What really happened in Amityville, NY? This is a question that has plagued the paranormal society for years, and years. What really happened in the infamous story of the Amityville horror? This ghost story was one of the first that truly intrigued me in the paranormal. I was so captivated by it I made it a debate topic in my debate class in high school, and it was also used as an example in my speech about haunting's as a final. However one thing I have discovered about this story is how much controversy still revolves around the accounts of what actually happened. What makes this ghost story even more interesting is that its current owners have reported no strange happenings. This may send red lights out to most people proving that the story was hoax…..however I think it is the total opposite. What I am about to discuss is not based on any other articles, interviews, or books. The conclusion that I have formed surrounding the haunting in Amityville was formed from my own experiences and knowledge in similar circumstances. I have never been to the house (although I would love to) and have researched every opinion, and occurrence that happened at this publicly known location. For those that aren't 100% familiar with the back story I will write a brief description.
On November 13, 1974 police arrived on 112 Ocean Ave. to a gruesome scene after a frantic phone call in Amityville, NY. From that day fourth the sleepy town would never sleep the same again. A father, mother and four children lay inside the house brutally murdered by gunshots to their head, and other body parts in their peaceful sleep. The only survivor was a man named Ronald Defeo. At first he claimed he had no idea what happened…..then in the following weeks he admitted to being associated with the crime, but he still claims till this day his sister Dawn (who was also murdered) was the true mastermind behind the murders because she was so sick of the abuse. The family was anything but functional according to him, and other witnesses. Before the murders his father had placed religious statues in the front lawn and also had the infamous sign "High Hopes" hanging next to the mail box. Upon friends questioning why he had placed religious statues in his yard…his response was "I have a devil on my back." The home was under constant stress, according to friends, and distant family. There was lots of abuse and fighting, and Ronald's temper often found him moving in and out of the house. After a constant family struggle it all ended on that dark night in November. The house lay vacant for quite some time, and real-estate personal found it difficult to sell the house with it's gruesome past. Then 13 months after the murders a small family named the Lutzes decided it was their dream home, and reportedly wasn't concerned about the murders effecting their decision in purchasing the home. The house was located right by a large lake with a boat house, and the classic features that seemed to captivate the family. In the book it was said the Lutzes had a catholic priest come and bless the home do to the violent history. Apparently during the blessing the priest was told to get out when he began to splash holy water in the room with the infamous windows. After that occurrence it was reported he told the family to stay out of that room. According to numerous interviews, and writings the family noticed an immediate change in their moods, and overall personality once they settled into their new home. Even their pet dog was reported to suffer mood changes. While the dog was normally hyper, he became sluggish and tiresome while in the home. Night after night strange occurrences happened. It was reported strange stenches of bile, and perfume would waft through the house, along with strange black stains that would appear on fixtures, and in sinks, and toilets. From their slime apparently ran down the walls (which have never been proven). George Lutz reportedly built fires obsessively because he was so cold all the time and Kathy Lutz would often claim to have violent dreams about being shot in the head amongst other things. It was said at the height of the activity their youngest daughter befriended a invisible pig named Jodi. That would follow her around. Sometimes the pig was small and other times it was excessively large. On two accounts Jodi was reportedly seen by both Kathy and George. One account was red eyes beaming from the upstairs window, and another was the pig standing behind the little girl. After this occurrence they reported everything from bodily levitation to doors being ripped off hinges, furniture being rearranged to one side of the house, flies in the dead of winter, marching band noises, windows opening and closing, Glass breaking, and physical attacks. On the 28th night in the home The Lutzes left everything behind and fled the home…..never returning to get their personal belongings. This caused hype with news stations across the country, and an instantaneous interest in authors, and movie production companies. However where the media started the talk of a hoax began. According to Webber (a potential interest in writing a book with the accounts of the haunting) he helped concoct the whole thing with the Lutzes before they even abandoned the house. In the mean time numerous paranormal investigators and psychics made homage to the Amityville house. The Investigators that were chosen to do a publicly viewed investigation, and séance was Ed and Lorraine Warren. They reportedly found the house to be unlivable, and said demons resided at the home, armed with a unconvincing photo of a boy in a door way that apparently wasn't there when the shot was taken they stick by their story. This was only the beginning. Millions of dollars worth of books, movies, and merchandise later this house is still the center of controversy. So what do I think happened?
Keeping in mind that I don't know anyone involved, and based off of sheer opinion from theories I have gathered I do believe something happened at that house. This doesn't mean I believe all the paranormal happenings actually occurred, but I do think enough happened to scare away a family. There are elements to every haunting that makes a place paranormal active. Take away one of those elements and activity will fade, or be hardly noticeable. After being with Trueghost for so many years I have seen this happen on both active, and explainable cases. I have been on cases where the family was ready to flee a house because of bizarre happenings. Every case that has the flee factor tends to have the same elements. A large body of water, a negative emotional family change (lost love one, lost job, illness, or a difficult move), a renovated or old house like setting, rumors of death on or in the location, old or exposed wiring causing high EMF, and the big number 1 FEAR. When you look at all these elements I can safely say Amityville had almost all of the factors. There was a lake in their back yard…..every active case Trueghost has ever been on has large body of water in or around the property. Water has a high charge with electricity, and can be a good conductor of energy itself. We believe this element separates average case from an active case. The mother in the family had just gotten married to George prior to the move…..although marriage is a positive change it can also be a stressful one….especially with children involved, and looking for a house. It was also reported they had money problems and the house was barely affordable for them as it was…..money is a number one stressor in most relationships especially with a big decision like purchasing a home. On top of that there was a murder in the home….not just one but several, and it was extremely gruesome. Even though the Lutzes claim that didn't affect their decision in buying the home….I can confidently assume it was constantly in the back of their mind. Especially when they had a priest come over to bless the home even before the hauntings occued. On top of that they sleept in the rooms where the murders happened. It would be asinine to assume both the children and Kathy and George never thought of it once. This can lead to anxiety, fear, and obsession. You constantly wonder if anything will happen because of the violent past, and if you may experience something paranormal. The house was reported to be old, and it wouldn't surprise me if the basement had bad wiring….. most homes that are of a certain age do have bad wiring and it often goes unnoticed. Especially in a house where both families seemed to have to many personal problems to pay attention to maintenance. Old wiring gives off high EMF causing the feeling of paranoia, nausea, hallucinations, and audio hallucinations……especially at night when your mind is more susceptible to these things. Another dead give away of bad wiring was the reports of the flickering lights in the home. Enter a parasite…..which is a paranormal entity that feeds off of obsession and fear. A parasite is boarder line poltergeist. A parasite will happen when people are not in a healthy mental state, and are aware they have paranormal occurrences in their home. Most often an adult starts to acknowledge the activity once a child brings it to their attention. Once Jodi (the invisible friend of the youngest daughter) was brought to the attention of both parents that's when things got really active. Enter Fear, once all the other elements are in place and fear sets in you have the making of a perfect haunting. In this case I do not know the Lutzes and have only read about the accounts. However I find it hard to believe that they would flee their dream home that they put all their assets into in hopes of getting rich from a ghost story. I have heard countless haunted house stories, and its one and a million that have a chance of becoming as famous as Amityville……would you risk everything to take a chance that your house would make you rich? Would you flee a home that you put all your money into after starting a new marriage? I personally wouldn't…..Do I believe most of this ghost story has totally been blown out of proportion?……yes…I think the story was originally created from facts that could have been feasable, but once the media got a hold of the story, and the Lutzes had so much pressure on them the events became more fiction than fact..but I do think something happened. Often events (such as the over dramatic depicted hauntings in The Amityville Horror books, and movies) seem to be escalated in a humans mind if they believe there is a ghost in their home. For example; if you lived in a home where there was a violent past, and little eerie things began to happen one usually leans toward the explanation of a ghost. Imagine the activity escalates a little more every day, you will see a door creak open, or something fall off a shelf. Most humans have a tendecy to over dramatize such events. Instead of saying the door creaked open they will say the door swung wide open, and instead of saying the picture fell off the shelf, they will say it flew off the shelf. I think the house on 112 Ocean Ave did have activity, but I think it may have been no more active than in homes I have investigated. For some people the pararnormal is horrifying, and any kind of activity is too much activity. OH and as for the current home owners not experincing anything....just remember a big element is fear, obsession, and stress. It is highly likely the current family doesn't feed into any of the hype, or negativity in the environment thus keeping it quite. All it can take is to remove that negativity from an environment and all activity can seis. I HAVE SEEN IT HAPPEN, even in poltergeist cases!!….what do you think?