The 5 Shocking Secrets About Where The Amityville Horror House Is Located Today
Decades after the terrifying events that inspired The Amityville Horror, the question of where the infamous house stands remains one of the most persistent mysteries in paranormal history. The Dutch Colonial home on Long Island, New York, is synonymous with one of the most gruesome mass murders and subsequent haunting claims in American history, yet its exact location is often misrepresented or deliberately obscured. As of December 2025, the house is still very much standing, occupied by private residents, and has undergone significant changes to both its appearance and its official address, all in an effort to finally shed its dark, global notoriety.
The true story of the Amityville house is not just about ghosts and demons, but a desperate attempt by multiple owners to reclaim a normal life from a place forever tainted by tragedy and sensationalized fiction. From a shocking address change to major structural renovations, here are the five most surprising facts about the true location of the Amityville Horror house and what it looks like today.
The True Address: 112 Ocean Avenue and the Secret Address Change
The house at the center of the Amityville saga is a large, Dutch Colonial-style home located in a quiet, affluent neighborhood in Amityville, a village on the South Shore of Long Island, New York. The original, and most famous, address associated with the 1974 DeFeo family murders and the 1975 Lutz family haunting claims was 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, NY 11701.
- The Original Location: 112 Ocean Avenue was the site where Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family in November 1974.
- The Lutz Family: George and Kathy Lutz purchased the home for a dramatically reduced price of $80,000 in December 1975, moving in with Kathy's three children from a previous marriage. They famously fled the home after only 28 days, claiming to have experienced terrifying paranormal activity.
- The Cromarty Intervention: In 1977, Jim and Barbara Cromarty purchased the house, becoming the first family to live there after the Lutzes. To deter the constant stream of tourists, trespassers, and morbid curiosity seekers, they successfully petitioned the local government to officially change the house's street number.
- The Current Address: The official address was changed from 112 Ocean Avenue to 108 Ocean Avenue. This address change is a key fact that often confuses people searching for the house today, as the new number is not mentioned in the original book or film.
The DeFeo Murders: The Real Horror That Started It All
The true horror of the Amityville house stems not from a fictional haunting, but from a very real, brutal mass murder that occurred a year before the Lutz family moved in. This tragedy is the foundation of the house's dark reputation and is the reason for its notoriety.
The Victims and the Killer
On November 13, 1974, 23-year-old Ronald "Butch" DeFeo Jr. used a high-powered rifle to shoot and kill six members of his own family as they slept in their beds. The victims were:
- Ronald DeFeo Sr. (Father, 43)
- Louise DeFeo (Mother, 43)
- Dawn DeFeo (Sister, 18)
- Allison DeFeo (Sister, 13)
- Marc DeFeo (Brother, 12)
- John Matthew DeFeo (Brother, 9)
DeFeo Jr. initially claimed a mob hitman was responsible, but later confessed to the murders, claiming he was driven by voices in his head. He was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder in 1975 and died in custody in 2021.
The Structural Change: The Removal of the Infamous 'Eye' Windows
Perhaps the most shocking physical change to the house, designed to make it unrecognizable to fans of the films, was the removal of its most distinctive architectural feature. The original Dutch Colonial design included two quarter-round windows on the third floor that, when lit from inside, resembled menacing eyes staring out from the attic.
The iconic "eyes" became a symbol of the haunting in all film adaptations, but they were a constant beacon for tourists. Subsequent owners, notably the Wilson family who owned the property for a long period starting in 1997, undertook significant renovations.
- Renovation Details: The distinctive "eye" windows were replaced with standard, rectangular windows.
- Other Changes: The house has also seen changes to its siding, paint color, and the construction of a new garage.
- Current Appearance: The house today looks dramatically different from the one depicted on the cover of the book and the original 1979 film, making it difficult for casual tourists to identify.
The Current Status: A Quiet, Private Residence with No Reported Activity
Despite its global reputation as a hotbed of paranormal activity, the house has been a quiet, private residence for decades, occupied by multiple families since the Lutzes fled in 1976.
- Private Ownership: The house is strictly a private property and is not open for tours or public viewing. The current owners are intensely private and the property is monitored to discourage trespassers.
- No Hauntings Reported: Every family who has lived in the house since the Lutzes—including the Cromartys, the O'Neills, the Wilsons, and the most recent owners—have publicly stated that they have experienced absolutely no paranormal activity, strange occurrences, or demonic possession.
- Real Estate History: The house was last listed for sale in 2016 for $850,000, eventually selling for $605,000 in 2017. This indicates that while the house's history is a factor in its value, it remains a valuable piece of Long Island real estate.
The Movie Location Hoax: Why Fans Go to Toms River, New Jersey
One of the biggest misconceptions about the Amityville house is where the famous 1979 film was actually shot. Film producers knew that filming in the actual Amityville house would be impossible due to the notoriety and the privacy of the residents.
- The Filming Location: The exterior shots for the original 1979 movie, The Amityville Horror, were filmed at a private home in Toms River, New Jersey, not in New York.
- Structural Modifications: The Toms River home, located at 18 Brooks Road, was modified to look like the 112 Ocean Avenue house, including the addition of the signature "eye" windows. This house also became a tourist destination, much to the chagrin of its owners.
- The Controversy Factor: The entire "Amityville Horror" story, as told by the Lutz family, has been widely debunked and is often referred to as a hoax or a complete fabrication designed to sell books and movies. Even the Lutz's lawyer, William Weber, later claimed that the events were concocted by George Lutz and himself "over many bottles of wine."
Ultimately, the true location of the Amityville Horror house—108 Ocean Avenue (formerly 112 Ocean Avenue) in Amityville, NY—is a quiet, suburban home whose current residents simply want to be left alone. The "horror" lives on primarily in the pages of the book, the endless film adaptations, and the persistent curiosity of the public.
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