The Lutzs
One year after the Defeo family massacre, the house was sold, more precisely in December 1975, to the Lutz family, which consisted of George and Kathy Lutz and their 3 children Daniel, Christopher, and Missy. Even knowing the tragic history of the house, the Lutz said they did not care and they moved to it, but before they took a priest to bless the place. It did not work, as the Lutz family only stayed for 28 days. They simply ran away, leaving all their stuff behind!
They reported swarms of flies coming out of nowhere, doors and windows opened and closed abruptly, invisible hands scrabbled them at night, heard noises, sounds of gunfire and even ghostly visions, and the place was haunted.
The Birth of the Legend
The Lutz family then called the writer Jay Anson to write a book documenting their experiences and in 1977, the publisher Prentice Hall published the book entitled "Horror in Amityville" and classified it as a "story based on real facts." The preface to the book read:
The names of people mentioned in this book have been modified to maintain your privacy. However, the facts and events established are strictly true.
More than 3 million copies of the book were sold, and the Lutz were traveling around the United States telling their story. Also produced was a film in 1979 based on the book that raised $ 80 million! For fans, the film inspired three more sequences: Amityville II: The Possession, Amityville 3-D, and a TV special for Amityville IV: The Curse. In 2005 a remake of the original Horror in Amityville was released.
Several investigators learned of the haunted house and decided to investigate the place, and of course the biggest celebrities on the subject were to do an investigation: The Warrens! Demonologist Ed Warren and clairvoyant psychic Lorraine Warren made a thorough investigation of the case and concluded that the house was truly haunted. The whole story can be read on the official website of The New England Society For Psychic Researc, an organization founded by the Warrens in 1952.