In December of 1975, newlyweds George and Kathy Lutz moved into a house at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York, setting off what would become one of the most famous haunted house stories of all time. The house, the site of a grisly mass murder, had a history that the Lutzes were not concerned about, but just 28 days later, they were fleeing for their lives with only the clothes on their back. Based on the 1977 best selling novel by Jay Anson, "The Amityville Horror" was one of the most successful films of 1979, but how much of this story is actually true? Using historic newsreel, as well as interviews from Ronald DeFeo Jr. and George Lutz, join us as we explore the true, and maybe not so true, history of one of the most famous houses in the world.
Sources and Credits:
Narrated by: Carissa Willis and Tara Moore
Researched by: Carissa Willis and Tara Moore
Podcast edited by: Carissa Willis
Music by: SoundGalleryByDmitryTaras from Pixabay
Mellor, Lee Dr. Behind the Horror: True Stories That Inspired Horror Movies, Penguin Random House, New York, 2020
Shock Docs - Amityville Horror House - Discovery + / ID
Blistein, Jon. “Ronald DeFeo, Killer Who Inspired ‘The Amityville Horror,’ Dead at 69”, Rolling Stone Magazine, March 16th, 2021
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/amityville-horror-murderer-ronald-defeo-dead-1142644/
https://youtu.be/dM6D4pSausw - News Clip
https://youtu.be/WtNXl_z8Ue8 - Ronald DeFeo Jr. Clip
https://youtu.be/tgaWzCfckHM - George Lutz Interview
The Amityville Horror. Directed by Stuart Rosenberg, performances by James
Brolin, Margot Kidder, and Rod Steiger, American International Pictures, 1979.
Armstrong, Frances J. The Real Amityville Horror, Independently Published, 2017.
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