The famous home in Amityville that inspired the story of demonic hauntings and cries of hoaxes is on the market for the asking price of a whopping $1.5 million…a far cry from the $80,000 that George and Kathy Lutz saw when they chose it as a house to raise their family in 1975. They were mildly put off by the fact that Ronald Defeo Jr. had brutally murdered his family there just one year before..but it was a dream home at a dream price. Even so, the Lutzes had a lot of financial difficulties and twenty-eight days later, it is said that they fled the home in terror with tales of levitations, black substances coming from the walls and a host of other hauntings.
After a book had been published about their experiences, tales of hoaxes came out of the woodwork. Ronald Defeo’s attorney, William Weber said that he collaborated with the Lutzes on a book idea that he was also using as an insanity defense for his client. It was said the story that later became the Amityville Horror was born that night over bottles of wine. Both George and Kathy Lutz have passed away, and they both maintained until their deaths that their story was true…although they did acknowledge that the book and movie were greatly exaggerated.
The home has vastly improved over the years, with many renovations done inside as well as the efforts made to disguise the home from gawkers and sightseers. Not that anything ever did much good…time has done nothing to dim the curiosity of this home and what happened after the Lutzes moved in for less than a month. Their story and the subsequent books and movies that came about from it has been the subject of speculation for many years..and it shows no signs of letting up.
Is there any hope for this to be a normal private residence? The town does nothing to encourage the constant barrage of curiosity seekers..some who simply want to get a look at the home or snap a quick picture…some who cause damage to the property and behave as though they have the right to be there.
With the reality being that the home itself is forever going to be linked to a haunting that probably never happened, and a brutal murder of a family that should be able to rest in peace…I am wondering if it wouldn’t be a more feasible idea to make it the headquarters for a service to assist families of murder victims. I truly dislike the idea of turning it into a tourist spot, and my guess is the townspeople wouldn’t have it! However, a business headquarters to honor the memories of people whose lives were cut short…and providing assistance to family members left behind…might be a way to finally give Ocean Avenue some long deserved peace and take the focus off of demons that were never there to begin with.
The Witching Hour 