My Amityville Horror: A Must Watch Documentary
Photo credit: IFC
My Amityville Horror: What if you were involved in one of the most famous hauntings in history? Scratch that; the MOST famous haunting in history. And what if the version sold(literally) to the press and the world wasn’t your story? What if it wasn’t the whole truth, or even how it really happened? And lastly-what if what really happened was much, much worse?
Note: While doing more research for the article, I found out that Ronald DeFeo, Jr just died on March 12, 2021. Creepy.
The Amityville Murders
The house in Amityville, Long Island was infamous before the Lutzes moved in. Ronald DeFeo, Jr slaughtered his family in the house on November 13, 1974, shooting them as they slept.
DeFeo pled insanity, insisting he heard voices telling him to murder his family. Although he did have the foresight to ditch his bloody clothes and the murder weapon in a storm drain.
But did he, really? So many things do not add up, including how one man could shoot a rifle multiple times, and not wake up the rest of the household. Theories abound, none of them paranormal. Was his sister involved? Was the insanity plea/hearing voices cooked up by the defense? DeFeo was a known heroin and LSD user, and the drugs seem to be the only demons with him in that house.
With his death, we’ll never know what really happened that night, and why he did what he did.
Daniel Lutz
The Lutz family is known throughout the world as the family that survived twenty eight days in a spirit infested house in Amityville, Long Island.
Daniel is one of those family members.
Daniel, along with his siblings, were not actually George Lutz’s children. He insisted on adopting them.
In this 2012 documentary, Daniel claims that George Lutz was the real evil entity.
What Happened at 108 Ocean Avenue?
According to Daniel, George was obsessed with the occult, and had been before buying the infamous house.
He remembers occult books and paraphernalia that George kept in his house before the family merged and moved.
Daniel claims that George instigated the paranormal activities, and the activities became too much for George to handle.
Anger
Daniel is an angry man. He has every right to be, if the documentary is to be believed. His own mother chose George over her son, allowing a very young Daniel to be homeless, bringing food to him at the dumpster he lived behind.
According to Daniel, George was cruel and abusive. While his siblings disagree with most of what Daniel says(Off camera. They do not appear in this documentary.) about the haunting, they are pretty much unanimous in their hatred of George Lutz. Daniel even likens the day George died to one of the best days of his life.
The Warrens
Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated the house, declaring it demonic.
That remains a matter of discussion and doubt, but one thing evident in this documentary is that Daniel respects and maybe even loves Lorraine like a mother. He visits her, and it seems the only time in the documentary when he is happy and at ease. The change in Daniel when she is with him is a complete 180.
What is the Truth?
Is the house another Cecil Hotel? Or was George the monster, summoning things he could not control, and abusing his adopted children? Or does Daniel mis-remember everything that happened when he was ten, his memories muddled by trauma, abuse, and Hollywood’s rendering of his ordeal?
Truth about such things as the paranormal experience is never black and white.
But Daniel did experience something that left him hurt and angry. Whether it was a demonic house or George, depends on what the viewer takes away.
I wish Daniel Lutz love, and above all, peace.
My Amityville Horror is available on DVD and on some streaming services.
