The
property was once part of a larger parcel of land owned by the Ireland
family, apparently used for farming. At some point the land was
divided-up, with this one narrow lot being sold by the Irelands
to John and Catherine Moynahan. The original house on that land
(built in 1890) was moved up the block, providing the Moynahan family
with a place to live while their new Dutch Colonial home was being
constructed by local builder Jesse Purdy.
Due
to the land's narrow boundaries, the house was built "sideways,"
with its front door not facing the street (as it does with the similar
house next door). Instead, the side facing the street contained
the house's infamous quarter-moon windows (which would later become
the bedroom of convicted murderer Ronnie DeFeo).
John
Moynahan died in the home in 1939, following a year-long illness.
He was 61 years old. After his wife's death (in January, 1960),
the house was inherited by their daughter Eileen, who sold it to
the Riley family 9 months later. The Riley's lived there for five
years before divorcing, causing them to sell the house to the DeFeo
family.
The
DeFeos moved-in in 1965, leaving behind their Brooklyn apartment
most likely due to the growth of their family (the youngest child
being born that same year). They lived there for nine years before
their eldest son murdered the entire family one cold November night
in 1974. The act shocked the community and the house stood vacant
for a little over a year.
A
month after Ronnie DeFeo was found guilty of the murders, the Lutz
family moved into the house — only to move right out again
one month later after reportedly experiencing frightening paranormal
events.
The
house sat vacant again for another 14 months, during which time
it became the object of curiosity seekers, eager to gander at a
possibly-haunted house. By the time it had sold again — to
local businesspeople James and Barbara Cromarty — the hoopla
over the house seemed to have died down.
Aside from their advertising/PR firm, the Cromartys had many business
ventures, including an ice-skating rink in Copiague; managing the
Islip Speedway and Riverhead Raceway, and running various boat shows,
antique shows and car shows, as well as the Suffolk County Fair.
The
house was valued for around $110,000 at the time, but the Cromarty's
got it for half that. And since the notoriety of the house seemed
to be a thing of the past, it would seem that luck was on their
side.
Unfortunately
for the Cromartys, though, an article in Good Housekeeping
magazine would soon change all that. Published just weeks before
the family moved-in, this article by Paul Hoffman would cause people
to once again flock to Amityville to gawk at the house with a tragic
and horrifying past. Even changing the house's address didn't seem
to confuse the curiosity seekers — and when Jay Anson's book
The Amityville Horror was released that Fall, the house
became infamous on an international level. People would yell obscenities
at the house and even tear pieces from the house to keep as souvenirs.
Drunken locals would gather outside the house when the bars closed
at night, and shout for Jodie to come out.
The
Cromartys suffered the worst from the invasion of curiosity-seekers.
At various periods they tried to fool the tourists into thinking
they found the wrong house by planting large trees in the front
yard, erecting a fence around the property and even trying to disguise
the landmark quarter-moon windows. Nothing really seemed to work
except the passage of time. When they finally sold the house in
1987 the throngs of visitors had, by then, died down to a trickle,
and the Cromartys seemed to have made a nice profit on their 10-year
investment.
The
new owners were the O'Neill family. They probably had the easiest
time dealing with unwanted visitors, as the Amityville saga was
largely forgotten by then. This was still before the Internet boom,
and the only movies being made about the haunting were a handful
of forgettable "direct to video" titles and one TV-movie.
Like the Cromartys, the O'Neills lived there for a decade, apparently
selling the house due to the town's high tax rate — money
they reportedly said would be better used for their children's college
fund.
Brian
Wilson bought the house from the O'Neills in 1997 for $15,000 less
than what the O'Neills paid ten years earlier. The reason for this
is unknown, but one theory is that it may have been due to the condition
of the house, as Wilson eventually made many improvements to the
property, such as repairing the foundation of the boathouse (which
was slowly sinking into the creek). After 13 years, Wilson sold
the house in September of 2010 to David & Caroline D'Antonio.
David, a former teacher, was at one point the President of the Amityville
Historical Society.
Visitors
can still be seen stopping in front of the home on a semi-regular
basis, but its nothing like the crowds that would invade the neighborhood
back in the 1970s. In their day, the Cromartys tried very hard to
publicly dispel the Lutzes' claims of paranormal activity. Obviously
hoping that the crowds outside their home would dwindle if they
viewed the haunting as a hoax, the Cromartys soon learned that any
publicity — pro or con — seemed to have the opposite
result. It just gave publicity to the house and caused more people
to want to see it. Subsequent owners seem to have learned a lesson
from that.
DATE |
OWNER |
PRICE |
|
|
|
Jan
14, 1924* - Jan 1960 |
John
& Catherine Moynahan |
$unknown |
Jan
1960 - Oct 16, 1960 |
Eileen
Fitzgerald |
(inheritance) |
Oct
17, 1960 - June 27, 1965 |
Joseph
& Mary Riley |
$35,000 |
June
28, 1965 - Nov 13, 1974 |
Ronald
& Louise DeFeo |
$unknown** |
Nov
14, 1974 - Dec 17, 1975 |
(vacant
— owned by DeFeo estate) |
|
Dec
18, 1975 - Jan 14, 1976 |
George
& Kathleen Lutz |
$80,000 |
Jan
15, 1976 - Aug 29, 1976 |
(vacant
— owned by Lutzes) |
|
Aug
30, 1976 - March 17, 1977 |
(vacant
— owned by bank) |
|
March
18, 1977 - Aug 10, 1987 |
James
& Barbara Cromarty |
$55,000 |
Aug
11, 1987 - June 9, 1997 |
Peter
& Jeanne O'Neill |
$325,000 |
June
10, 1997 - September 2010 |
Brian
Wilson |
$310,000 |
September
2010 - February 9,
2017 |
David
& Caroline D'Antonio |
$950,000 |
February 9,
2017 - present |
[private] |
$605,000 |
*This
date of 1924 comes from Ric
Osuna; in 1999, author Bill Jensen wrote
that the Moynahan's purchased the lot in the 1890s; yet death
notices for John Moynahan state he moved to Amityville around
1909.
**documents
show that the DeFeos bought the house for "ten dollars and
other valuable consideration." |