Amityville Horror

In 1974, shots rang out at 112 Ocean Avenue as Ronald DeFeo, Jr. murdered six family members while they slept. Arrested and convicted, police believed he might have been schizophrenic. The house sold a year later to the Lutz family.

Within 28 days of moving in, the Lutz's claimed sinister forces drove them out of the house. Interestingly, no supernatural activity had previously been associated with the house.

Three years later, The Amityville Horror: A True Story, became a runaway best seller and subsequent movie. However, over the years, the book's claims started to wear thin.

Researchers Rick Moran and Joe Nickell interviewed witnesses, checked weather records and investigated claims. They found more than 100 discrepancies and errors in the book.

Eventually, Ronald DeFeo Jr.'s lawyer confessed that he, along with the Lutzes, "created this horror story over many bottles of wine." The lawyer planned to claim his client was possessed at the time of the murders. The Lutzes received a tidy sum in book and film rights.