George Lutz, RIP

Status: Obituary
George Lutz of Amityville Horror fame has given up the ghost. He died of a heart attack in Las Vegas on May 8. George and his family lived in the house in Amityville, New York for four weeks in 1975 before supposedly being driven out of it by repeated paranormal occurrences (weird sounds and voices, green slime dripping from the ceiling, etc.) They left the house in a hurry, but weren't so scared that they weren't able to return and hold a garage sale. Personally I think the Amityville Horror story is complete baloney, but reportedly George Lutz always swore what happened was real. But then, he had so much invested in the tale (both emotionally and financially) that he would swear it was real. (Thanks to Joe for the link.)

Death Paranormal

Posted on Fri May 12, 2006



Comments

The Amityville Horror story has more holes in it than a full day's output at a Swiss cheese factory.

Is that house still standing? I wonder.
Posted by Cranky Media Guy  on  Fri May 12, 2006  at  02:16 AM
Cranky, if you don't believe the Amityville Horror story, how do you explain what happened to Mr. Lutz?
He moved into that cursed house in 1975, then fled in terror a few weeks later, but to no avail.
Just 31 years later, he suddenly dropped dead. The spooks finally caught up with him. Who's laughing now?
Posted by Big Gary  on  Fri May 12, 2006  at  10:23 AM
Snopes has links to say that it is an admitted hoax.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/amityville.asp

.
Posted by AussieBruce  on  Fri May 12, 2006  at  11:50 AM
Hey Cranky --

Apparently it is still standing. Wikipedia has a current pic of the house about halfway down the page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amityville_horror
Posted by Karlos the Jackal  on  Fri May 12, 2006  at  04:21 PM
Big Gary said:

"Cranky, if you don't believe the Amityville Horror story, how do you explain what happened to Mr. Lutz?

"He moved into that cursed house in 1975, then fled in terror a few weeks later, but to no avail.

"Just 31 years later, he suddenly dropped dead. The spooks finally caught up with him. Who's laughing now?"

You know, when you put it like that, with facts and all, it sure is hard to argue with, Gary. I think you've forced me to reconsider my skeptical outlook. Oh, I'm also sticking some LifeWave patches on my car's engine block to increase my MPG.
Posted by Cranky Media Guy  on  Fri May 12, 2006  at  06:02 PM
Coast To Coast AM with Art Bell will be running a replay of Art's interview with George Lutz from a couple of years ago. Check local radio listings, usually around the dead of night. It will be on the night of 5-14 going into the morning of 5-15.
Posted by Lonewatchman  on  Sun May 14, 2006  at  09:22 AM
Yes, it's still standing; people actually live there. And they actually have the nerve to complain about all of the trespassing and tourist interference.
Posted by Egret Narcosa  on  Sun May 14, 2006  at  10:38 AM
Apparently, the house number has been changed from 112 (the number when the Lutz's lived there) to 108.
Posted by Don Sucha  on  Mon May 15, 2006  at  01:58 PM
Yes, the house is now 108 Ocean Avenue, changed by the post-Lutz owners, Barbara and Jim Cromarty. No, no "psychic" disturbances have ever been reported in the house before or after the Lutzes. Lee Lutz disclosed in a 1979 suit against Bill Weber and others than virtually none of the book was true, including that the priest had never been to the house, the only priest involvment was via a phone call. Lee and family never fled in terror. On the final dreary day, they waited until the kids got home from school and then went to Kathy's mother's home. Nothing unusual whatsoever happened on that day.
Posted by Rick  on  Mon May 15, 2006  at  02:58 PM
I think I remember the address to the house as 222 Ocean Ave. at one time. Then it was changed to 112 and then 108. Am I right, or is my brain 'dorking out' again ?
Posted by Dorkbrain  on  Mon May 15, 2006  at  03:39 PM
No, when the Lutzes moved in it was 112 Ocean Avenue. By the time the book was released in Fall 1977, the house number had already been changed by the Cromarty's to 108. Some interesting factoids include: the Cromarty's successfully sued the Lutzes and American Intl Pictures and the book publishers (2) B. O'Neil, owner from 1987 to 1997 was a victim in the World Trade Center on 9/11.
Posted by Rick  on  Mon May 15, 2006  at  04:14 PM
It's a great "story," but it is a hoax. The broadcast media have been making it out to be "true" or that it "could be," but the story is not. Elizabeth Vargas (CBS? ABC?) interviewed the Lutzes and the guy from The Skeptical Inquirer who'd investigated their claims (and who trashed the entire "AH"), and clearly favored the Lutzes. It was so one sided that I cannot trust Eliz Vargas or broadcast TV in general. And 31 years is an awfully long time! Ed and Lorraine Warren also cannot be trusted, as they're carnival barkers selling fear. They're nice people, but -- can I say this? -- liars. Their Webpage of the late Steve Kaplan -- who trashed "AH" -- is unprofessional and mean. Ron DeFeo did not hear demonic voices; he's a sociopath. He claims his sister Dawn did most of the murders and he killed her, but his credibility cannot be trusted. The latest book claims the police beat him into confessing -- a charge Gerard Sullivan, the prosecuting attorney backed in his own book (High Hopes, the Amityville Murders) -- but much of Ron's story has stayed the same. An A&E special had a psychiatrist conclude that Ron did do the murders and had special remorse for his brother, whose leg twitched. The court psychiatrist at Ron's trial said the same thing. Ron's father did beat him and the family badly and often. The latest book (Night the DeFeos Died), while flawed and a bit one sided and suspect (Ron's the chief source!), does show that Ron's attorney and the Lutzes were going to use the haunted house theory to get Ron an appeal for the murders.

Overall: "AH" is a great story, but untrue!
Posted by Glenn Allen  on  Sat Jun 03, 2006  at  06:19 PM
First Ric Ossuna is the single least credible source on Amityville in the world. He's a buffoon whos complete lack of writing talent and arrogence cost him a book deal with Lutz. 100% of his info on the haunting was taken from the almost as uncredible source of Stephen Kaplan(the doctorate was mail order and the many was no more an expert on parapsychology then I'm a nuclear physicist). Also Ric DID NOT get any infor from Defeo. He claims he did but theres no proof up to and including the fact Defeo denies ever giving him special info about the murder. His cheif source is known con woman Geraldine Gates who claims to have been married to Defeo not once but twice despite the complete lack of any evidence this occured even though supposedly they got married after he was imprisoned. If you want accurate info I would suggest http://www.lougentile.com which has interviews with ossuna, George Lutz, Lorraine Warren and basicly every other principal in the case except kaplan(Kaplan is of course dead). I also did a detailed article on http://www.h2g2.com called Amityville Hoax or Horror which reveals a lot of the factual information about Ossuna and Kaplan(neither of whom is credible for reasons to extensive to explain here).
Posted by Kevin  on  Sat Aug 26, 2006  at  04:47 PM
No, nothing you have said changes the fact that this was an enormous hoax from the very beginning. It has been conclusively proven both in court of law and by legitimate psychical research studies that the case is a hoax.
Posted by Rick  on  Sat Aug 26, 2006  at  09:06 PM
The story has been a good one, and still is. Ed and Lorraine Warren's Webpage slanders the late Steve Kaplan viciously, saying he didn't have a Ph.D., and now you're saying it's a mail order degree? If you can produce such documentation, I'd be glad to see it. Ph.D.'s require at least one year of on-campus study, and I think that's a federal law, so I'm suspicious that it can be obtained through the mail.

The Lou Gentile site didn't have any of the Lutz-Osuna interviews available when I last looked. I did want to hear them. Lou Gentile seemed to peddle fear as well, and his broadcasts seem to say that, yes, hauntings like A.H. are true. If half of the TV stations investigated hauntings and sea monsters and such, they'd have few viewers! Knowing that there's no sea serpent in Loch Ness or no Bigfoot is a real downer! (And I was depressed for days upon learning these things!) These mysteries make life fun.

Part of A.H. that makes no sense is that John Ketcham was a witch from Salem, Mass. The Salem witch trials, as were the witch hunts in Europe (which killed more than 3,000 women), were brought upon by wet spring weather which caused a fungus to grow on the crops. The fungus, ergotamine, contains a precursor to lysergic acid, the main ingredient in LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and causes hallucinations. Ergotamine causes nightmarish hallucinations and extreme muscle contractions, and those who ate it (including animals) experienced back-breaking contortions. These symptoms were usu. attributed to demonic possession, some of which were copied in the book The Exorcist, where the girl bends in half backward while screaming. It's simply modern science explaining what was considered possession.

I am curious as to how much money the Lutzes got from their Amityville story. George Lutz said he got no money from the movies, and pretty much said he got shafted. This is doubtful! If you have any proof of this or to the contrary, I'd appreciate it!

Ron DeFeo cannot be trusted as a source. The Webpages that post letters he "wrote" are much too well written to have been penned by him. His handwritten letters are riddled with bad grammar and spelling. He's so far claimed that Dawn committed most of the murders, that someone else did them (a big case in the 1990s that got written up in the NY Times) who was proven not to exist...but it seems to be denial that he did them. It's taken me nearly 30 years to see all this, and hopefully one day you'll realize it, too.
Posted by Glenn Allen  on  Sun Aug 27, 2006  at  11:52 AM
As to Defeo writting the letter spare me. It came from the prison and had his prisoner id number on it. Either A he wrote it or B the prison is pretty much ignoring there own rules. Besides the only proof we have that Ossuna collaborated with Defeo is his word and that of a convicted felon(geraldine gates).

As to the fact that Kaplan had a mail order doctorate look at his own book(you want to talk slander its the worse then the web site). He admits it in his own bio. Admittedly Kaplan was al lying glory hound who knew nothing of paranormal research but I think we can take his word when he admits he's a bad source.

The fact is no legitimate source has ever discredited the case. Kaplan is a con man who missed out on a huge ammount of money. Ossuna used Kaplan as his only source and was less credible. The court case was laughable. Its a matter of public record that the judge stated he didn't believe the story and refused to consider evidence to the contrary. Thats bias not proof.

Try instead looking at the evidence for. The fact the Lutz's fled the house. Even Holtzer agreed the house was haunted even if his theories are uncredible in the extreme. The first reporter to hit the scene of the murders believed the Lutz's and the Warrens even though he was a freind of Kaplan(he's also the one who forced Kaplan to apologize for his smear campaign) and the same reporter doesn't have much to say in favor of Ossuna. If you don't believe me about Ossuna do a web search. The History channel laughed him off, Lutz laughed him off, and he was made a fool of on live radio by Mr Gentile and Myself. No person who's seriously researched his fairy tale of a book takes it serously.
Posted by Kevin  on  Fri Sep 01, 2006  at  06:48 PM
I don't know why I keep replying to these posts....

I'm afraid you may have confused your facts. There are plenty of people who have discounted the Lutzes' story from the start, including one of the editors of Newsday who lived down the street, and who said the Lutzes did not "flee in terror" as they came back to hold a garage sale.

I'm afraid that the reporter you claim sided against Kaplan actually did not. Joel Martin worked for UPI and was one of the first reporters at the DeFeo home after they were killed. It was Martin himself who interviewed Wm Weber on 8/5/79 for a radio program that divulged that Weber had given the Lutzes crime scene photos that they later twisted for the "horror" story. If you know of a different reporter, please post it here.

I don't see S. Kaplan saying that he got his Ph.D. from a correspondence course in his bio in AH Conspiracy. It does say he got several degrees from the City College of New York and SUNY-Stony Brook. Both schools are very difficult, trust me!

As for "the" lawsuit in which a judge dismissed the Lutzes' claims, Kaplan claims there are 11 that involve the Lutzes. Unless one judge presided over all of them, I'm afraid that it makes the Lutzes' claims suspicious. Even so, if the Lutzes felt they had a strong enough case, why didn't they appeal?

The Paul Hoffman (sp?) story in Ladies' Home Journal was pretty bad from a journalist's point of view. It's quite biased, as it takes only the Lutzes' version and runs with it. LHJ should have been ashamed of itself, as the story reads like something from the National Enquirer.

The History Channel did not laugh Osuna off. To be fair, they ignored him and anyone who had any information that contradicted the Lutzes' story. I was one of those people, too!

Neighbors who played with the DeFeo children knew about the "red room" and dismissed the Lutzes' claims that it was a room for animal sacrifice. They and the DeFeo children used to play there. There was nothing secretive about the room at all.

The damage that was said to be done to the door and windows -- and the bannister! -- were found to be untrue by the post-Lutz owners. No one could find any repairman who'd been to the house to fix said items. There were no records of the Lutzes taking their kid to a nearby hospital when the window slammed on his fingers. (And if you think they went off Long Island, think again because the traffic is awful!) If the Lutzes have any information that could back up their claims, why didn't they state them?

Again, AH is a great story. But it is just a story. It isn't true!
Posted by Glenn Allen  on  Tue Sep 05, 2006  at  06:03 PM
Hi Every one. I have been reading up on the Amityville House. And Its no longer there they have moved it. Because of the tourest that kept coming around.
And they reconstucted the whole house.
Posted by Stacey Weaver  on  Thu Sep 07, 2006  at  03:01 PM
Well first off the house was not moved. They only changed the address to thwart off trespassers..

Secondly, the house was not haunted, never was, never will be....

All was embellished and hollywoodized for the movie folks....

This all fit into the plan.....

Seems to be the G. Lutz dabbled in the unknown and held seances. He may have disturbed the spirit world, but nothing on the grand scale claimed, this was all to sell the movie/books deals which btw, he tried to cheat people out of their share. There were many litigations against Lutz and litigations Lutz brought but, he was the loser. Never made no where near what anyone else made.
Posted by NevadaBound  on  Sun Oct 22, 2006  at  06:07 AM
Not really. Theres no credible reason for Lutz to have created or perpetrated the hoax. The only people who have a vested interest in lying are William Webber and the Kaplans. They are the ones who spread lies as fact and personal attacks as evidence. Will this statement change fact? No because most people are almost religious about Amityville you believe or you don't. A few hard facts though: no actual investigator or member of the family ever called the house a hoax(not one Lutz, not the Warrens, not Holzer only Kaplan who only did a 15 min invstigation of the house(not long enough for ghosts let alone demons) and then whined about the fact he got cut out of the book deal), the surviving members of the family will not change there story nor have they ever(have reporters, movie producers and the like sensationalized it? Of course they have the purpose of movies and books is to make money NOT tell the truth you'd be hard pressed to find a single "based on a true story" movie that didn't embelish). Regardless the fact is most of the principles are dead. Kathy and George Lutz, Stephen the mail order doctor Kaplan and even Ed Warren. We can debate it all we like but its a question of hwo you beleive and frankly I think Kaplan and even more so Ossuna are the real money grubbing con artists. For Ossuna do some home work you'll be very hard pressed to find a shred of evidence to support his book(Butch doesn't) and a lot of hard evidence that proves the man is a scam artist trying to make money on tragedy.
Posted by KevinM  on  Fri Oct 27, 2006  at  05:44 PM
It might have been a hoax, but frankly, if I'd moved into a house where a man had slaughtered his entire family, I'd be a little jumpy too.
Posted by Nona  on  Thu Feb 22, 2007  at  05:59 AM
The following YouTube link has the original "That's Incredible!" TV show that debunks the Amityville Horror story. To the right of where the show plays is the Lutzes' interview with Merv Griffin and other TV appearances. (Merv Griffin was like the 1970's version of Larry King.) Their appearance on "Good Morning, America," is also on the same link. Interestingly, The Associated Press ran an article the morning of their appearance on "Good Morning" wherein Wm Weber said he gave the Lutzes crime scene photos, which they used to support the house being haunted.

If you can't open the file, not to worry. The Cromarty's bought the house after the Lutzes moved out and lived there for about 10 years or so. They'd owned it before the Lutzes and before the DeFeos and never had a problem! (Imagine!) Some neighborhood kids were interviewed for the program, and the one shows the red room in the basement, which is a neat little storage area and the walls are indeed red (the paint is peeling too, good grief!). The Cromarty's show that the window, door, and bannister were never replaced as the Lutzes claimed. All of this kills the AH story, sadly.

If I remember correctly, this was the first episode of "That's Incredible!" and viewers were outraged. This episode was never re-aired, except on YouTube.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bFmW7tSmmY
Posted by Glenn Allen  on  Wed Feb 28, 2007  at  05:39 PM
I'm still unsure whether it's a hoax or not, or how much of it, though I would be slightly freaked out at living in a house where a man had murdered his entirely family. But I have to say, true or not, it inspired one of scariest horror movies ever made. And IMHO, that's a pretty good thing to come out of the whole mess.
Posted by Nona  on  Mon Mar 19, 2007  at  06:47 AM
HEY THIS IS MIYOKA REED IAM 14 YEARS OLD AN I THINK UR STORY IS VERY SACARY
Posted by MIYOKA REED  on  Fri Feb 08, 2008  at  08:49 AM
Thank you to Glen for defending my husband Stephen. Kevin, whoever you are, you are mean spirited and have no idea what you are talking about. If Stephen was so money grubbing then I would be well off right now instead of struggling like the rest of us Long Island middle class.
Posted by Roxanne Kaplan  on  Mon May 26, 2008  at  10:47 PM
give it a break
Posted by kellie  on  Mon Dec 29, 2008  at  10:39 AM
the kaplans are smart people mr kaplan did a remarkable job when he was living on amityville god rest his soul
Posted by kellie  on  Mon Dec 29, 2008  at  10:43 AM
i wish people would relize george lutz made this story up the real true tragedy is six members of the defeo family were killed in this house he knew this when the house was sold to him....i dont care what lorraine warren says that she sensed this or that shes an idiot asd far as the kaplans go i think mr. kaplan was a smart man god rest his soul and his wife is a smart women ...
Posted by kellie  on  Sun Jan 11, 2009  at  10:50 AM
The Lutz's never returned to have a garage sale...Also, they never claimed to have green slime dripping from the ceilings...And to Roxanne, your husband claimed that the Lutz's story was a hoax,but what proof did he have to debunk George's claim?..
Posted by Grave  on  Thu Apr 02, 2009  at  12:30 PM
I am truly amazed at how the people who believe the Lutz's and Warren's tale, fail to recognize the facts that contradict the events depicted in the book and movie. None of the doors, windows, or banister were ever damaged as such.

The Warren's are nothing but frauds who have never shown ANY evidence, and Lutz confessed that the wild events never happened, under oath in a court of law when he was trying to sue an author.
Posted by Dreamsinger  on  Sun Jul 26, 2009  at  04:39 PM
Kevin is either wrong or just a flat out liar. He's posted so many inaccuracies in this conversation I wouldn't even know where to begin.
Posted by Jeff  on  Sat Apr 24, 2010  at  01:28 AM
As far back as I know in 1974 Ronald DeFeo killed his entire family and it was all over Newsday Paper. I moved around on the Island so many times. I'm out here on the Island 36 years and that is how long Ronald and Louise DeFeo and there children are gone as well. 36 long Years.
George Lutz passed away in 2006 and his wife Cathy is gone to. If by any chance any one living at 112 now 108 Ocean Avenue has never said that the house is haunted and it is not at all. Brian Wilson who lives at the house said that there is no way that the house is not haunted at all. Now you people get over it and move on. The only thing that was taken by a photo is that of Marc Defeo a little boy Image by an open door to a bedroom to an outside hallway by the steps was taken on one of the photo's little Marc Image appers on this photo and as clearly it is on this photo is that of little Marc blown out face is all black. Look clearly close at this photo it is Marc unrested ghost image this is scary. Leave the Wilson's alone people.
Posted by Joseph Friscia  on  Sun Jun 06, 2010  at  09:04 PM
Wow, Joseph, that was an almost incomprehensible post. As to this screwball Kevin in Doylestown, he claims to be a writer but his spelling and grammar are atrocious! LOL Reading his posts makes it impossible to believe that anybody with any serious reputation would publish something he wrote. It would be kind of amusing to give a rundown of his many errors, but that would probably be boring, so...
As to the AH story itself, it was pure hokum. The program "Is It Real?" on the National Geographic Channel stated that George Lutz had admitted later in his life that he had made somewhere around $400,000 on the story through the years.
But, people will still want to believe in the story, so I imagine they always will. What was it P.T. Barnum said?
Posted by P. Lindsay  on  Thu Sep 23, 2010  at  01:26 AM
I did not know that all these people had died. I have always been interested in the Amityville house though. Not long after the first movie came out, we went to the house. No one was living there at the time. We took some pictures, but I just got the creeps and couldn't even go onto the property. I believe there is something really evil there.
Posted by home work  on  Wed Jul 13, 2011  at  09:35 PM
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