Revisiting my childhood Amityville Horror experiences, family connections, & some thoughts on the whole story.
by Anthony S Burdge, edited by Jessica Burke
For this week’s Our Strange Meanderings entry we head to Amityville. This article has been in draft form for a while. It is a follow up to my earlier “Introduction” articles. I shall slightly recap the case of the Amityville Horror, then discuss my wee connections to the story as I cited back in the Introduction article part two. This may be a lengthy article.
The 50th anniversary of the DeFeo murders in Amityville at 112 Ocean Ave was two years ago. This past January 14th 2026 it was 50 years since the Lutz Family fled from their home. I could be wrong, but I cannot imagine anyone reading this article who is unfamiliar with the story of The Amityville Horror, but just on the off chance…
THE STORY
On November 13, 1974 Ronnie “Butch” DeFeo shot and killed his entire family. This included his Mother, Father, and his younger siblings (two sisters and two brothers). I am not going to delve theories of whether his younger sister, Dawn, was involved. DeFeo was arrested on November 14, eventually convicted, and repeatedly changed his story over the years. It seems as though with each new iteration of his crimes, new theories arose.
The Lutz family moved into the home, still furnished with the DeFeo belongings, just over a year after the murders in December 1975. The Lutzes fled the home 28 days later, after alleged “demonic” and paranormal activity. Several weeks later, a paranormal investigation and seance was conducted on March 6, 1976. George Lutz had invited several notable psychics including Ed and Lorraine Warren. This event was televised and reported on by Journalists Marvin Scott and Laura Didio. (Fun fact: Jessie remembers watching it on television with her parents, especially since her father kept repeating how ridiculous it all was, how it was a “hoax” [which she was too little to understand], and it was all “such bullshit” [that she totally understood]).
In April of 1977 the Cromarty Family bought and moved into the alleged haunted house after George Lutz transferred the house back to the bank. Little did the Cromarty’s know upon moving that by September 1977 The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson was to be published. Anson’s book, alleged to be a true story, was about what the Lutz family experienced in their 28 days residing at 112 Ocean Ave. This was just twenty months after the Lutzes fled in January 1976.
The Lutz’s story became an overnight sensation, with the Lutzes becoming celebrities; they were in newspapers, magazines and on various television programs.
But, according to Alyssa Fiorentino and Kelly Allen’s article:
“When Jim and Barbara Cromarty bought the house for $55,000 in April of 1977, they were unaware that a book would soon be published about it. By November, the Cromartys had been bombarded by so many unwanted visitors, they decided to change the address of the house. This, however, did nothing to stop curious onlookers from coming by at all hours of the day.…In an interview with Newsday the following year, the Cromartys revealed just how bad the situation had gotten, saying that because so many ‘visitors’ came late at night, they were barely sleeping.
The home’s horror house reputation even followed 14-year-old Joyce Cromarty to school, where classmates harassed her and asked repeatedly if she’d seen any ghosts since moving in. But the Cromartys said they hadn’t experienced anything paranormal there. By December of 1978, the constant barrage of visitors proved to be too much for the family, who decided to move out and put the house on the market for $100,000. By the time The Amityville Horror starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder hit theaters in July of 1979, the Cromartys had yet to find any serious buyers. Meanwhile, the new wave of curiosity sparked by the movie was affecting the entire community”. (HOUSE BEAUTIFUL)
ME, MY DAD, & AMITYVILLE: the 1979 MOVIE, the HOUSE, & the BOOK
My first experience with The Amityville Horror story was when my father took me to see the film in the late Summer of 1979, at a theater in Bay Shore, NY. I was just 7 years old . For those who don’t know New York, Bay Shore isn’t very far from Amityville. Fun fact: the Amityville Village Theater would not book the film to be shown. However, the film was shown all over Long Island, but not in Amityville.
Perhaps due to head and brain trauma at different points in my life, I have very little memory of my childhood in the mid-late 1970s or early 1980s. However, there are a few memories that have stuck with me all of my life, including seeing The Amityville Horror in the theater in the summer of 1979.
In the movie theater, as the film played I was in an aisle seat with my father was seated to my left. We were probably about 10 rows backs from the screen. A number of scenes flashed with lightening and special effects, the theater lit up up for a few moments. Across the aisle and down about 3 rows was a man in a light tan sports jacket looking right at me. I can still see him in mind to this day. He appeared older than my father, graying, and may have been in his 60s. During the flashing moments, he looked right at me and made scary faces, even raising his arms with his hands extended like claws. He was like a geritol vampire mimicking Dracula, poorly. I do feel as if I had been a bit freaked, but do not have much memory of any deep emotional reaction. This was my first exposure to the horror genre, but not my first experience with the paranormal.
My next memory of that night was sitting in the back seat of our car, which I believe was a Volkswagen Rabbit. My father had pulled into the driveway of 108 Ocean Ave, formerly 112. By the time the film had been released in July 1979, the Cromarty family had already changed the house number to 108. This change was made in November 1977 barely two months after the release of the book by Jay Anson, but it was necessary. The Lutz story had already gripped the Nation’s attention via their media appearances and interviews. Years later, Barbara Cromarty said that they “had people outside, all day and night.” (Read Full Article)
During our visit to 108 Ocean Avenue, my father put the car in park, the house looming up on our left, the original “Eye” windows glaring down at me. I had no idea the house was real. My father turned to face me, his left hand pointing back at the house stating, “See there aren’t any ghosts!”
What I do not understand to this day is why he stated that about ghosts, or even why he thought it necessary to go there, even pulling in their driveway! Perhaps he was of the same opinion as Jessie’s dad? That the “haunting” was all BS concocted by Lutz? Maybe he also knew I had been scared in the movie, so he wanted to dispel that notion by visiting the house? I don’t remember much more about that moment, but I was more than likely freaked out. Especially since seeing those windows made it all real for me. (Remember, I was only 7).
I suppose, like everyone else who was a part of “Amityville Tourism,” at the time, my parents were a part of the “in crowd.” Years later, my mother fondly told me: “Remember when we would park by the house and just look at it? They changed the upstairs windows….it was great for you and your brothers, you would look at the house and sleep all the way home!” I also suppose, that there were other visits that I just don’t remember…especially since we had family who lived so close to Amityville.
Both my Uncle J and my Aunt M lived in nearby Bayshore at the time with their three sons, my cousins, who we often visited during my childhood. My cousin J also had memories. He once told me: “Driving by at night is the best! As a teenager we’d go hang out on the lawn in the dark!”
I do not know where my father took me after the movie, after he thought it necessary to visit the house. We may have gone back to my Uncle’s Bayshore home, where my Mom and brothers may have been waiting as they were too little to see the film. Or, maybe we straight home to Woodhaven, Queens.
It would not be until a when I was in the third grade that I was introduced to Jay Anson’s The Amityville Horror at a school Library book sale. I had 3 books picked out and was ready to pay for them. My father had accompanied me at the book sale. No idea why. I had in hand: a Stephen King book, The Amityville Horror and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
But then the librarian refused to sell me 2 of the 3 books. She felt he King and Amityville books were inappropriate for children.
My father told her, “I do not care if he F@#ing reads Playboy as long as he reads!”
I guess she was taken aback since she sold the books to me. I had later learned that my parents had a first edition copy of the Anson book. I wondered if that was the copy I bought at that book sale all those years earlier. My parents always encouraged me to read letting me pick and choose what I wished, which is something I’m still grateful about.
MY UNCLE J , CROMARTY, WITCHCRAFT MUSEUM, & THE OCCULT
My Uncle J was a Suffolk County Police Officer in 1974 when the DeFeo murders occurred. The Amityville Police Department were first responders and the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) handled the DeFeo crime scene. My Uncle’s precinct was one that responded to the DeFeo murders. In an attempt to find out whether or not my Uncle actually was a part of the police response to the DeFeo murders in 1974, I reached out to Suffolk County PD last Fall. I submitted a FOIL request to Suffolk County PD, who eventually said I should contact the DA’s Office, which denied my request for information. Submitting a FOIL request wasn’t that difficult, but waiting for a response is part of the reason this article went on the back burner for so long. It took ages for them to get back to me and then ages for the DA’s Office to deny my request, which wasn’t asking for much at all except to know if my Uncle was on scene. I’ll never know, but since so many police responded, but chances are he was there at some point during the investigation.
Additionally my late Cousin J informed me that his father, also J, had been friends with Jim Cromarty, the subsequent owner of the Amityville home after Lutz. Cromarty was born and raised in Amityville and was involved in varied business’ and organizations that supported law enforcement. Perhaps this was how he became friendly with my Uncle.
Another odd coincidence…
Literally a 5 minute drive from my Uncle’s Bay Shore Home was “The Buckland Museum of Witchcraft & Magick.” Founded by Raymond Buckland—often referred to as the father of American Wicca—the museum first began in the basement of his Long Island home before moving to a commercial space on First Avenue in Bay Shore, NY. Buckland had moved into the area in 1966, just a few years before my Aunt and Uncle moved into the neighborhood. There weren’t any connections between my family and Buckland, but I find it another odd permutation of interconnectedness that my extended family lived near someone who had been friendly with George Lutz.
As far as I know my Uncle did not know Buckland; by the time my parents took my brothers and I to visit Uncle J, Buckland’s Museum had already moved to New Hampshire. Perhaps Uncle J knew of the nearby museum, or perhaps not. However, he definitely knew of George Lutz.
In the MGM 4 part documentary Amityville: An Origin Story, we learn from Christopher (Lutz) Quarantino that his stepfather knew Raymond Buckland. Joe Vetter, a former bike club friend, cited that George visited Buckland’s Museum when it was in New Hampshire sometime in 1975. This was in support of what Quarantino stated about George being into Transcendental Meditation and the Occult. Only two years prior, in 1973, Buckland had closed the doors to the Bay Shore Museum. But, it was in Weirs Beach, New Hampshire that a new iteration of the museum had been set up, and this was where Lutz went to converse with Buckland.
It’s hard to believe that the Lutz didn’t know of Buckland prior to 1975. He lived on Long Island, ran a business and met his wife all on Long Island. Lutz lived in close proximity to Bay Shore and Amityville prior to marrying Kathy.
The practice of Transcendental Meditation, like many other meditative disciplines, utilizes “sacred” words, and phrases to focus on with rhythmic breathing. Usually, with most practitioners of Transcendental Meditation, the intent is to achieve a peaceful, higher state of consciousness. Jessie’s uncle used it after he came home from Vietnam. But, in the above cited Amityville documentary, Quaratino notes that George Lutz wasn’t seeking peace. Lutz used profane occult words and phrases in his meditative practices. This aligns with what his brother Danny said of George in the My Amityville Horror documentary. If you haven’t seen either documentary, they are certainly worth checking out to hear what the boys experienced, which is often overlooked in the whole culture that’s arisen from this story.
Also, it’s worth noting that both documentaries noted that George Lutz had a collection of occult books in his library. However, there is no strong public evidence that George Lutz was a formal occultist, a Satanist, a ceremonial magician, or a member of any known occult group. Daniel and Christopher described George as occult-curious and actively dabbling. George himself denied meaningful occult knowledge and continued to frame the Amityville events as something that happened to the family, not something he intentionally caused. However, does someone have to have “meaningful occult knowledge”, public connections, or active associations with formal occult groups to be a practitioner of the occult? During the 1970s especially and the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, being an occult practitioner regardless of the kind, wasn’t something many people would publicly admit to.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS, WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?
Where does this leave us? It has been 47 years since The Amityville Horror movie was released, and almost 50 since the book was published. This story has been a part of my life for a long time. In viewing documentaries noted above, along with numerous others, reading many books, articles, on all the theories, what conclusion can I come to?
For one, the Lutz kids experienced something in the Ocean Avenue home. But before discussing anything “paranormal” there has should be serious discussion concerning abuse in both the DeFeo & Lutz household. With regard to DeFeo Sr., it sounds to me that abuse was a regular, perhaps even daily event. So much so, that the accused eldest son, Ronnie “Butch” DeFeo tried to shoot his father in the head. This coincided with one of the many arguments between father and son. More than a routine argument. Some reports in different documentaries noted that Ronnie Sr often engaged in fist fights with Butch. During or after one such fight, Butch held a gun to his father’s head. But, when the gun jammed DeFeo Sr. supposedly “found” religion, again. Then again, other claims that DeFeo Sr had been known to hold intense prayer vigils, going outside at all hours of the day or night to the front of the house to pray before the various religious statues he had installed on the lawn. But, those prayers did nothing to curb the abuse. DeFeo Sr. was not only abusive to his children, but to his wife as well.
With regard to George Lutz, different documentaries, articles, and accounts about him revealed that he was abusive to his first wife and only became abusive to his step children after moving into the Amityville home. It’s also important to note that George married Kathy earlier the same year that they moved into 112 Ocean Avenue. This doesn’t mean dark forces in the home caused the abuse. It’s not unusual for the “honeymoon period” to mask such behavior.
In My Amityville Horror, Danny Lutz explains how traumatic, and oppressive the household became. Both Lutz sons explain how George studied mind control, telepathy and the occult using Transcendental Meditation as a vehicle for these studies. Within the first few chapters of The Amityville Horror novel it is told that George and Kathy beat the children with a strap and wooden spoon. Even though we might look at “corporal punishment” with a different mind today, there is a difference between being a disciplinarian and being abusive, and it’s important to note how the Lutz children felt about the behavior from both George and their mother.
It’s also important to note from what Christopher Quaratino expressed: the abuse continued after fleeing 112 Ocean Ave. The kids were forced to be on their “best behavior” when it came to interviews and public-facing discussion regarding what happened in Amityville. So, were the Lutzes possessed? For those who believe they were, why were they inclined to dish out abuse even after the alleged “haunting” had been left behind? Not only such physical abuse, but potential neglect the children experienced when their parents were on global, whirlwind publicity tours for weeks and months at a time.
Another thing to consider, if George had indeed irritated the traumatized DeFeo spirits by his occult actions, then perhaps this could be a reason why there was alleged activity which followed George to California? If any such activity was sparked by Lutz and focused on him specifically, could that be a reason why the house has had no activity in the decades since the Lutzes left? Maybe the DeFeo family wanted to be left in peace. We will never truly know.
What we do know, from witness accounts, is that George Lutz wanted to control the narrative when it came to all things Amityville. Lutz attorney William Weber spoke numerous times of the whole thing being a hoax as early as 1979. Weber was first the defense attorney for Butch DeFeo. At one point, Weber had a night of wine and inspiration with the Lutz couple. Weber later approached George Lutz with a book contract. But, George Lutz dropped Weber as an attorney after disagreeing on the terms of the contract. Ultimately Lutz did not sign a contract for the book with Weber, but later, Lutz signed Jay Anson to write a book based on 45 hours of cassette recordings George and Kathy had made. It’s also interesting to note how George felt disenfranchised by all the Amityville “sequels”, (which ironically never included the trademarked title). There’s even an account of George having suffered a fatal heart attack in relation to one of his lawsuits regarding one of the films. In my opinion, George Lutz was a narcissistic opportunist, who concocted a story, ran with it, and gripped his cash cow to his very end.
I also have to point out how the Amityville “horror” story became centered on a “demonic” house with a purportedly “evil” history which supposedly was built on or near Native burial ground. As pointed out in various media long before this article, this is a tired, hackneyed, racist trope. Often in horror films of the era that such bigoted allegories had to find some “other” to blame for such “accursed” conditions. Often the “other” amounted to indigenous peoples, either via a curse, disturbed burial ground, spoiled land, or for added cinematic flair, witches might’ve been layered in as another malapropism. Over the years, the Amityville story and alleged experiences changed, pending when it was told or to whom it was told. Some of the history that Lutz claimed was part of the house or the land was simply not true, as was documented in various documentaries, articles, and research done in the years since the Lutz stories. Lutz often claimed he did “historic research” using the local historical society resources. Those claims were also not true. Lutz’s claims about any history of the Amityville house he concocted, as stated in Amityville: An Origin Story.
The Lutz boys accuse George of dabbling in the occult, and could he have disturbed any spirits in the house? Absolutely. Could the spirit of a religious Ronnie DeFeo Sr have gotten offended at George’s actions? Perhaps. Were the spirits of the DeFeo family upset? Maybe. A tragedy occurred in that house first and foremost. Can it leave residual traumatic energy? I certainly am of the opinion it could have.
But, does that mean the purported activity was the result of some cursed land or some other claims with bigoted underpinnings? Not likely. Otherwise, why was there no activity after the Lutzes left?
In My Amityville Horror, Danny Lutz discusses knowing an experience as opposed to believing it. This is an argument I can appreciate. In my lifetime I have lived in, visited, or investigated locations known for paranormal activity. In these experiences, I have an inner knowing in those moments when I have encountered something. That inner knowing has been something I’ve felt innately. Knowing an experience is happening is different from believing something is happening. It’s not semantics either. Belief isn’t the same as knowledge. Belief is subjective. It’s based on opinion. Knowing is based on knowledge, which can be gained through evidence or through lived experience. Knowing I’ve had an experience, particularly a paranormal experience, was based on lived experience. Jessie’s had similar encounters. Neither of our experiences were based on preformed conclusions fed by any amount of paranormal entertainment telling us there would be something “haunting” any location.
At the start of this article, I cited that George Lutz had spoken to Laura Didio, Marvin Scott, and, at their invitation, Ed and Lorraine Warren. With others in tow, they conducted a seance and “investigation” of the house in March 1976. In a later interview with his son-in-law, Tony Spera, for their show Seekers of the Supernatural, Ed Warren called the Amityville House, “Diabolically Infested.” Lorrain Warren features prominently in My Amityville alongside Danny Lutz.
Part of the issue with the entire Amityville story involves the Warrens. Their involvement was how George Lutz’s narrative proliferated and how it has continued long after both the Warrens and the Lutzes have passed. Over the years, the Warrens became “demonology” and “supernatural” consultants on later Amityville films. And, most people are aware that their work spawned an entire cinematic universe rivaling Marvel’s with the Conjuring films. There have been numerous documentaries and articles accusing the famed couple of fraud. And those involved with some of their other cases, such as the Enfield haunting, echoed issues with the Warrens exploiting vulnerable people.
However, when my wife and I visited the Warren’s Occult Museum in Connecticut (which happened in the years before either the Conjuring films or before we even suspected any chicanery), we felt something with regards to the items housed in that space. We’ll explore this further in a forthcoming article sharing our thoughts and pictures from the museum.
So, regarding the two documentaries featuring the Lutz sons, I do see the need for them to tell their stories. We can question and deconstruct or analyze every aspect of this story as the public has already done….Like claims of George Lutz using telekinesis to move wrenches in his garage before moving to Amityville. Danny Lutz has not been public about that claim since My Amityville Horror, nor has Chris Quaratino either since the MGM doc. Does it mean that that didn’t happen? Not necessarily. But there’s a difference between anecdotal evidence and something that’s been verified, which is a bit paradoxical. If you experience something and know it’s been experienced, does that mean because there isn’t empirical evidence that your experience didn’t happen? Does the lack of verifiable data cancel out a person’s knowledge of experience?
And, just because one paranormal claim isn’t verified or is debunked, that doesn’t mean that other claims about paranormal activity are also suspect. George and Kathy Lutz are gone, yet the story of the haunting persists for new generations even though the majority of what George and Kathy Lutz claimed has long been debunked, especially by people who were themselves involved in creating the fiction, (such as Weber). Why does there have to be something beyond what actually happened? Why can’t it be enough that an entire family was tragically murdered in their home? End of Story.
Do we “believe” Ronnie DeFeo was possessed causing him to kill his entire family? If we do, then are we excusing his acts? Are we in the same headspace as those practicing trepanning to release demons in the head; (quite literally, it was a thing. Read about it here).
And are we to believe that something similar happened to George Lutz during his stay in the house, which caused him to be abusive? Was he possessed by the abusive spirit of DeFeo Sr.?
I can accept, though I am by no means condoning, that Ronnie Jr may have killed his parents due to his abusive father. But his siblings? They were children. And, to say the “demons” made him do it is again evading responsibility. He admitted that he was high, that he was intoxicated, so maybe that was why he did not stop shooting? We will never truly know.
The point of this article was to illustrate more familial connections to varied historical events similar to what I had laid out in the prior Introductory articles. I saw the film and read the book at an early age. In this case, my Uncle J was connected to the Amityville story by profession, location, and friendship. This is not entirely dissimilar to my Uncle W having worked at Willowbrook State School at the same time as convicted killer Andre Rand. Or my mother having driven by the deceased DEA agent killed by Gus Farace on Staten Island, or my ancestors being part of a gang of Loyalist Privateers during the Revolutionary War. Or the paranormal experiences I had as a child in our Vermont home circa 1973.
My life has had many odd connections, direct experiences and brushed alongside weird events. I’ll share one final thought as to mystery concerning my connections to the Amityville Horror tourism . When my Mom passed in 2023, and my father moved to a nursing home I inherited a portion of their library. My Mom had always been a devout Catholic, and my Dad kinda-sorta.
Amongst the books were two copies of this book Transcendental Meditation: The Essential Teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The classic text revised and updated by Jack Forem
Is there some subtle connection to all of this? My parents never mentioned this interest. It certainly is strange and perhaps just another question left unanswered.
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