The address is not a secret. However we will not reveal the address of the Amityville "horror house," or the name of the current family in this FAQ out of respect for the current owners (who wish to have their privacy respected). If you decide to visit the house, please do not trespass on their property or knock on their door. They do not give tours or interviews. Also be advised that the neighbors apparently are sick and tired of all the visitors, as are the local police.

The property was once part of a larger parcel of land owned by the Ireland family, and was apparently used for farming. In 1924, the land was divided-up, with this one section being sold by the Irelands to the Moynahan family. The original house on that land (built in 1890) was moved up the block, providing the Moynahan family with a place to live while their new Dutch Colonial home was being constructed by local builder Jesse Purdy.

Due to the land's narrow boundaries, the house was built "sideways," with its front door not facing the street (as it does in the similar house next door). Instead, the side facing the street contained the house's infamous quarter-moon windows (which would later become the bedroom of convicted murderer Ronnie DeFeo).

When the Moynahan's died, the house was left to their daughter, Eileen; who moved in with her own family, eventually selling the house in 1960 to the Riley family. The Riley's lived there for five years before divorcing, causing them to sell the house to the DeFeo family.

The DeFeos moved-in in 1965, leaving behind their Brooklyn apartment most likely due to the growth of their family (the youngest child being born that same year). They lived there for nine years before their eldest son murdered the entire family one cold November night in 1974. The act shocked the community and the house stood vacant for a little over a year.

A month after Ronnie DeFeo was found guilty of the murders, the Lutz family moved into the house — only to move right out again one month later after reportedly experiencing frightening paranormal events.

The house sat vacant again for another 14 months before eventually being purchased by James and Barbara Cromarty — local businesspeople who ran an advertising/PR firm; owned an ice-skating rink in Copiague; managed the Islip Speedway and Riverhead Raceway; and who once ran the Suffolk County Fair as well as various boat shows, antique shows and car shows.

The house was not a big sensation when the Cromartys moved-in — perhaps being more notorious for the DeFeo murders than the Lutz haunting, which at that time had only received a smattering of attention from local TV reports and newspaper articles. It wasn't until a month or so later that Paul Hoffman's article was printed in Good Housekeeping magazine. This would mark the real start of the pilgrimage of unwanted curiosity-seekers.

Later that same year, the house became notorious world-wide when Jay Anson's book The Amityville Horror was released — quickly becoming a phenomenal best-seller. The Cromartys suffered the worst of the invasion of curiosity-seekers (who would sometimes yell obscenities and even vandalize the property) and didn't sell until 1987. The throngs of visitors had, by then, died down to a trickle, and the Cromartys made a nice profit on their 10-year investment.

The new owners were the O'Neill family. They probably had the easiest time dealing with unwanted visitors, as the Amityville saga was largely forgotten by now. This was still before the Internet, and the only movies being made about the haunting were a handful of forgettable "direct to video" titles and one TV-movie. Like the Cromartys, the O'Neills lived there for a decade, apparently selling the house due to the town's high tax rate — money they reportedly said would be better used for their children's college fund.

The current owner bought the house from the O'Neills in 1997 for $15,000 less than what the O'Neills paid ten years earlier. The reason for this is unknown, but one theory is that it may have been due to the condition of the house, as the current owner has since made a lot of imporovements to the property, such as repairing the foundation of the boathouse (which was slowly sinking into the creek).

Visitors can still be seen stopping in front of the home on a pretty regular basis, but its nothing like the crowds that would invade the neighborhood back in the 1970s. Over the years many attempts were made to deal with the situation, including changing the address, changing the infamous quarter-moon windows, and even erecting fences — but what eventually caused the decline in the number of tourists was the simple matter of the public eventually losing interest.

In their day, the Cromartys tried very hard to publicly dispel the Lutzes' claims of paranormal activity. Obviously hoping that the crowds outside their home would dwindle if they viewed the haunting as a hoax, the Cromartys didn't realize that any publicity — pro or con — seemed to have the opposite result. It just gave publicity to the house and caused more people to want to see it.

The current owner seems to have learned a lesson from that, and simply refuses to speak publicly about his home under any circumstance.

Unknown. When the Lutzes did research on the property, they found information at the Amityville Historical Society that the land was a place where Indians were buried. According to Hans Holzer, a curator at the Amityville Historical Society once told him the skeleton of an Indian chief was unearthed on or near the property in the early 1900's.

However, this information can no longer be found at the Historical Society. Some say it was removed shortly after Jay Anson's book came out while others claim it was never there in the first place.

The legend goes something like this: the Montaukett Indians used this area of land to imprison their tribal enemies and/or those possessed by evil spirits. These unfortunates were left to die on the land and then buried face down. Some believe these cursed spirits are the source of the problems.

According to Hans Holzer, the spirit of an angry Indian chief (buried at that location) is the source of the trouble.

This is another legend that has yet to be proven/disproven. The legend states that a devil worshipper named John Ketcham fled Massachusetts around the time of the infamous Salem Witch Trials, and relocated to the area of the Amityville house, where he continued dabbling in Satanism.

There is a historically significant Ketcham family that lived in the area, but there is no proof that any member of that family, or any other person by that name, practiced witchcraft or satanism in the area.