film set to be released sometime in 2017 that has gained a lot of attention.
Click here to watch the trailer for the upcoming movie Amityville: The Awakening.
To learn even more details about the history surrounding the Amityville house, watch this great video below!
Do you believe in the stories of paranormal activity told by The Lutz Family? Give us your opinions and share with us your favorited haunted houses in New York!
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