Amityville Horror Case Still Terrifies More Than 50 Years Later, Inspires New Film By KC Baker

An idyllic waterfront town in Long Island, N.Y., became one of the most feared communities in the nation for a time because of a savage killing that inspired The Amityville Horror film franchise.

On the night of Nov. 13, 1974, the sleepy town of Amityville was rocked when a family of six was found brutally slain in their sprawling home.

Ronald DeFeo, Jr., then 23, shot and killed his parents and four younger siblings one by one with a rifle while they slept in their beds.

“It all started so fast,” DeFeo told police after the murders, Newsday reported. “Once it started, I just couldn’t stop. It went so fast.”

DeFeo later confessed to killing his father, Ronald DeFeo Sr., 43, his mother, Louise DeFeo, also 43, his sisters Dawn, 18, and Allison, 13, and his brothers Marc, 12, and John Matthew, 9 — but he never revealed a motive.

During his trial, DeFeo tried to plead insanity, saying he heard voices in the house that told him to murder his family. He was sentenced to 25 years to life at the Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville, N.Y., where he died in 2021 at the age of 69.

Life in the small town seemed to go back to normal, until a year later — when George and Kathy Lutz moved into the home. During the 28 days they lived there, they claim they saw green slime oozing from the walls, heard creepy noises and witnessed other paranormal activity.

Their claims inspired the 1976 bestselling novel The Amityville Horror: A True Story, which became a popular horror film in 1979 starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder. It was remade in 2005, starring Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George.

And now, another film about the horrors that beset the home is reportedly in the works, with production expected to start at the end of this year, according to Deadline.

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The film by BoulderLight Pictures and Divide/Conquer will not be part of the existing franchise. Instead, it will be based on actual events that took place at the home and not on the original book.

Since the Lutz’s lived in the home, it has been up for sale several times, including most recently in 2016 when it was on the market for $850,000. At the time, the listing agent Gerald O’Neill told PEOPLE that locally, the story is known as “The Amityville Hoax.”

“The whole story was made up,” he said. “It was orchestrated to help with a potential demonic defense for the son who murdered his family.”

George Lutz previously told ABC News that some scenes in the book and original film, including the green slime, were exaggerated.