The Amityville Horror: Why It Works

Is Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House the most famous tale of a haunted house in fiction? Perhaps. Richard Matheson's Hell House, clearly inspired by Jackson, is more visceral and, in my opinion, scarier. I would also recommend Edward Lee's Flesh Gothic, an excellent updating of the Jackson psychic-haunting-investigation template. But the haunted house that scared me the most as a kid is the Dutch Colonial located at 112 Ocean Ave. in Amityville, NY. I nominate it as the most famous haunted house in fiction. But wasn't The Amityville Horror non-fiction? Sorta. Was it debunked as a hoax? Kinda. But I honestly don't care about the truth of it. I care about the story. And the story is good. It has legs. It has endured and grown, as all good legends do.

Let's start with the ghastly origins. In the early hours of November 13th, 1974, a heroin abusing 23 year-old, Ronnie DeFeo, murdered six members of his family. He shot them with a Marlin rifle while they lay on their stomachs in bed. He killed his parents and four younger siblings. Later, he went to a local bar and talked about the killings. He was arrested, convicted, and he rots in prison to this day. Some have disputed that Ronnie acted alone. How exactly do you shoot six people with a rifle and no neighbors hear the shots? Why were the victims still in their beds after the attack began and ALL sleeping on their stomachs? I don't know. But let's say Ronnie did it. The cops got the right guy. Justice was served. Okay, good.

In December 1975, newlyweds George and Kathy Lutz moved their family (Kathy had three kids from a previous marriage) into the former DeFeo home, which they purchased at a bargain price because of its notoriety. They even bought some of the old furniture, including two bedroom sets. Creepy or cheap, I can't decide.

Now stop.

Everything after this point makes my bullshit detector go haywire. But it doesn't matter unless you want to believe that what the Lutz family reported is true.

Isn't that how every good campfire ghost story begins?

"This really happened . . ."

Well, I don't think it did. Or not the way we've been told. See, a lot of different people contributed to the Amityville legend, and they all had motives, and telling the truth wasn't high on their list. First off, the Lutzes met with DeFeo's defense attorney who was mounting an insanity defense. Over bottles of wine, they discussed weird occurrences in the house. They brainstormed. The lawyer got the idea of writing a book. Then he was surprised to discover later that the Lutzes had connected with a writer on their own in an attempt to sell their story. Cut out of the deal, he's been debunking their "hoax" even since. Jay Anson, who wrote the bestselling book, NEVER met the Lutzes, and the Lutzes admitted he exaggerated, changed events around, and even made up stuff. Anson defended himself by saying he was a writer and he wanted to make money. He lifted his title from Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror. Anson's book is reportorial, spare, and frightening -- I can see why it made big bucks. A media circus followed. Less-than-credible demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren got involved. Ghost investigator Hans Holzer brought in a trance medium who channeled a Shinnecock Indian chief angered because the house was built on burial grounds. Great stuff. But true? Mmm . . . I don't think so. The movie poster gave us the spooky, iconic, round quarter windows glaring out like jack o' lantern eyes. Cinematics turned up the volume and explosive evil forces, capturing the momentum of a previous demonic big hit, The Exorcist. Now we've had sequels and remakes and books about the book . . . see why it's hard to swallow? But the story works. Why? Details. How many do I remember after years?

-the secret "red room" in the basement
-Jodie the Pig with the red eyes who left footprints in the snow
-Father Mancuso/Pecoraro getting slapped and told, "Get out!"
-the Lutzes moving out after 28 days
-flies on the wall
-blisters on the priest's hands
-blackened toilet bowls
-oozing slime on the walls
-waking up every night at the time of the DeFeo murders
-George chopping wood because he can't get warm
-Kathy levitating in bed
-the crucifix on the wall turning upside-down

Whew! I've got a good memory, but I'm sure you recall some of those same details. That's how we remember stories -- we string together strong details. I think this particular cloud of details is so potent it has lasted, and will last for years to come. You see, the devil is in the details. No residents of 112 Ocean Ave. have reported anything unusual since the Lutzes left. But they have changed the windows into rectangles. And the address has been altered to keep away curious tourists.