(Long Island, NY) Most Americans who grew up in the late 1970s and early 1980s remember the string of movies based on Jay Anson’s book, The Amityville Horror. The novel, released in 1979, was based around true stories regarding Long Island’s most famous house. The tale includes details of a 1974 Long Island murder of six people in the DeFeo family, who were shot to death at 112 Ocean Avenue. One of the surviving family members, Ronald “Butch” DeFeo, was tried and convicted of the murders.
Just over a year later, another family moved in at 112 Ocean Avenue. Twenty-eight days after taking residence, the Lutz family moved out with haste, claiming the house to be haunted. Author Jay Anson later chronicled the experiences of George and Kathleen Lutz in what was billed as a “non-fiction horror novel”. The Amityville Horror was optioned as a film and made into a Hollywood movie starring James Brolin. A 2005 remake brought the story back into the public eye and soon, Anson’s book was also reissued.
Today, 112 Ocean Avenue is a location many Long Island locals are bemused about, while others wish the Amityville stories would fade into the background for good. Local legends about the address are supplemented by old programs such as the1970s supernatural “documentary” TV show, In Search Of; and as recently as the year 2000 with coverage by The History Channel. The Amityville story comes and goes, but one man in particular has a large passion for the stories behind the sensationalism.
More than thirty years after the fact, author Ric Osuna decided to pursue the facts behind the case of the Amityville murders and the story of the Lutz family ordeal that was popularized by Hollywood. Osuna’s website, http://www.amityvillemurders.com, is an exhaustive study of all things related to what most people know today as The Amityville Horror. The Las Vegas based writer uncovered details about the case which cast doubts on the conviction of Butch DeFeo as the sole killer of his family, and managed to obtain interviews with key figures in the Lutz family story, many of whom claim the entire tale is simply a highly fictitious silver screen yarn.
Osuna’s book, The Night the DeFeos Died is said to be the definitive source on the facts and circumstances surrounding the Amityville case. According to Osuna’s website, the author has been unsuccessfully sued by both Butch DeFeo and George Lutz for varying causes, including defamatory statements and trademark infringement. In both cases, the suits were ruled in favor of the author. In the Lutz suit, the website says, none of the facts of The Night the DeFeos Died were called into question.
www.amityvillemurders.com gives a full accounting of all of Osuna’s legal troubles connected with the book, complete with the final decision of the courts in both instances. The site very nearly offers too much information on every aspect of the Amityville story. There are photographs, scans of police records and long timelines offered as early back as the 1600s. According to a quote by the author at the website, “This website simply offers, in my opinion, the most complete side of the Amityville story.” Osuna writes, “Keeping an open mind along with a scientific understanding will help you come to a logical conclusion. I hope this website and my book will help you uncover the truth as you see it.”
The Night the DeFeos Died has gained so much attention that Ric Osuna found himself highlighted on the Travel Channel and A&E. His efforts landed him a spot in the New Criminologist’s Hall of Fame. The book is still for sale, and today Osuna is working on another, non-Amityville related book.
The Amityville story, as evidenced by the 2005 remake of the original movie starring James Brolin, still fascinates many Americans. Sudden violence, ghosts and supernatural warnings to “get out” have always been part of the American literary fabric. What makes the Amityville tale so pervasive is the ‘true story’ claims made by Jay Anson and the filmmakers. Many today see the movie’s ‘true story’ hype for what it is—grist for the box office profit mill. Others take the supernatural aspects of Anson’s book quite seriously. Ric Osuna, however, does not.
