|
In December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz moved into a big Dutch Colonial home in Amityville, New York. The house had been a great bargain and no wonder, the last owners had died along with all but one of their children, as he was the murderer. The Lutz family was not totally comfortable living in a house that had been the site of such a horrible killing spree, but they knew they could not possibly afford such a nice house under normal circumstances. They thought they could handle it. Apparently, they could not. The family left the house less than a month later, the bank could have the house back, the Lutz family didn't want it anymore.
Many things worked together to drive the Lutz family from their home in Amityville. The family had financial problems, and the huge house was going to be a great consumer of finances. It had always been difficult to heat, and the Lutz were forced to rely on fireplaces because fuel oil was consumed at an alarming rate to keep a huge house warm, especially with it located close to water. George Lutz especially was always cold.
The financial stress (particularly near the holidays) put a strain on the Lutz marriage and family relationships were strained. Not surprisingly, both George and Kathy had nightmares - both about the house and about the murders, though the details of the murders were inaccurate in the dreams, but after all, they were just dreams. Their nerves began to feed off one another and more and more they felt strange and uncomfortable in the murder house. Any odd occurrence took on supernatural significance. Eventually, (showing more sense than families in horror movies) the family realized the house was not worth the strain and they left. A Newsday article came out in February 1976 about how the Lutz family had left the house to escape the "bad vibes."
Up until this point, the Lutz family probably didn't intend to perpetrate a hoax on anyone. They honestly found the house too spooky. Still, the Newsday article caught the public's thirst for the sensational: a haunted house where six people were murdered spooks the next family who tries to live there, driving them out! It was just too good. The Lutz family met the killer's lawyer who was planning to write a book about how supernatural forces made his client kill. He shared the details of the murders and encouraged the Lutz family to "go public" with their own story. With their financial troubles, the lure of book and movie sales must have been overwhelming. Thus, the seed of the Amityville Horror was born.
Neither George nor Kathy Lutz actually wrote The Amityville Horror. Jay Anson, based on audiotapes from the Lutzes, wrote the book at a pace of two chapters a week, hardly a pace conducive to much personal research or fact checking. Anson wrote a very popular ghost story - millions of copies were sold. However, even in 1976, discrepancies between the published story and the facts were noted. Newsday reported that the Lutzes told a press conference neither Sgt. Pat Cammarato, nor any other member of the Amityville police department, ever visited their home, even though such a visit is part of the published book. Also, George Lutz has admitted that his stepson Danny was never rushed to the hospital, as reported in the book. Anson clearly never meant the book to be a piece of journalism; for him the book was "one hell of a ghost story."
Like most legends, the Amityville story quickly grew beyond both the book and the movie. Few people seemed willing to abandon a good scary story just because it conficts with the facts. As the story grew, more and more details were added. The Amityville house is said to be built on a burial ground (either Indian or otherwise -- however a 1913 record of cemeteries in the area show no cemetery on the property). The Amityville house is said to be built on the site of an Indian insane asylum (to the surprise of the Montaukett tribe who never knew their ancestors had insane asylums!) The house is said to be built on the grave of John Ketcham, a famous witch. (There is no evidence that Ketcham was buried anywhere near the house, and much evidence that John Ketcham was a respected member of society - not a suspected witch.) The original builders of the house were said to have been driven to move because of supernatural problems. (The Moynahans actually moved into a small cottage while the large Dutch Colonial house was being built.) Stories abound that the murdered DeFeos experienced demonic activity before their death. (Relatives of the DeFeos totally refute this, saying that the problem the DeFeos faced in the house were domestic, not supernatural.)
And the biggest myth of all - every family that has tried to live in the house has been driven out or faced tragedy. Before the Lutz family, only the DeFeo family faced tragedy in the house and their tragedy was certainly not supernatural. The Moynahans lived to old age in the house. The next family, the Fitzgeralds never reported trouble in the house. The Rileys reported loving the house and only sold it because of a divorce, unfortunately, it doesn't take anything supernatural to cause most divorces.
Since the publication of the Amityville Horror, the house in Amityville has had a number of owners. None of them have experienced any supernatural phenomena in the house, though all have found the thrill seekers a little annoying. After the movie, the Cromarty family, who bought the house at a bargain without knowing its famous history, tried changing the street address and even the look of the house to discourage tourists. Nothing seemed to help and the Cromarty family put the house on the market and left for a time. Not surprisingly, no one wanted a house that came with constant rubber-neckers, and the Cromartys moved back in when the worst of the tourist rush thinned down. The next family to live in the house fled in horror -- from the property taxes -- which had risen along with the value of the house to over 7000 a year. The present owner of the fateful house is so pleased with it that he has invested in restoration of the boathouse and main house.
Today, nearly 25 years after the Lutz family fled the house, some people still cling to belief in the Amityville Horror, but for most, the Amityville Horror was just the Blair Witch Project of the 70s - a hell of a good ghost story but nothing more.
|
| |
