Amityville Murders Spawn Decades of Paranormal Debate

On November 13, 1974, 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. committed a horrific crime, fatally shooting his parents and four siblings in their Amityville, New York home. The murders were very real, and DeFeo was convicted and sent to prison after using an insanity defense, claiming he heard voices telling him to commit the killings.

A year later, the Lutz family moved into the same house, only to report a series of paranormal occurrences that they claimed forced them to flee the home just a month after moving in. This sparked the infamous Amityville Horror, which has been the subject of much debate and controversy ever since.

While the murders that preceded the Amityville Horror are undisputed facts, the alleged hauntings and supernatural events that followed have been heavily scrutinized. The next family to live in the house, the Cromarties, reported no such paranormal activity, leading many to question the Lutzes' claims. However, the house continues to draw curious sightseers, much to the annoyance of the current residents.