The Amityville Horror - The Movie - The Facts - The Hoax

2005 Movie Poster

Thirteen months after the tragedy that took place on Ocean Avenue newly weds George and Kathy Lutz purchased “High Hopes” in December 1975 for the bargain price of $80,000. They planned to start their new life here with there three Children from Kathy’s previous marriage. After hearing of the homes history a friend close to George recommended that he have the house blessed by a Priest. A priest by the name of Father Ralph J. Pecorado came by while the family was still unpacking their things. While he was there Father Pecorado claims he entered the bedroom upstairs that once belonged to John and Marc Defeo and heard a voice shout “GET OUT!” and also claimed the invisible presence struck him in the face. He did not tell the family of this; however he did ask that they not use the room as a bed room. The family not knowing a reason why still took the Priest’s advice using it as a sewing room for Kathy. In the book and movie versions of this story the family stays in contact with Father Pecorado. When in reality, this was their only encounter with him. 

The Newspaper Ad that led George & Kathy
To "High Hopes"

Also below the home in the basement George found a room hidden that was also not in the blueprints for the home. It was a small storage area with red walls, and he claims it was unusually cold in there with the smell of human excrement, or smelled somewhat like a mausoleum.

When we look back on the homes history it is said that a man by the name of John Ketchum fled from Salem during the witch trials and hid behind the basement walls of the now famous home. (The home wasn’t built until 1925, and  the original house that stood on this spot was moved. However, the basement and red room remained.) John Ketcham was said to be an evil man who had torture chambers built in the basement of the home.

"Ketcham & Kill 'Em" Scene From 2005 Remake

He would lock Indians in the red room and torture them. Legend states that Ketcham slit his own throat because he thought it would give him the ability to “live forever.” In the 2005 film version of Amityville Horror “Ronald Butch Defeo” hears voices saying “Catch em’, Kill em”. Later in the same Film “Kathy Lutz” hears voices in the kitchen, when she looks at the refrigerator door the alphabet magnets have been arranged to say “Ketcham, Kill Em’.” None of this has been proven or disproven by the Lutz family.


The Lutz family only lived in the home for 28 days before fleeing for their lives from their dream home called High Hopes. Claiming to have been plagued by evil spirits, demons, ghosts, etc…

George, Kathy, & their dog Harry

These are a few things that haunted the family during their short stay:

· George would wake up at 3:15 every morning and would go out to check the boathouse. Later he would learn that this was the estimated time of the DeFeo killings.

·  The house was plagued by swarms of flies despite the winter weather.

·  Kathy had vivid nightmares about the murders and discovered the order in which they occurred, and the rooms where they took place. The Lutzes' children also began sleeping on their stomachs, in the same way that the dead bodies in the DeFeo murders had been found.

·  Kathy would feel a sensation as if "being embraced" in a loving manner, by an unseen force.

·  Kathy discovered a small hidden room (around four feet by five feet) behind shelving in the basement. The walls were painted red and the room did not appear in the blueprints of the house. The room came to be known as "The Red Room." This room had a profound effect on their dog Harry, who refused to go near it and cowered as if sensing something negative.

·  There were cold spots and odors of perfume and excrement in areas of the house where no wind drafts or piping would explain the source.

·  While tending to the fire, George and Kathy saw the image of a demon with half his head blown out. It was burned into the soot in the back of the fireplace.

·  The Lutzes' five year old daughter, Missy, developed an imaginary friend named "Jodie," a demonic pig-like creature with glowing red eyes.

·  George would be woken up by the sound of the front door slamming. He would race downstairs to find the dog sleeping soundly at the front door. Nobody else heard the sound although it was loud enough to wake the house.

·  George would hear what was described as a "German marching band tuning up" or what sounded like a clock radio playing not quite on frequency. When he went downstairs the noise would cease.

·  George realized that he bore a strong resemblance to Ronald DeFeo, Jr., and began drinking at The Witches' Brew, the bar where DeFeo was once a regular customer.

·  While checking the boathouse one night, George saw a pair of red eyes looking at him from Missy's bedroom window. When he went upstairs to her room, there was nothing to be found. Later it was suggested that it could have been "Jodie".

·  While in bed, Kathy received red welts on her chest caused by an unseen force and was levitated two feet off the bed.

·  Locks, doors and windows in the house were damaged by an unseen force.

·  Cloven hoof prints attributed to an enormous pig appeared in the snow outside the house on January 1, 1976.

·  Green slime oozed from walls in the hall, and also from the keyhole of the playroom door in the attic.

·  A 12-inch (30 cm) crucifix, hung in a closet by Kathy, revolved until it was upside down and gave off a sour smell.

·  George tripped over a 4-foot-high (1.2 m) china lion which was an ornament in the living room, and was left with bite marks on one of his ankles.

·  George saw Kathy transform into an old woman of ninety, "the hair wild, a shocking white, the face a mass of wrinkles and ugly lines, and saliva dripping from the toothless mouth." – Source: Wikipedia.org

George and Kathy Lutz attempted a blessing on their own on January 8, 1976. George held a crucifix while they both recited the Lord's Prayer. While in the living room George allegedly heard a chorus of voices shouting to them: “Will you stop?!”

In mid-January 1976, and after another failed attempt at a house blessing by George and Kathy, they experienced what would turn out to be their final night in the house. The Lutzes declined to give a full account of the events that took place on this occasion, describing them as "too frightening."

The Front of "High Hopes" As It Appears Today

After getting in touch with Father Mancuso, the Lutzes decided to take some belongings and stay at Kathy’s mother’s house in nearby Deer Park, NY until they had sorted out the problems with the house. They claimed that the phenomena followed them there, with the final scene of Anson's book describing "greenish-black slime" coming up the staircase towards them. On January 14, 1976 George and Kathy Lutz, with their three children and their dog Harry, left 112 Ocean Avenue leaving most of their possessions behind. The next day, a mover came in to remove all of the possessions to send to the Lutzes. He reported no paranormal phenomena while inside the house.

The Sunroom

The Formal Living Area

Several Families have lived in the house since, and have stated the only horrifying experiences they have are caused by curious spectators. Claiming people will climb the fence, look in the windows, take pictures in front of the home, and some have even tried to break in! So… did Kathy and George Lutz make it up? Or was there something they may have triggered within the home that would have caused such traumatizing events to occur?

Kathleen Theresa Lutz died of emphysema on August 17, 2004. Shortly thereafter George Lee Lutz died of heart disease on May 8, 2006. Kathy’s son Chris is releasing a film called “My Amityville Horror” claiming his step-father George made most of it up, but that strange things did occur in the home. Another money generating scheme? More Accurate Depiction of a “true story?” I guess we will soon see when the film is released. Until then happy haunting.

The Dining Room

View of Backyard & Boathouse from Balcony

Note From Blog Author: 112 Ocean Avenue’s address has been changed. It is not private and is available online if you look hard enough. All I ask, is that you respect the current owners of the home and not do anything to upset them or get your self into trouble! Taking pictures from the street is one thing, but trying to break in… that’s a crime. PLEASE respect the family’s rights to privacy.

Also any interior photos of the home would be much appreciated. Please Send Them to: AmityvilleAmerica

The Boat House