On December 18, 1975, George and Kathy Lutz moved their family into their new house on Ocean Avenue in Amityville, NY, where, just one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo Jr. had murdered all six members of his family. Twenty-eight days later, the Lutz family fled the home, leaving behind all their belongings and vowing never to return again. According to the Lutzes, their time in the house on Ocean Avenue was a nightmare of psychic attacks and demonic activity that put them in fear for their lives. The supposed experience of the Lutz family served as the basis for the iconic haunted house story, The Amityville Horror, and the countless films adapted from or inspired by the original novel. However, unlike most other stories of paranormal experiences, The Amityville Horror became a phenomenon that influenced everything from Ronald DeFeo’s criminal defense to the American public’s belief in the supernatural. Yet for all their talk of it being a genuine story of demonic activity, in the years since the publication of The Amityville Horror, a large body of evidence from skeptical evaluations to court records and interview transcripts suggest that America’s most notorious haunted house might not have been quite so haunted after all. Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!! References Ansen, Jay. 1978. The Amityville Horror. New York, NY: Bantam Books. Bartholomew, Robert, and Joe Nickell. 2016. "The Amityville Hoax at 40." Skeptic Magazine 8-12. Carter, A.J. 1976. "DeFeo house: legal twist." Newsday, February 17: 3. Drehsler, Alex, and Jim Scovel. 1977. "Fact or fiction." Newsday, November 17: 188. Gelder, Lawrence Van. 1977. "A real-life horror story." New York Times, October 9: L12. Lutz v. Hoffman et al. 1979. 77-032D-T (Southern District of California ). Nickell, Joe. 2003. "Amityville: The Horror of it All." Skeptical Inquirer 13-14. Nickell, Joe. 2009. "The questionable research of Hans Holzer, dean of ghost hunters (1920-2009)." Skeptical Inquirer 5-6. Schemo, Diane Jean. 1992. "'Amityville' prisoner says movie money tained defense." New York Times, June 25: B6. Snider, Jane. 1977. "New owners call house beautiful, not haunted ." Newsday, May 13: 23. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Wondery subscribers can listen to morbid early and ad free.
Join wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
You're listening to a Morbid network podcast.
Hey, weirdos, I have to tell you about this all in one shake that I am loving.
It's called cachava, and it is hands down the best thing that I have found to help me get all my essential nutrients into each and every day.
Cachava is the all in one superfood shake made up of high quality plant based nutrients.
It's got greens, superfoods, plant proteins, antioxidants, adaptogens, probiotics, literally just everything that your body craves to feel your best.
And it is creamy, it's smooth, comes together with just water, and it comes in five delicious flavors.
My personal favorites, if you know me, you know vanilla and chai.
I like to do half half, boom, vanilla chai.
But if that's not your vibe, they've also got chocolate matcha and coconut acai.
That's my third favorite.
I like to drink cachava first thing in the morning because it makes me feel satiated for hours.
And then I know that I'm starting my day energized.
I'm ready for my day, and I am getting all the nutrients that I need to put in my body first thing upon waking up.
Sometimes if I'm feeling a little bit cuckoo crazy, I had a scoop of peanut butter and blend it in and it's just like scrum diddly umptious.
Cachava is offering our listeners 10% off on their subscription for a limited time.
Just go to cachava.com morbidity, spelled Kachava and get 10% off your first order.
That's kachava.com morbid.
I love Cachava.