The Amityville Horror House FOR SALE

FOR SALE: Amityville Horror House on Ocean Avenue  $1,150,000   5 Bedrooms, 4 Bathrooms

Well, it's not advertised quite that way in the real estate listings. There's no mention that it's the "Amityville Horror" house.

The first line of the listing reads: "Legendary Amityville Home.Pristine,Charming 3-Story, Waterfront Dutch Colonial Commanding Beautiful Views Of Amityville River."

Sounds beautiful!

And it IS beautiful! 

However, six people were murdered there in 1974. The home for sale is not the home that was used for the films, but it is the ACTUAL home where six people were shot and killed. It is the home that the book and movies were based on. 

Ronald DeFeo, Jr., who was 23 at the time, shot and killed his parents and four younger siblings one night. They were all found face down in their beds, in bedrooms in that house. The murder scene was discovered because Ronald DeFeo Jr. ran into a bar near the house the next evening yelling for help, saying that his parents had been shot. Some people at the bar went with him back to the house, saw some of the people who had been murdered, and one of the men who had been at the bar made this 911 call: http://www.amityvillemurders.com/reference/911.html

Ronald DeFeo Jr. had inconsistencies in his story when talking with the police, and eventually confessed to the murder. He is currently serving a life sentence in a prison in New York. His stories about the murders have changed over time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_DeFeo,_Jr.

A little over a year after the murders in the home, the Lutz family purchased the home for a very low price - $80,000. They knew that the murders had taken place in the home, but were not concerned about it. A month after moving in, they left the house in terror. Their month of living in that house is what the book and movies are based on (or inspired by, depending on the movie). The details about this story and the house are fascinating: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amityville_Horror  

Although the murders of 1974 are definitely fact, there is much debate over whether the events that took place a year later are fact or fiction. 

There are people who would have no problem buying that house, and I respect them for being fearless. 

As for me, I would be too "creeped out." Even if none of the events of The Amityville Horror took place, I would still be uncomfortable living in a home knowing that a family was murdered there. As someone who loves old houses, I love to imagine what went on in a house in it's history. I like to imagine families gathered around the dining table laughing and celebrating a special occasion. I like to wonder how they decorated the home, what type of art work they had on the walls, when they planted a certain tree, etc. 

I wouldn't want to imagine horrible events taking place in the very home I lived in. I know that some people have the ability to NOT think about such things, but my imagination wouldn't allow me that luxury. It goes where it wants to go at times, and I'm sure my imagination would be all over the place, especially on any evening that I was home alone. One slight creak of the house, and my mind would begin a whole series of "what ifs."

When you see the Amityville Horror home now it's hard to imagine that it has such a horrifying history. The home looks like a beautiful dream home: http://realestate.yahoo.com/New_York/Amityville/:e6205c817f205c4cb4e232e4a758acf

Be sure to click on "More Property Detail" and "Virtual Tour" (just above that) to see more photos. 

Could you live there? What about if the asking price was $55,000? That's what it sold for in 1977, after the Lutz family moved out. 

The video clip from "The Real Amityville Horror" documentary was posted to YouTube by FilmmakerEBW.You can see the rest of the documentary by clicking on their YouTube username, then clicking on the videos they have posted. Thank you to FilmmakerEBW for posting these videos to YouTube.