The Lutz family moved into the Amityville house in December 1975, just 13 months after Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered six family members there. After 28 days, the Lutz family fled the home, claiming to have experienced paranormal activity. They reported experiences like strange noises, cold spots, a demonic pig apparition, and a hidden red room. While some question the truth of these events, the Lutz family insists they experienced real supernatural horrors in the Amityville house. The story remains popular due to the lack of evidence disproving paranormal activity as the cause of the family's distress.

2. In December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz and their three children moved
into 112 Ocean Avenue, a large Dutch Colonial house in Amityville, a
suburban neighbourhood located on the south shore of Long Island, New
York. Thirteen months before the Lutzes moved in, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. shot
and killed six members of his family at the house. After 28 days, the Lutzes
left the house, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena
while living there. The incident, famously dubbed as ‘The Amityville
Horror’, has inspired a novel and series of films focused on the shady events
that actually drove a normal, loving father to such madness. Much
controversy and speculation has been placed on the truthfulness of the
house’s haunted reputation, largely due to the fact that many have stayed
there since the incident and reported no such sightings. However, no doubt
can be placed on the fact that the Lutz family experienced something out of
the ordinary. They were a mildly religious, contented, stable family with no
beliefs in the supernatural – yet they insist they experienced otherworldly
horrors while at the Amityville house.
Many documentaries have set out to
explore the incidents that took place
within the house. Although most are
inconclusive, the famous Inside
Amityville documentary of 1994
conducted a psychological analysis of
George Lutz through his medical
records and past offences and was
able to conclude that the man was an
undiagnosed schizophrenic. This,
however, does not explain why the
rest of the family also believed the
house to be haunted. Furthermore,
the actual original Amityville house
is generally left alone, with many
staying at the replica used in the
films instead of the authentic source
of the horror. Ultimately, there is
nothing to suggest that the
devastating events that took place in
1979 were not the results of
supernatural forces, hence why the
story remains so popular evento this
day.

3. SOME OF THE EXPERIENCES INCLUDED:
 George would wake up around 3:15 every morning and would go
out to check the boathouse. Later he would learn that this was the
estimated time of the DeFeo killings.
 The house was plagued by swarms of flies despite the winter
weather.
 Kathy had vivid nightmares about the murders and discovered the
order in which they occurred and the rooms where they took
place. The Lutz children also began sleeping on their stomachs, in
the same way that the dead bodies in the DeFeo murders had been
found.
 Kathy would feel a sensation as if "being embraced" in a loving
manner, by an unseen force.
 George discovered a small hidden room (around four feet by five
feet) behind shelving in the basement. The walls were painted red
and the room did not appear in the blueprints of the house. The
room came to be known as "The Red Room." This room had a
profound effect on their dog Harry, who refused to go near it and
cowered as if sensing something ominous.
 There were cold spots and odors of perfume and excrement in
areas of the house where no wind drafts or piping would explain
the source.
 While tending to the fire, George and Kathy saw the image of
a demon with half his head blown out. It was burned into the soot
in the back of the fireplace.
 The Lutzes' 5-year-old daughter, Missy, developedan imaginary
friend named "Jodie," a demonic pig-like creature with glowing
red eyes.
 In the early morning hours of Christmas Day 1975, George looked
up at the house after checking on the boathouse and saw the pig
standing behind Missy at her bedroom window. When he ran up
to her room he found her fast asleepwith her small rocking chair
slowly rocking back and forth.
 George would wake up to the sound of the front door slamming.
He would race downstairs to find the dog sleeping soundly at the
front door. Nobody else heard the sound although it was loud
enough to wake the house.
 George would hear what was described as a "marching band
tuning up" or what sounded like a clock radio playing not quite on
frequency. When he went downstairs the noise would cease.
 George realized that he bore a strong resemblance to Ronald
DeFeo, Jr., and began drinking at The Witches' Brew, the bar
where DeFeo was once a regular customer.
 When closing Missy's window, which Missy said Jodie climbed out
of, Kathy saw red eyes glowing at her.

4. This case study is very similar to the concept of ‘The Basement’. Unlike other real life
case studies, the Amityville house seems to be the subject of multiple demonic forces
and apparitions. Moreover, each of these appear to be centred around altering
George’s mental state and driving him to pure evil as opposed to simply pushing him
in the wrong direction. Likewise, the devil in The Basement is a force of inherent
cruelty, manipulation, and mind games, with only pleasure to gain from the suffering
of others. The ghosts of the previous owners that it has taken haunt the house, more
confused/lost than angry, often appearing real to Joel – who the hauntings are also
focused around in my film. Unlike the film adaptations of the Amityville Horror,
however, The Basement will be well-made, and offer a more philosophical view on the
parallels between genuine supernatural activity and tricks of the mind.