For Sale / Movie Houses: The Houses of “THE AMITYVILLE HORROR” (1979): 108 Ocean Ave., Amityville, N.Y
Those of you who know me, or at least those who have read any of my posts, you know I loves me a good old creepy house – put that house on the water and normally I’m sold. But even I have my limits – those limits would be personified by this one. The Amityville Horror house in Long Island.
Even if you’re not a believer in the occult – this is the home where the very real 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. who at 3:15 am on November 13, 1974, shot his parents and four siblings to death while peacefully asleep in their own beds. That fact alone would cause me a bit of a hesitation.
The DeFeo saga, combined with the Lutz family follow up story, was amalgamated by Jay Anson who penned the novel “The Amityville Horror” which focuses on the later homeowner’s paranormal experiences. The successful book spawned an even more successful movie (Staring James Brolin and Margot Kidder) whose own success (you guessed it) spawned many (MANY) sequels and spin-offs far too numerous to list here. Most of which were financially successful enough to continue to warrant – you guessed it – additional spin-offs – including a 2005 remake of the original staring Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George in the lead roles. This version grossed $108 million on a $19 million budget proving there remains strong interest in the Lutz story.
As the owners of 112 Ocean Avenue at the time of the production of the 1979 movie, Jim and Barbara Cromarty, were in the process of suing author Jay Anson, publisher Prentice-Hall and the Lutzs for making “false misrepresentations made willfully and solely for commercial exploitation.”, it was clear that The Amityville Horror could not be filmed at the actual house where the alleged hauntings occurred. As a result, a stand-in for the house was located at 18 Brooks Road in Toms River, New Jersey. Structural prosthetics were added to the home to help it resemble the Lutz’s original home, which included the iconic (and infamous) third floor “eye” windows. The production crew also constructed a boathouse on the property, which remains to this day.
Interestingly enough, both famous houses have gone through a series of changed ownerships – who would have thought?
Brief History of the property:
If you’re not familiar with the story, The Amityville Horror is the ultimate haunted house thriller – mainly because it was allegedly “true”. It wasn’t about gloomy, shadow filled castles or Hollywood monsters, it was about regular people in a neighbourhood that looked like Anytown USA. It looked like it could happen to you – which, it turns out, is actually quite terrifying.
The stately Dutch Colonial at 112 Ocean Avenue was by outward appearance, an expensive and stately looking Long Island home, nestled in a well-established coastal village. It is classically styled with cedar shingled walls, shuttered windows, white lattice balconies and, at the time of the murders, hosted an optimistic white sign on the lawn that read: “High Hopes.” The DeFeos had lived in the home for about nine years when, at 3:15am on the night of Nov. 13, 1974, 23-year-old Ronald Jr. the oldest of the DeFoe children, walked casually throughout the home with a .35 caliber rifle and killed his entire family while they slept. The next morning, police discovered parents Louise and Ronald DeFeo Sr., and siblings 18-year-old Dawn, 13-year-old Allison, 12-year-old Marc, and 9-year-old John Matthew all lifeless in their beds, dressed in their pajamas. Ronald J. DeFeo Jr. was convicted of fatally shooting his entire family and was given six sentences of 25 years to life. At his trail, DeFoe’s lawyers argued that he had killed his family members because voices in the home had convinced him to do it.
In December 1975, a year following the murders and one month after DeFeo was convicted of the slayings, newlyweds George and Kathy Lutz and their three young children (Daniel, Christopher and Melissa (Missy)) moved into the large waterfront house, which they had reportedly snatched for the bargain price of $80,000.
And then it began… allegedly.
Immediately following their move into their new home, the Lutzes’ experienced strange and horrific events, including swarms of flies filling bedrooms, walls seeping ooze, strange odors, slamming doors and glowing red eyes watching them through the windows. Their 5-year-old daughter Missy befriended a haunted pig-like being named Joey, doors were ripped from their hinges, and a priest friend was “slapped” by an unseen entity when he attempted to bless the couple’s new home with holy water. These events forced the Lutzes to flee after only 28 days claiming to have been driven out by paranormal phenomenon… thus launched the beginnings of “The Amityville Horror” story.
As a side note Ronald DeFeo Jr. died in his prison cell on March 12, 2021 while still serving his 6 consecutive life sentences. He was 69 years old.
Two Houses – The Actual Horror House and The Movie Horror House:
As mentioned, the real Amityville house on Ocean Drive was unavailable to use in the film, thus a stand in house was eventually located at 18 Brooks Rd in Toms River, New Jersey, about 100 miles from Amityville to use as the iconic home in the film. The Toms River house was altered with a temporary gamble roof and the infamous third story “eye” windows to match the original home’s style. Additionally, $31,000 was spent on the construction of a boathouse and slip in Toms River, again to mirror the one on the Amityville property. In 1981, following the release of the movie, the house was relocated from its original location to its current position directly on Brooks Road. A new home was built on the original waterfront site, with the boat house constructed for the film remaining as part of the new property.
The two-story 3,370-square-foot square foot four bedroom, five-bathroom home been iconified by numerous book covers, movie posters and well, from the movie itself, although its Dutch Colonial architectural style matches thousands of other homes built in the same 1920’s period.
The property last sold on Jan 24, 2023, for $1.46 mill far below the latest $1.7 mill asking price. The new owners have chosen to remain anonymous for obvious reasons. According to Zillow (I freaken love Zillow!), prior to this recent change in ownership, the home has had a turbulent listing history with a series of listings, price reductions and listing removals often languishing on the market – the most dramatic was the July 1, 2011 listing for $1.45 mill with eleven (count ‘em eleven!) price reductions and relisting’s finally finding a new owner in 2013 for $350,000 – a $1.1 mill reduction and a loss of $445,000 from its previous Jan 23, 2001 purchase.
The Actual Horror House:
The original 5,000 square foot, three-story “Stately Center Hall Colonial” waterfront home at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, was constructed in 1927 with five bedrooms and three and a half baths. The waterfront property which sold in 2010 for $950,000 most recently changed hands in Jan 2017 for the greatly reduced price of $605,000. The home now boasts new square windows (replacing the third floor “eyes”) and a new address – previous owners having successfully petitioned the city to change their location (on paper) to 108 Ocean Avenue in an effort to thwart the curious. The 112 original address no longer exists.
Following the Lutz’s hasty exit in January 1976, at which time the home defaulted into bank ownership, the house changed ownership four different times since the murders, the first being James and Barbara Cromarty who purchased the property from the bank. The Cromarty’s are the owners who changed the home’s address from 112 Ocean Avenue to 108, hoping to stave off stalkers and retain its fluctuating value. To this day, the Amityville Horror house address remains as 108.
After an uneventful decade living in the house, they sold to Peter and Jeanne O’Neill in 1987. The O’Neills sold in 1997 for $310,000, to Brian Wilson (not the Beach Boys singer) who in turn sold to Caroline D’Antonio and her husband, David in 2010 after it was listed for $1.15 million and ultimately discounted to $950,000. Per the earlier mention, the infamous house last changed hands in March 2017 to unknown purchasers who still reside in the home. Seemingly, none of the owners since the Lutz’s have run from the house screaming nor did they report suffering any strange experiences.
Knock yourself out if you want to be the next owner of this classic Dutch Colonial Murder House. Picture yourself, as the delighted new owners of this classic waterfront prize, proudly taking your mother-in-law on a tour through your new home. Showing her the living room, the kitchen … the spot where Ron Junior stood while he aimed his shotgun at both of his parents … and where he pulled the trigger on his 18-year-old sister … his 9-year-old brother … Ah, these are those Kodak moments that make lasting memories.
Welcome Home.
