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| Ronald (Ronnie) DeFeo Jr. |
The house that we know as The Amityville Horror today was first built in 1890, Amityville, New York. It was eventually rebuilt into a Dutch Colonial house a block away. There were many previous owners before the DeFeo family moved in (June 28, 1965). It was a family of seven: Ronald DeFeo Sr. and Louise DeFeo (mother and father) and the children: Ronald (also nicknamed Ronnie or Butch) DeFeo Jr. (23), Dawn DeFeo (18), Allison DeFeo (13), Marc DeFeo (12), and John DeFeo (9). The reason for the house’s publicity and gossip is due to the murders taken place in the house on November 13, 1974. At around 3:15 AM, Ronnie shot his family members one by one with a .35-caliber rifle; killing his parents first and then his siblings. At around 6:30 AM, he then rushed to the town’s bar and told everyone that someone has murdered his family. During the investigations, the police were led to believe that he was a suspect. Eventually, Ronnie confessed that he had murdered his family. The people of Amityville could not believe the horror of the son murdering his own family; however, this is just the beginning of the house’s popularity. About a year later, the Lutz family moved in. After a month of living in the house, they fled on the 28th day, leaving all of their belongings. They claimed that the house was evil and possessed but have never explained what had happened on their very last night in the house. These events later led to one of the bestselling books, The Amityville Horror: A True Story by Jay Anson, the Hollywood versions of The Amityville Horror (which is based on Jay Anson’s book), and the fame of George and Kathy Lutz. All of the publicity had spread not only across the nation, but around the world. People all over the world read The Amityville Horror: A True Story and were fascinated that a house could this “evil” actually existed. The house was then visited by people from different countries, especially European countries, just to have a glimpse. The small town of Amityville became very annoyed because people were camping all over town, including the neighbor’s backyard and driveways. People were worshiping the house; grabbing every part of its’ outside property they possibly could. Interviews and newscasts increased in the town. Eventually it died down, but even today people still pass by to gawk at the house.
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| Allison & Dawn DeFeo |
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| George & Kathy Lutz |
Sources: MLA format
Amityville FAQ. Web. 10 November 2011. http://www.amityvillefaq.com/property.html
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