FAMOUS
CASES
Amityville Horror
At around 3 am on Wednesday, November 13, 1974, at 112 Ocean Avenue,
Amityville, Long Island, Ronald DeFeo Jr., used a .35 Marlin rifle to murder
his father, mother, 2 brothers and 2 sisters while they slept in their beds.
Evidence suggests that none of the victims awoke during the shootings. DeFeo
is currently serving a 150-year sentence (Greenhaven Correctional) for his
crimes. All his appeals and paroles have been denied, and he is next up for
parole in 2001.
Dr.
Hans Holzer made a TV documentary titled “Murder in Amityville” which was
never released. In this documentary, he interviewed Ronald DeFeo (Butch)
Jr. In this interview, DeFeo described how he shot his father first, then his
mother. He then claims that he could not make himself stop shooting, that it
was as if someone was “inside moving me.” He further states that the noise of
the gun was tremendous, making his ears ring, but in the background he could
hear a dog screaming, which he believed is in part what covered up the sounds
of the shots. Investigators have no explanation of why the shots were not
heard by neighbors, or by anyone outside the house.
Ed
and Lorraine Warren investigated the house, and claim that the demonic
infestation is real. They encountered entities in the home, and defend the
theory that the Lutz's story is indeed, true. The Amityville investigation is
their most requested lecture topic. Dr. Holzer’s opinion however, is NOT
favorable towards the Warrens. He debunked them as investigators, calling
them unsuitable and unqualified to conduct paranormal investigations, and
stated the Warrens were religious fanatics who were masquerading as
demonologists…
But, what exactly
is the Lutz’s story? What do they
claim happened to them in the house on Ocean Drive? I was unable to find
(to date) any transcripts of interviews with the Lutz's giving “first hand”
accounts of their story, except for this brief piece: There was a film named
“Hollywood Ghost Stories” made, in which there was an interview with George
and Kathy Lutz. The following was taken from the footage where George talked
about “Jody” the “imaginary friend” of their daughter: “…and that at times it
was little bigger than a teddy bear, and at other times it would be bigger
than the house. Jody had the ability to change its’ size… we’re glad it’s
over. For us, it’s over.”
Other claims include George Lutz being cold all the time. He would spend most
of his time sitting in front of the fireplace, adding more and
more wood to the
flames in an attempt to get warm. He suffered personality changes, becoming
depressed and short tempered, and stopped bathing. His financial condition
worsened severely, declining even more when he stopped going to work.
Kathy had her own claims…a large ceramic lion they kept in their living room
apparently moved of its own accord, from one place to the next. George
tripped over it at one point. It was moved to another room, but ended up
back in the living room, even though no one had put it there. George woke up
every morning at the same time that the DeFeo
murders took place in the house. There were flies in one room, a marching
band was heard in the middle of the night, and Kathy claims that at one point
she was levitated while in bed, and George saw her appearance become that of a
very old woman. When Kathy looked at herself in the mirror, she only saw
deep lines on either side of her face.
The boathouse had problems with the door—in spite of repeated locking, it
would be found open, at times banging in the wind. Windows were either found
inexplicably open, or were even smashed. George awoke to find himself
paralyzed, and unable to help his family during a demonic encounter. He did
not regain control of his body until his stepchildren ran into the room,
claiming there had been a monster there.
And then, of course, there was the Red Room, which was located in the
basement, and believed to be the center of the demonic activity. The room
wasn’t a room at all, but instead a small area, painted red, supposedly there
to give access to the houses’ plumbing. It is not large enough for a man to
stand up in.
Finally, the Lutz family ran from the house and left, never to live there
again. They had occupied the house for less than a month. Their story became
sensationalized in movies and books, but the issue of whether or not the
Amityville Horror was a hoax will probably never be completely answered. The
people who have lived there after the Lutzes have apparently had no encounters
with anything supernatural. The address was changed to help protect privacy,
and the famous windows were replaced with square ones.
-Webmaster.
