Episode 421: Amityville: Murder, Monsters, and Malarkey
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On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we give you a two-fer and talk both true crime and the most (in)famous haunting in America. That’s right, it’s the case known as the Amityville Horror. What started as a truly mysterious mass murder in the iconic house in Amityville evolved into a world-famous ghost story that spawned books, horror films, documentaries, and scarred the childhoods of countless kids growing up in the 1970s. (I’m looking at you “get ouuuuut” ghost!)
So, where does this multifaceted story begin? With the murder of six members of the DeFeo family in November of 1974. It was a middle-class family living under an abusive drunk, the father Robert DeFeo Sr. Their son, Robert Jr., snapped and pulled a gun on his father to stop the beatings, and his parents rewarded him with gifts and a job at the family car lot. One day, he left work early (as he often did) and talked mad smack about his family.
The next day at 6:30 AM, he burst back into the bar claiming his parents might have been shot. Witnesses followed him to find all six members of his family shot in their beds face down. This is where the mystery builds. No neighbors heard gunshots. There was no silencer, no sign of struggle, no drugs in their systems, and ultimately no motive for the killing of anyone other than the abusive dad.
This case was famous, and as a result, the house wasn’t worth much. Enter the Lutz family. They bought the murder scene and moved in, but sold the place only 28 days later. Why? Well, it was crazy haunted. There was a room full of flies, green ectoplasm leaking from the doors, a pig with flowing red eyes, and imaginary friend/ghost that their son could see, a demon boy photo, and a ghost who screamed “Get Out” at a priest.
Their story spawned a book and cult film, and the house was never the same again. But all may not be as it seemed, and a lot of doubt has been raised about the story of the haunting? So, who said the Lutz family was making it all up? Did they concoct the story over a bottle of wine in an attempt to make some money? Why did they move in only 28 days? What did the children claim happened to them that wasn’t in the movies? Was the house on an anceint indian mad house, and did George Lutz mess with occult powers in his garage? How does Drunk Brad’s theory legitimately explain the strange DeFeo murders? Listen, laugh, learn.
Visit our Sources:
https://www.biography.com/news/the-real-amityville-horror-amityville-the-awakening-movie
https://allthatsinteresting.com/amityville-murders-ronald-defeo-jr
https://www.topic.com/the-true-twisted-story-of-amityville-horror
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-amityville-horror/
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