Episode Details

They knew six people had been murdered inside the house. They moved in anyway. Twenty-eight days later, they were gone.

Before The Amityville Horror became a bestselling book and horror movie, 112 Ocean Avenue was the scene of a devastating true crime. In November 1974, Ronald “Butch” DeFeo Jr. killed his parents and four siblings inside their Long Island home. A little over a year later, George and Kathy Lutz moved in with their three children—and began reporting experiences that would make the address infamous.

In this spooky-season episode of Kat Has Questions, we explore the DeFeo family murders and the Lutz family’s alleged haunting: the priest’s chilling warning, George’s 3:15 a.m. wake-ups, swarms of flies in winter, the mysterious red room, Missy’s invisible friend Jodie, and claims of levitation.

Then we follow the story beyond those 28 days, examining Ed and Lorraine Warren’s involvement, the “ghost boy” photograph, allegations of a hoax, and how the book and movies changed the story.

What happened inside the Amityville house—and how did a family tragedy become one of America’s most famous haunted-house legends?

Follow Kat Has Questions for more true crime, unsolved mysteries, and strange history. Stay curious.

Content note: This episode discusses family violence and the murder of children.


SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
ABC News. (2002, October 31). Amityville Horror: Horror or hoax? https://abcnews.com/Primetime/Story?id=132035

Associated Press. (2021, March 15). DeFeo, convicted killer in ‘Amityville Horror’ case, dies. KSL.com. https://www.ksl.com/article/50126381/defeo-convicted-killer-in-amityville-horror-case-dies

Belanger, J. (2005, April 12). George Lutz’s Amityville Horror. Ghostvillage.com. https://www.ghostvillage.com/legends/2005/legends36_04122005.shtml

Biddle, K. (2022, January 5). The Amityville Horror photographs. Skeptical Inquirer. https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-amityville-horror-photographs/

Capitalizing on a tragedy. (n.d.). The Amityville Murders. https://amityvillemurders.com/the-haunting/capitalizing-on-a-tragedy.html

DeFeo v. Artuz, 958 F. Supp. 104 (E.D.N.Y. 1997). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/958/104/1881179/Lang, K. (2013, October 6).

The Amityville Horror: History vs. Hollywood. History vs. Hollywood. https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/amityvillehorror1979.php

Lutz v. De Laurentiis, 211 Cal. App. 3d 1317 (1989). https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ca-court-of-appeal/1760262.html

Morris-Grant, B. (2024, November 17). The DeFeo family were murdered inside their Amityville home in 1974. What happened to them formed a ‘cottage industry’ horror franchise. ABC News.