Members Editorial
The Truth About the Amityville Horror
Members editorials are the expressed personal opinions of the members who wrote them and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the Haunt Masters Club as a whole.
Paranormal Research & Investigation
Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia & Western North Carolina

Ronald “Butch” DeFeo, Jr. worked at his father’s Buick dealership and lived with his parents and four siblings in a three-story, Dutch Colonial home at 112 Ocean Avenue in the Long Island community of Amityville, New York. At just after 3:00 AM, November 14, 1974, he took a .35-caliber rifle and murdered his whole family. He shot his parents¸ Ronald Sr. and Louise twice each, starting with his father, then his two younger brothers John and Mark and finally his two sisters, Dawn and Allison. He trimmed his beard, took a shower, and then collected his bloody clothes and the rifle, stuffed them in a pillowcase and drove them to Brooklyn where he disposed of the evidence in a storm drain. He went on to work and left early to meet up with his girlfriend, Sherry Klein. They later joined friend Bobby Kelske at a bar, when Butch began complaining he could not reach anyone in his family by phone. After a few drinks, the three and a few other bar patrons went to investigate. What they discovered was horrifying and bar patron Joey Yeswit called the police; Within 10 minutes, Officer Kenneth Geguski arrived on the scene.

The police were perplexed to find each family member was still lying in their bed, and wondered how they all could have slept through the gunfire. Butch told the policemen then only person he thought capable of such horrendous acts was hitman Louis Falini, who had lived with the family for a while and knew the location in the basement where the family kept their cash and gems. But after the authorities found the box of ammunition in Butch’s room, his story quickly changed. He told them Falini had held a gun to his head that night and had ordered him to accompany him through the house while he killed Butch’s whole family. When asked why he didn’t report this to the authorities right after Falini had left, Butch confessed to the murders.

The Trial

Almost one year after the murders, on Tuesday, October 14, 1975, trial began and Butch was charged with six counts of second-degree murder. Gerard Sullivan, assistant district attorney with Suffolk County tried the case in which Butch claimed not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. William Weber defended Butch and argued that his client was denied council before his confession, which was taken after Butch had been assaulted by the police; allegations that have some merit. Doctor Daniel Schwartz, the psychiatrist who convinced a jury that David Berkowitz of the Son of Sam slayings was criminally insane, claimed that Butch had a neurotic disorder and was unaware of his actions that night. The prosecutor employed his own psychiatrist, Doctor Harold Zolan, who told the jury that he believed Butch suffered from an antisocial personality disorder.

People suffering from antisocial personality disorder (APD or ASPD), which is compared to sociopathy and psychopathic disorders, show a very limited range of human emotions, are prone to take risks and often suffer from a substance abuse problem, are indifferent to the possibility of pain or repercussions and show a lack of response to fear. More importantly, they are fully capable of comprehending and understanding their actions, which is evident when Butch cleaned up and disposed of the evidence.

On November 21, 1975, Ronald “Butch” DeFeo, Jr. was found guilty on all counts and was later sentenced to 25 years to life with the New York State Department of Corrections.

The Haunting

On December 18, 1975, George and Kathy Lutz bought the house at 112 Ocean Avenue for $80,000. On February 16, George contacted Doctor Stephen Kaplan from New York, then the executive director of the Parapsychology Institute of America, based on Long Island. He wanted an investigation done on his house, and told Doctor Kaplan that the whole family had experienced all sorts of paranormal phenomenon, including his daughter who spoke with a demonic pig she called “Jodie.” 38 days after the family had moved in, they abruptly left, only to return the next day for a yard sale. Later, in 1979, lawyer William Weber confessed that he and George Lutz had concocted the whole story over a few bottles of wine so that George could get out from under the mortgage.

In February of 1976, the local news station broadcast a séance from inside the house, led by Connecticut demonologist Ed Warren and his clairvoyant wife Lorraine. Ed used the old failsafe for those days, blaming occult forces for heart palpitations he claimed to be having in the house. Lorraine said that the land the house had been built on was once used as a place where the Native North American Shinnecock Indians kept the sick and insane members of their tribe until their death. Since this had been done for as long as they could remember, they would not bury the dead there, believing the land itself to be cursed; both husband and wife agreed that the house was inhabited by demons. The two teamed up with author Jay Anson, who wrote the book The Amityville Horror.

Sensationalism

The book was an instant success, but neighbors on Ocean Avenue weren’t happy. People would come from across the country to drive by the alleged haunted house at all hours of the day and night. Neighbors Jim and Barbara Cromarty, who later moved into the house, sued the author, the publisher and the Lutz family for disturbing their lives; the lawsuit was settled out of court.

The book was made into the movie The Amityville Horror, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, with the screenplay written by Sandor Stern. Since then, the original movie has been remade (2005) and many sequels have come to video:

  • Amityville II: The Possession (1982): Another family moves into the Amityville house and teenage son Sonny Montelli begins hearing voices that tells him to kill his family.
  • Amityville 3-D (1983): Author John Baxter moves into the Amityville house to write a novel, but everyone he knows begins dying unexplainably.
  • Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes (1989): A family moves into a Californian home but a lamp from the original Amityville house contains a demon that wants to possess a little girl.
  • The Amityville Curse (1990): Six friends decide to move into the Amityville house with predictable consequences.
  • Amityville 1992: It's About Time (1992): An antique clock from the original Amityville house is possessed and the demon torments a family.
  • Amityville: A New Generation (1993): A young artist discovers that his antique mirror came from the original Amityville house, and it shows him the origins of the evil in the house.
  • Amityville Dollhouse: Evil Never Dies (1997): A young girls dollhouse is built exactly like the famed Amityville house, and the family suffers the consequences.

Since this time, many have questioned the validity of the claims about the haunting at the Amityville house. Stephen Kaplan and Roxanne Salch Kaplan even wrote The Amityville Horror Conspiracy trying to debunk all the myths. Unfortunately, because of George Lutz’s decision, the questionable methodology and character of the Warrens and the sensationalism surrounding the book and the movies, if the house were indeed haunted by the late DeFeo family, we may never know.
Credits, Links, Resources, Sources and Suggested Reading:
1. http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/amityville1.htm
2. Dark Stories: Amityville Horror House
Ronald “Butch” DeFeo, Jr.
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