The Amityville Horror house investigations and media legacy

Record summary

The house at 112 Ocean Avenue became the center of the 1974 DeFeo murders and the Lutz family’s 1976–1977 claims, publicized through books, litigation, films, and repeated media investigations. During 1990–2009, renewed attention often treated the residence as a paradigmatic haunted house despite longstanding allegations that parts of the story were fabricated or commercially embellished. It is essential for comparison because testimony, publishing, legal controversy, and popular culture are inseparable. Researchers should consult court records, interviews, contemporaneous reporting, and later owners’ statements rather than rely on cinematic summaries.