Horror stories

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The Amityville Horror

 The Defoe murders, the house at 112 Ocean Avenue remained empty for a period of 13 months. As early as December 1975, a couple named George and Kathleen Lutz bought this house for what was considered to be a bargain price of $80,000. A gambrel roof was part of the main architectural feature of the five-bedroom house, which was built in Dutch Colonial style. A boathouse was also included in the property because it was located on a canal, so it had a swimming pool and a boathouse. 

In July 1975, George and Kathy were married, and each had their own homes, but they wanted to start fresh on a new piece of property that they owned. 

As a result of a previous marriage, Kathy had three children: Daniel, 9, Christopher, 7, and Melissa (Missy), 5. They also owned a crossbreed Malamute/Labrador dog named Harry, which was a crossbreed between the two breeds.

The Lutz family moved into the house on December 18, 1975, and much of the furniture of the Defoe family was still in the house, since it was included in the deal for $400. A friend of George Lutz learned about the history of the house, and insisted on having it blessed.

 As a non-practicing Methodist at the time of the interview, George had no experience of what this would entail, as he was not a practicing Methodist. The process was explained to me by Kathy, who is a non-practicing Catholic. As a result of George's close relationship with a Catholic priest named Father Ray, he agreed to have him perform the house blessing (in Anson's book, the real-life priest Father Ralph J. Pecoraro is referred to as Father Mancuso for privacy reasons).

It must be mentioned that Father Mancuso was a lawyer, a judge of the Catholic Court, and a psychotherapist who lived in the local Sacred Heart Rectory. 

During the afternoon of December 18, 1975, he arrived at the home of George and Kathy to perform the blessing and went into the building to perform the rites while they were unpacking their belongings. 

He heard a masculine voice demand that he 'get out' as he flicked the holy water and began to pray after flicking the first drop of holy water.