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[SIZE=5]Daniel Lutz, a ten-year-old boy at the time but now a spooky-looking, middle-aged man with deep-set, piercing blue eyes and an unsettling smile, insists he was menaced by spirits in the house and that his family’s stay there has ruined his life.
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=5]And he blames the evil presence on his stepfather George, a man whose occult dabblings, says Daniel, opened the gateway to dark forces he couldn’t control.[/SIZE]
Weber — who had fallen out with the Lutzes over money — claimed he had passed
detailed information about the murders to the couple who then weaved it into
their fantasy account — in which, for instance, the neighbour’s cat became a
pig-like demon that left cloven hoof prints in the snow. But the couple always
stuck to their story, even if they conceded that some details had been
exaggerated or invented by the media.
This was a money making hoax.
Even as I believe the Lutz' dabbled in black magic, they made up or exaggerated the events.
There might be some residual spirits around the home but nothing like the demonic forces the Warrens or Lutz' want folk to believe.
Jay Hanson made the most money.
Daniel Lutz was young when he lived there, so he might believe what he saw or felt but no one after the Lutz' ever said this home was haunted.
During a press conference to refute the Lutzes'
allegations, the Cromartys issued a two‑page statement. An excerpt
read:
[SIZE=2]
Quote:
[SIZE=2]The quiet village of
Amityville, Long
Island, has been made infamous by a hoax. It will possibly
never be
the
same. It is Long Island's equivalent to Watergate. None of
us
would be here
today if a responsible publisher and author had
not
given
credibility to two liars, and allowed them the privilege
of
putting the
word true on a book in which in all actuality is
a novel.
The
credibility of the hoax stems from using a
charlatan Catholic
priest, who has been banned from performing his
religious duties by
the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the equivalent
of disbarment of a
lawyer. This charlatan priest has been involved with
a complicity to a
lie and, therefore, deserves no credibility,
and should be dealt
with
accordingly.[/SIZE]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]The Cromartys sued the Lutzes, Jay Anson and the
publishers of The Amityville Horror. Their multi‑million dollar
suit argued that not only was the book an invasion of privacy, but that
"false misrepresentations were made willfully and solely for commercial
exploitation." Eventually, the parties arrived at an undisclosed
settlement. [/SIZE]
On August 17, 1987, Peter and Jeanne O'Neil
purchased the house from the Cromartys. During their stay, they changed
the famed eye‑windows to square ones and filled in the DeFeo pool. Since
the yearly property taxes are in excess of $10,000, neighbors state that
the O'Neils moved to save money for their children's college
tuition.
[SIZE=2]On June 10, 1997, Brian Wilson purchased the house
for approximately $310,000. Since 1997, Wilson has renovated the
property. Among the many improvements, he has strengthened the
foundation of the sinking boathouse and added a sunroom to the back of
the house.[/SIZE]
These were the owners of the home, after the Lutz' the O'Neils' owned it.
I doubt the story of the satanic cult or the motorcycle gang.
I've lived this for many years, I was close friends with someone who was close to DeFeo Jr.
I agree, but with one point. I don't know that the recent owner of the Amityville house have sought out and exploited paranormal tv shows, whereas Fox Hollow Farm has.
I wonder about the places where these tragedies happen... and why 100 years later they get lots of press -- like Villesca Axe Murder House. I've never heard of that, which makes me wonder if the stuff about it and the press it gets is hokum.
And I've always been interested in real (and fiction) murder mysteries. Not only was my mother a big murder mystery reader, but I read early, and was reading Agatha Christie at 9. Mom considered them safe. But, to add to this -- when I was 12, my sister's best friend's sister was murdered in her bed.
Not to go off topic; was there an arrest...unsolved?
[SIZE=5]Daniel Lutz, a ten-year-old boy at the time but now a spooky-looking, middle-aged man with deep-set, piercing blue eyes and an unsettling smile, insists he was menaced by spirits in the house and that his family’s stay there has ruined his life.
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=5]And he blames the evil presence on his stepfather George, a man whose occult dabblings, says Daniel, opened the gateway to dark forces he couldn’t control.[/SIZE]
"At the time of the interview, Christopher was trying to raise money to produce his own version of the truth, and if I wanted to hear one, just one, of the creepy things that had happened to him I could pay five bucks and listen to his online chat."
I think, reading these interview, a logical theory now is that the Lutz's, particularly the father, was so obsessed with the occult before the supposed events in this Amityville house that every little event, every little unexplained noise, every little breeze, every shadow became attributed to ghosts and supernatural presense in his mind. It was "confirmation bias" - the tendency to explain otherwise normal events to fit personal beliefs - extended to the extreme (and we have plenty of examples of confirmation bias in this forum). This would explain them passing lie detector events - they truly thought the were the victim of a haunting. This would also explain why Lutz claimed to continue to be plagued by demonic events. The children were essentially brainwashed at such an impressionable young age, the wife the same. And of course then the story was embellished greatly by lawyers and authors for dramatic purposes. I have no doubt these lawyers and authors and other handlers knew this was a fanciful story from a misguided, possibly mentally ill, man that they could make a buck out of, and thus the beginning of a famous hoax was born.
These were the owners of the home, after the Lutz' the O'Neils' owned it.
I doubt the story of the satanic cult or the motorcycle gang.
I've lived this for many years, I was close friends with someone who was close to DeFeo Jr.
You can be free to have your doubts but -
The Cromarty family had a few secrets of their own. I will say that I have been told that they were involved with the darker side of the occult.
The Cromarty family, like the Lutz and DeFeo families before them, were a little "rougher around the edges" than most of the residents of the Canal Section of Amityville.
They owned, among other things, an auto raceway, a roller rink, a bowling alley and several tattoo shops.
Their stay in the house was hardly without tragedy - their adult son, a member of an infamous Long Island motorcycle club - died of a drug overdose in that house.
So it appears that drug addiction of male children is another "gift" of that house.
You know, for me, that one drug overdose death would be more than enough for me to not want to live in that house - ever.
No matter what the price.
They sued the Lutz family? That is so laughable. The Lutz' were in an out of bankruptcy and foreclosure for most of their tumultuous life. If I were the Cromartys, you know who I would sue? MYSELF. - For being to dam stupid to buy a house like that!
ETA - Barbara Cromarty's son from her first marriage was named David Roskin.
This isn't a great link but after wading through it I found a picture of the Cromarty family, and the information that he OD ed in 112 Ocean.
The Cromarty family had a few secrets of their own. I will say that I have been told that they were involved with the darker side of the occult.
The Cromarty family, like the Lutz and DeFeo families before them, were a little "rougher around the edges" than most of the residents of the Canal Section of Amityville.
They owned, among other things, an auto raceway, a roller rink, a bowling alley and several tattoo shops.
Their stay in the house was hardly without tragedy - their adult son, a member of an infamous Long Island motorcycle club - died of a drug overdose in that house.
So it appears that drug addiction of male children is another "gift" of that house.
You know, for me, that one drug overdose death would be more than enough for me to not want to live in that house - ever.
No matter what the price.
They sued the Lutz family? That is so laughable. The Lutz' were in an out of bankruptcy and foreclosure for most of their tumultuous life. If I were the Cromartys, you know who I would sue? MYSELF. - For being to dam stupid to buy a house like that!
ETA - Barbara Cromarty's son from her first marriage was named David Roskin.
This isn't a great link but after wading through it I found a picture of the Cromarty family, and the information that he OD ed in 112 Ocean.
True facts can't be argued; thanks for providing additional Amityville info.
You are most welcomie. I know quite a bit about this because of my age, that I'm from Long Island, and this was a "hot topic" among LI teens and tweens back in the 70s.
My dad visiting the house and my uncle wanting to buy it - that helped. As did working in another uncle's office with a woman who was married to a Ketcham.
Then, there was the time I was looking for an obscure music record store on the South Shore. I drove too far east. I realized this and made a right on to Ocean Ave. I didn't notice the street sign and "Ocean Ave" on Long Island is a common street name. Kind of like "Maple Street" or "Oak Ave" anywhere else.
Drove down Ocean in some town. I didn't know the name. Allof the homes were quiet but one. Outside I noticed a bunch of rather scruffy, tattooed men, with thick side burns, beards, and leather vests.
I stopped and asked if any one knew where this record store was. A heavily tattooed man came over and told me that I was around 15 miles east of Merrick and that I soul get back of the parkway and head west. While he was friendly, something was scary. He leaned into my car. There was something demanding about his demeanor. He put his muscular fore arm on the car door.
Back in the 70s, tattoos were not the same as they are npw. Today, college students, moms, actors and teachers sport Tattoos. Nor so then.
This man's tattoo was of a laughing face. A depiction of Satan.
I asked him what village I had entered.
"Amityville" was the reply.
"Where that HOUSE is"? I asked.
Look behind me, That's the house. Wanna party with us? He asked.
(sure, I am seeking a gang rape experience in LI's most famous haunted house)
No thanks. I said. I need to go.
"You drink beer?" asked the man.
Sure. I replied.
He tossed me a can of Bud. I thanked him for the directions and I high tailed it out of Ocean Ave, tossing the beer out of the window as I left.
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That is so laughable. The Lutz' were in an out of bankruptcy and foreclosure for most of their tumultuous life. If I were the Cromartys, you know who I would sue? MYSELF. - For being to dam stupid to buy a house like that!
