Horrific Hauntings : Amityville Horror House at 112 Ocean Avenue

  “This is WOR New York. Stay tuned for in conversation. First this bulletin from the WOR newsroom: Six members of one family have been found shot to death in their night clothes in their expensive home in Amityville, Long Island. The only available information at this moment according to the Amityville village police is that the mem- victims have been identified as members of the DeFeo family. They were found by a twenty-three-year-old son, Ronald DeFeo, who is believed to be the only surviving member of the family. Six members of one family found shot to death in their home in Amityville Long Island. We will have further details on the 11 o'clock news. This was the first radio broadcast to announce the murders in the Amityville Horror House at 112 Ocean Avenue.

History

 The entire DeFeo family were shot by one of their own, Ronald. This terrible event would spark the start of a current-day legend. A legend around which 15 Amityville films were made. Ronald to begin with, claimed that a hit man murdered them, whom he named. But, this tale was proved wrong, for the reason that the intended hitman was not in New York at the time of the murders. The very next day, Ronald confessed to having killed his family all by himself. He stated: "It all started so fast. Once I started, I just couldn’t stop. It went so fast".

 What he called ‘it’ started around three in the morning at 112 ocean street. Ronald took his 35-calibre rifle and psychotically shot his brothers, sisters, mother and father. One bullet for his siblings and two for his parents. Later, Ronald bathed and redressed, threw his gun into the swimming pool, and then went to work normally. It wasn’t till later that day, around 6.30 pm, that Ronald opened up about the death of his family.

 While Ronald’s story about the bloody event has been inconsistent, the most famous claim is that he had killed his family due to demonic voices in his head. At some point in his trial, Ronald's advocate set up a defence of insanity, which was supported by means of a court psychiatrist. Regardless, the judgement determined Ronald was both responsible and had control over his actions and sentenced him to six consecutive life sentences.

 In the following years, Ronald claimed that he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he executed the murders. In another model of the story, his sister Dawn was the murderer. His story has changed so often that the handiest reality which we will now be certain of is that Ronald DeFeo is a liar. Certainly, perhaps the most demonic issue of the Amityville murders is the creativeness of the killer himself. However, in spite of Ronald's terrible lies, there are things which make this case peculiar.

 All the victims had been located lying on their stomachs, without signs of struggle. Toxicology reports have proved that no sedatives were used, and police determined no proof of Ronald having used a silencer on his very loud rifle. How then, did the DeFeos continue to be asleep in their beds as Ronald killed them one after the other?  Dr Howard Adelman, the examiner on the case, said that he was “mystified” as to how a single gunman could have committed the crime. In reaction, there have been several competing theories but, none, in reality, satisfies the question of how Ronald went on a flurry of kills when the others were asleep. Even if the house did not already host an evil entity, being the scene of such a grotesque crime, it could have hosted one after these events.

 A bit over a year later, 112 Ocean Avenue, the scene of these dreadful murders, became home to a new family. The residence with all its furniture intact was sold to George and Kathy Lutz and their three kids. Although they had knowledge about the gruesome things that had taken place there, the Lutzes were positive, describing the residence as their dream home. They even set up a sign that named the house ‘High Hopes’. But, they could only inhabit the house for 28 days. They would forcefully emerge from its partitions, running out in their nightwear, leaving behind all of their possessions, and never returning.

Paranormal Occurrences

 Whilst you listen to any of the Lutzes’ testimonies, there is a feeling that they are saying the truth. On the very first day of moving into the house, the Lutzes commenced feeling as though something was not right. A family friend, and neighbourhood Catholic priest, Father Ralph Pecoraro visited the house to perform a blessing. George told what occurred in one of his final interviews before his death in 2006. Whilst blessing, the priest was disturbed by a weird feeling he got in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Pecoraro told about it to George, who informed him that it'd be the stitching room.

 The priest who supposedly appeared relieved, then stated: “That’s good, as long as no one sleeps in there”. Paranormal activities unfolded very soon. “Within a week Kathy's hand had been touched by something that we discussed and couldn't explain. It was just something unseen”, are George’s own words. “We also had - um - hoards of flies that would appear within two rooms. And, no matter how many times we would kill them they would reappear.”, Lisa added in the interview. “It wasn't in the water. The floor itself turned black. And at first it was one bathroom, and then another and then another. And then telephone repairmen came three times because each time we tried to communicate with the priest we would run into faulty connections.”, George added in the interview.

 Time and again, noises jolted the family from their sleep during the night. George was the one who was disturbed the most. He described how the front door would violently open and close, and when he investigated, he would see it locked with the dog asleep in front of it. Paranormal investigator, Ed warren, drew interest in how most of the paranormal events occurred at three o’clock in the morning, the same time Ronald DeFeo murdered his own family. Kathy Lutz mentioned that she got into a state of deep, contented, lethargy in the house. She would by no means want to leave. Even the simplest of chores became too much for her.

 Others have said how the house appeared to age Kathy, both mentally and physically. On the night that they fled the house, George claims to have witnessed his wife become an aged woman before his very eyes. The visage took several hours to wear off. Although, it's too easy to push aside the lutzes tale as a made-up one, the consistency with which they maintained their story makes it arguably believable.

 A documentary, filmed in 2012, after the deaths of both Kathy and George, has introduced additional proof and intrigue to the Amityville case. For the first time since 1976, one of the Lutz youngsters, Daniel Lutz, came forward to discuss his childhood experience. Daniel has corroborated his mom's and stepfather's stories while adding some of his own. One of the most disturbing events, which has haunted him since the day it befell, was when he saw the door of the boat house open and shut repeatedly with extreme violence. The family dog, Harry, with his pen being beside the boat residence, was visibly disturbed. In an attempt to get away, he jumped over the fence of his pen and apparently seemed to hang himself. After rescuing the dog, it took Daniel and George an amazing effort to close the door.

 It was then Daniel remembers one of the weirdest elements of his stories at Amityville. In the course of the interview, his own disbelief at what he saw, even a few years later, is quite obvious to look at. When the reporter asked, “What did you see? What was in the window?”, Daniel replied,” It would have been what looked like a cartoon character of a - um -- um -- an angry pig. With, like, wolf-like teeth”. When he and George went upstairs to investigate, they found a rocking chair moving all by itself. Daniel claimed that he was possessed by a powerful entity in the house. Even after leaving the Amityville house, Daniel was sent to a Catholic monastic school by his parents. There, the priests performed exorcism rituals for a year to rid him of the demon which had possessed him in that house.

 "I had just gotten in a fight with George about - I don't even remember anymore. So, by the time I got to the second landing [...] I was projected up the stairs, into the wall. And my mother was, like, fifteen feet behind me. [...] I know that the spirit of some other thing passed right through me. [...] My mother was standing right there, and she broke down and cried. That was the most horrible thing she had ever seen. [...] And I stand up and - and - my body starts, like... I no longer have control of myself. [...] She jumped around in shock, like something just scrapped her, or touched her. And, it entered into me- through me. And if I have to describe what it felt like, it would be like the numbness after being shot. And from somewhere in the room, It said: 'It is you'. It was like sub-base. Like a gargle and a crackle to it. And, that stuck with me for at least a decade on a daily basis.", are words from Daniel in the interview.

 On the last night the Lutzes spent at Amityville, an unseen force lifted Kathy and the two boys up with their beds. Daniel says he still remembers the sense of terror he felt as the headboard of his and his brother’s beds smashed at each other and the ceiling. They were trapped on the beds as it levitated. This became the tipping point and they couldn't tolerate it anymore. After 28 days of living with a constant feeling of terror, the Lutzes called father Pecoraro, who suggested that they go away from the house and spend the night at another place. 

Investigation

 In March of 1976,  psychics, paranormal researchers and a news crew were allowed access to 112 Ocean Avenue. Amongst the investigators were Ed and Lorraine Warren. During the initial investigation, Lorraine got repulsed when she entered one of the rooms which, was later observed to have been the bedroom of Ronald DeFeo. Lorraine believed that even as numerous spirits roamed the house, there was one unique entity which was more powerful, and malevolent than the others.

 “When we went to into the house that day, we didn't realise that it was diabolically infested. This case had everything. It had the monstrosities of the night, which roamed that house, which infested it, which caused a young man to murder his whole family. The Amityville case affected our personal lives more than any case we ever worked on.”, this is what the Warrens had to say about the house in an interview. The Warren’s photographer captured the notorious photo of a spectral kid in a doorway. A few have speculated that that is the youngest member of the family to be murdered in 1974, John Matthew DeFeo.

 Daniel lutz states that each one of the hauntings was brought about by George Lutz. In spite of denials during his lifetime, Daniel asserts that George was a person who enjoyed occult rituals. “I think somewhere along the line that George’s beliefs and practices, and things that he was directly involved with triggered and was a catalyst to what was going on in the house and it was kinda like a magic trick gone bad that you couldn't shut off.”, said Daniel.

 He also states that George used to be an abusive stepfather, a reason that led him to leave the house at the age of 15. It is interesting that Daniel might corroborate the tale of a man who repulsed him and abused him as a child. His statements might give insights into why George preserved all of the possessions of folks that had died in the residence before. Should it be that, as a dabbler inside the occult, George knew something of the alleged power of death and blood? Possibly George Lutz had attempted to interact with this energy. In the process of interacting with the souls of the DeFeos, did George disturb some thing darker? As a result, did he unleash demonic forces which he couldn't control upon himself and his own family?  Unfortunately, all we are able to do is raise questions.