1 00:00:15,798 --> 00:00:18,670 [ominous music plays] 2 00:00:18,670 --> 00:00:25,677 ♪ 3 00:00:35,383 --> 00:00:36,732 [interviewer on recording] Did you feel anything at all 4 00:00:36,732 --> 00:00:40,170 about the little red room downstairs? 5 00:00:40,170 --> 00:00:43,086 [Joe] That was like a secret room. 6 00:00:43,086 --> 00:00:45,610 And that was described as 7 00:00:45,610 --> 00:00:47,786 the gateway to hell. 8 00:00:47,786 --> 00:00:50,180 If the red room is there, 9 00:00:50,180 --> 00:00:52,313 then there really is something supernatural 10 00:00:52,313 --> 00:00:54,228 or satanic about the house. 11 00:00:54,228 --> 00:00:55,707 I'm not sure. 12 00:00:55,707 --> 00:00:59,320 I think it was just a concrete wall painted red. 13 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:04,542 ♪ 14 00:01:04,542 --> 00:01:06,457 My name is Patty Commarato. 15 00:01:06,457 --> 00:01:08,372 I was friends with Allison DeFeo, 16 00:01:08,372 --> 00:01:10,679 the girl who was murdered with the rest of her family 17 00:01:10,679 --> 00:01:12,507 here in 1974. 18 00:01:12,507 --> 00:01:14,509 This is the red room. 19 00:01:14,509 --> 00:01:16,554 Nothing more than a storage area 20 00:01:16,554 --> 00:01:20,297 where Allison and her brothers and I used to keep toys. 21 00:01:20,297 --> 00:01:22,560 Just red, you know? 22 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:27,913 There's never any feeling of spirit presence or ghosts 23 00:01:27,913 --> 00:01:30,568 or any sort of thing like that. 24 00:01:30,568 --> 00:01:37,488 ♪ 25 00:01:46,889 --> 00:01:49,631 [dark synth music plays] 26 00:01:49,631 --> 00:01:52,677 ♪ 27 00:01:52,677 --> 00:01:54,679 [voice] Get out. 28 00:02:26,798 --> 00:02:33,718 ♪ 29 00:02:44,903 --> 00:02:47,819 [ominous music plays] 30 00:02:47,819 --> 00:02:54,783 ♪ 31 00:03:14,629 --> 00:03:16,239 [interviewer] Haven't you made a lot of money 32 00:03:16,239 --> 00:03:18,720 out of this story, whether it is true or not, 33 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,549 to the point where people might well say 34 00:03:21,549 --> 00:03:22,898 they can't properly judge it 35 00:03:22,898 --> 00:03:25,857 because it's been a profit-making enterprise 36 00:03:25,857 --> 00:03:27,424 to tell the story? 37 00:03:27,424 --> 00:03:29,426 We didn't write the book. 38 00:03:29,426 --> 00:03:30,775 [interviewer] But are you not involved in the profits 39 00:03:30,775 --> 00:03:32,299 of the book in some way? 40 00:03:32,299 --> 00:03:33,865 We're involved with 41 00:03:33,865 --> 00:03:38,653 the author, Jay Anson, on profits. 42 00:03:38,653 --> 00:03:41,395 There is also-- 43 00:03:41,395 --> 00:03:46,617 We've been accused on occasion of fabricating a hoax. 44 00:03:46,617 --> 00:03:50,882 And it's very hard to live a lie. 45 00:03:50,882 --> 00:03:54,843 To daily come up against people who point a finger and say, 46 00:03:54,843 --> 00:03:56,627 "This can't be. 47 00:03:56,627 --> 00:03:59,935 "You went and you bought this house 48 00:03:59,935 --> 00:04:01,502 "just to make a book, 49 00:04:01,502 --> 00:04:04,983 "to take your children and to put them into this 50 00:04:04,983 --> 00:04:07,682 "and to stand them up in front of the public 51 00:04:07,682 --> 00:04:09,466 "and let the public ridicule them 52 00:04:09,466 --> 00:04:12,730 for the rest of their lives for a few dollars." No. 53 00:04:12,730 --> 00:04:18,780 ♪ 54 00:04:18,780 --> 00:04:21,826 Our parents sold us out for $275 a head 55 00:04:21,826 --> 00:04:25,787 for the children to be depicted in the film. 56 00:04:25,787 --> 00:04:29,617 George became obsessed with this moneymaking venture 57 00:04:29,617 --> 00:04:32,489 from this Amityville story. 58 00:04:32,489 --> 00:04:36,928 And he felt that it was fine to add fiction to it. 59 00:04:38,365 --> 00:04:40,454 But I know what happened. 60 00:04:40,454 --> 00:04:42,412 You don't get to play it off like 61 00:04:42,412 --> 00:04:46,416 you were a hero to the family 62 00:04:46,416 --> 00:04:49,289 when you're a perpetrator. 63 00:04:59,473 --> 00:05:04,129 In my closet, there was a paneling 64 00:05:04,129 --> 00:05:09,831 that revealed an area behind the wall. 65 00:05:09,831 --> 00:05:12,877 That would have been where Ronald DeFeo hid 66 00:05:12,877 --> 00:05:18,622 the things that he was trying to hide from his parents. 67 00:05:18,622 --> 00:05:23,627 Looking in there, there was two bags of capsules, 68 00:05:23,627 --> 00:05:26,543 pills. 69 00:05:26,543 --> 00:05:28,763 Exactly what kind they were, 70 00:05:28,763 --> 00:05:30,373 I didn't find out 71 00:05:30,373 --> 00:05:36,379 until questioning George way later in life. 72 00:05:36,379 --> 00:05:39,164 And he was really surprised that I remembered. 73 00:05:39,164 --> 00:05:41,036 He said they were quaaludes. 74 00:05:44,039 --> 00:05:46,824 So now, I don't know how quaaludes-- 75 00:05:46,824 --> 00:05:48,652 I've never taken them, so I don't know exactly 76 00:05:48,652 --> 00:05:50,654 how they'd react on the body-- 77 00:05:50,654 --> 00:05:52,569 but I do know this: 78 00:05:52,569 --> 00:05:56,747 George had a very different change in his demeanor... 79 00:05:56,747 --> 00:06:00,185 ♪ 80 00:06:00,185 --> 00:06:03,406 ...where he no longer went into work, 81 00:06:03,406 --> 00:06:07,932 he no longer was doing personal care. 82 00:06:07,932 --> 00:06:10,674 He became obsessed with just sitting around the fire 83 00:06:10,674 --> 00:06:14,069 and obsessed with his boats and his boathouse. 84 00:06:14,069 --> 00:06:17,420 And so to me, that sounds like a drug binge. 85 00:06:17,420 --> 00:06:18,943 ♪ 86 00:06:18,943 --> 00:06:21,990 Mama! 87 00:06:21,990 --> 00:06:25,036 Oh, mama! Mama! 88 00:06:25,036 --> 00:06:28,866 [shouting] 89 00:06:28,866 --> 00:06:33,393 [unsettling music plays] 90 00:06:35,046 --> 00:06:37,832 [sighs deeply] 91 00:06:37,832 --> 00:06:43,881 ♪ 92 00:06:43,881 --> 00:06:46,754 We were going to do a sequel 93 00:06:46,754 --> 00:06:49,147 to The Amityville Horror. 94 00:06:49,147 --> 00:06:50,497 We're going to do a second book, 95 00:06:50,497 --> 00:06:52,890 absolutely non-fiction. 96 00:06:52,890 --> 00:06:56,633 We spent the money that we made from the first book 97 00:06:56,633 --> 00:07:00,898 and from the movie to hire the writer John Jones. 98 00:07:00,898 --> 00:07:03,901 And then subsequently go back and interview 99 00:07:03,901 --> 00:07:05,642 all the other people that had helped us 100 00:07:05,642 --> 00:07:08,602 and had been involved with us 101 00:07:08,602 --> 00:07:10,952 while we were in the house and afterwards, 102 00:07:10,952 --> 00:07:13,694 telling their stories. 103 00:07:13,694 --> 00:07:15,783 [Carol] George hired a ghostwriter 104 00:07:15,783 --> 00:07:16,914 for the second book. 105 00:07:16,914 --> 00:07:18,829 And he wanted me to come out 106 00:07:18,829 --> 00:07:22,093 and help with all of that. 107 00:07:22,093 --> 00:07:25,053 And that's when I moved out to San Diego. 108 00:07:25,053 --> 00:07:30,014 ♪ 109 00:07:30,014 --> 00:07:33,104 [Laura] George and Kathy wanted my recollections 110 00:07:33,104 --> 00:07:36,847 of all these things that had transpired. 111 00:07:36,847 --> 00:07:39,894 I actually went out to California. 112 00:07:39,894 --> 00:07:41,765 It turns out, 113 00:07:41,765 --> 00:07:43,767 George seemed to think that 114 00:07:43,767 --> 00:07:45,987 whatever type of entity was in the house 115 00:07:45,987 --> 00:07:47,771 followed them to California. 116 00:07:47,771 --> 00:07:50,165 And he said to me, "Well, when we were on the plane 117 00:07:50,165 --> 00:07:52,907 "going to San Diego, Missy was sitting there 118 00:07:52,907 --> 00:07:55,083 "and said, 'Oh, look, Jody is on the wing.'" 119 00:07:55,083 --> 00:07:57,868 [terrifying music plays] 120 00:07:57,868 --> 00:08:02,177 ♪ 121 00:08:02,177 --> 00:08:07,661 Missy had a very high degree of sensitivity. 122 00:08:07,661 --> 00:08:11,099 She truly believed that they were little playmates 123 00:08:11,099 --> 00:08:13,797 that were there. 124 00:08:13,797 --> 00:08:15,886 It was--it was frightening. 125 00:08:15,886 --> 00:08:21,022 It was very, very, very, very frightening. 126 00:08:23,938 --> 00:08:26,767 [Christopher] The Warrens became a part of our lives. 127 00:08:26,767 --> 00:08:28,986 They'd visit us out in-- out in California 128 00:08:28,986 --> 00:08:31,032 when we were living there. 129 00:08:31,032 --> 00:08:33,687 And the Warrens started testing us kids 130 00:08:33,687 --> 00:08:36,994 for psychic abilities. 131 00:08:40,041 --> 00:08:44,175 We were walking alone with the children. 132 00:08:44,175 --> 00:08:49,006 And those innocent little kids were relating to us 133 00:08:49,006 --> 00:08:52,140 without us asking questions 134 00:08:52,140 --> 00:08:56,231 about things that occurred to them in that house. 135 00:09:02,716 --> 00:09:04,021 [Christopher] I remember Father Ray 136 00:09:04,021 --> 00:09:07,198 coming to California one time. 137 00:09:07,198 --> 00:09:09,897 It was Father Ray that suggested that we move out of 138 00:09:09,897 --> 00:09:12,595 the Amityville house. 139 00:09:12,595 --> 00:09:14,858 I felt safe around him. 140 00:09:14,858 --> 00:09:17,818 I remember I just ran to him and jumped at him 141 00:09:17,818 --> 00:09:21,735 and he picked me up and I--I just wept. 142 00:09:21,735 --> 00:09:26,304 I remember George asking later, "Why'd you cry?" 143 00:09:26,304 --> 00:09:28,132 [Laura] I did ask Father Ray, 144 00:09:28,132 --> 00:09:31,701 "Did you hear a disembodied voice 145 00:09:31,701 --> 00:09:33,877 "telling you to get out? 146 00:09:33,877 --> 00:09:37,011 "Did you feel something smack you in the face? 147 00:09:37,011 --> 00:09:38,360 Did that happen?" 148 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:41,102 And he said "Yes, that did happen. 149 00:09:41,102 --> 00:09:42,625 That's accurate." 150 00:09:42,625 --> 00:09:44,627 [voice] Get out. 151 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:48,065 Get out! 152 00:09:48,065 --> 00:09:50,067 I vaguely remember it. 153 00:09:50,067 --> 00:09:52,287 I remember James Brolin, that's the main thing, 154 00:09:52,287 --> 00:09:55,638 and flies or something like that. 155 00:09:55,638 --> 00:09:57,727 Well, it was a haunted house movie. 156 00:09:57,727 --> 00:10:01,296 So for me, it's how well is it done? 157 00:10:01,296 --> 00:10:04,212 ["Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" playing] 158 00:10:04,212 --> 00:10:09,260 Haunted house movies, they began in France. 159 00:10:09,260 --> 00:10:13,917 I guess the earliest was George Méliès, 160 00:10:13,917 --> 00:10:16,354 1890s, 161 00:10:16,354 --> 00:10:20,881 and they've always been with us. 162 00:10:20,881 --> 00:10:23,231 It's always the same kind of basic story. 163 00:10:23,231 --> 00:10:25,189 House is haunted. 164 00:10:25,189 --> 00:10:27,191 People come in. 165 00:10:27,191 --> 00:10:29,019 They get terrorized. 166 00:10:29,019 --> 00:10:31,413 They don't leave like normal people would, 167 00:10:31,413 --> 00:10:33,241 they stay like movie people do. 168 00:10:33,241 --> 00:10:37,332 ♪ 169 00:10:37,332 --> 00:10:41,162 Horror is a great allegorical genre. 170 00:10:43,730 --> 00:10:46,907 Everybody is afraid in the entire world. 171 00:10:46,907 --> 00:10:48,386 We're born afraid. 172 00:10:48,386 --> 00:10:51,302 ♪ 173 00:10:51,302 --> 00:10:53,783 We are afraid of the same things. 174 00:10:53,783 --> 00:10:55,959 It's a universal feeling. 175 00:10:58,005 --> 00:11:02,139 Humor changes sometimes from country to country. 176 00:11:02,139 --> 00:11:03,837 The horror never changes. 177 00:11:03,837 --> 00:11:07,971 It's a powerful medium when it's done right. 178 00:11:07,971 --> 00:11:10,844 [terrifying music plays] 179 00:11:10,844 --> 00:11:15,718 ♪ 180 00:11:15,718 --> 00:11:19,374 [man] Part of where the title Get Out came from, 181 00:11:19,374 --> 00:11:22,116 this goes back to the old Eddie Murphy routine. 182 00:11:22,116 --> 00:11:23,857 In The Amityville Horror, the ghost told them 183 00:11:23,857 --> 00:11:25,206 to get out the house. 184 00:11:25,206 --> 00:11:26,947 White people stayed in there. 185 00:11:26,947 --> 00:11:29,863 Now that's a hint and a half for your ass. 186 00:11:29,863 --> 00:11:31,255 A ghost say get the fuck out, 187 00:11:31,255 --> 00:11:33,475 I would just tip the fuck out the door. 188 00:11:33,475 --> 00:11:36,826 And he did this Amityville bit of like, "Get out." 189 00:11:36,826 --> 00:11:38,349 We got a chandelier hanging up here, 190 00:11:38,349 --> 00:11:41,135 kids outside playing, it's a beautiful neighborhood. 191 00:11:41,135 --> 00:11:42,136 We ain't got nothing to worry-- I really love-- 192 00:11:42,136 --> 00:11:43,398 this is really nice-- 193 00:11:43,398 --> 00:11:45,400 "Get out." Too bad we can't stay, baby. 194 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:50,492 [laughter, applause] 195 00:11:50,492 --> 00:11:53,408 [soft thoughtful music plays] 196 00:11:53,408 --> 00:11:56,280 ♪ 197 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:57,847 [interviewer] I'm wondering if you ever saw 198 00:11:57,847 --> 00:11:59,370 Amityville II: The Possession? 199 00:11:59,370 --> 00:12:02,199 Please no, please. 200 00:12:02,199 --> 00:12:04,854 Please, please. [chuckles] 201 00:12:04,854 --> 00:12:06,203 No, life's too short for some of this. 202 00:12:06,203 --> 00:12:09,032 Now, come on. 203 00:12:09,032 --> 00:12:11,992 [prayerful singing] 204 00:12:11,992 --> 00:12:18,955 ♪ 205 00:12:37,974 --> 00:12:40,542 [crew member 1] I guess the light's changing, right? 206 00:12:40,542 --> 00:12:41,891 Let me know when you're ready. 207 00:12:41,891 --> 00:12:43,893 I'm gonna just stick this back there. 208 00:12:43,893 --> 00:12:46,069 [crew member 2] Sound is speeding. 209 00:12:46,069 --> 00:12:48,463 Diane Franklin interview, take one. 210 00:12:48,463 --> 00:12:50,813 - It's changing, right? - [crew member 3] Yep. 211 00:12:50,813 --> 00:12:51,771 [crew member 2] Thank you. 212 00:12:55,905 --> 00:12:57,472 My name is Diane Franklin. 213 00:12:57,472 --> 00:12:59,953 And I was the actress who played the daughter 214 00:12:59,953 --> 00:13:02,477 in the film Amityville II: The Possession. 215 00:13:04,218 --> 00:13:07,482 The film is about a young family 216 00:13:07,482 --> 00:13:09,266 that moves to the suburbs 217 00:13:09,266 --> 00:13:11,138 trying to start a new life. 218 00:13:11,138 --> 00:13:13,401 I played Patricia Montelli, 219 00:13:13,401 --> 00:13:16,491 based on Dawn DeFeo. 220 00:13:16,491 --> 00:13:18,232 The minute they come into the house, 221 00:13:18,232 --> 00:13:21,975 there is an energy that is not normal. 222 00:13:21,975 --> 00:13:23,150 Take off your nightgown. 223 00:13:26,588 --> 00:13:27,894 There. 224 00:13:27,894 --> 00:13:30,113 And with that story, 225 00:13:30,113 --> 00:13:32,072 I don't think anyone 226 00:13:32,072 --> 00:13:36,424 has tackled the subject of incest that real. 227 00:13:36,424 --> 00:13:40,123 The stories of the brother who takes on this energy, 228 00:13:40,123 --> 00:13:44,519 taking on the poison of the family and the household. 229 00:13:44,519 --> 00:13:46,347 [suspenseful music plays] 230 00:13:46,347 --> 00:13:47,957 [gasps] 231 00:13:47,957 --> 00:13:50,960 She sees this monster about to shoot her 232 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:54,268 and she believes he won't shoot me, he loves me. 233 00:13:54,268 --> 00:13:55,312 What are you doing? 234 00:13:55,312 --> 00:13:58,881 [gunshot echoes] 235 00:13:58,881 --> 00:14:00,230 [director] And if you just look from where you are 236 00:14:00,230 --> 00:14:03,146 and just look at my hand, it's out of the shot. 237 00:14:03,146 --> 00:14:05,148 - So look out the window again. - Right. 238 00:14:05,148 --> 00:14:06,889 [director] And just turn to look at my hand. 239 00:14:06,889 --> 00:14:07,847 Just keep it there. 240 00:14:10,023 --> 00:14:12,112 [crew member] Okay, and then walk to you. 241 00:14:12,112 --> 00:14:13,853 [director] And then just walk towards me. 242 00:14:15,419 --> 00:14:17,160 [Ronnie] Because of Amityville Horror, 243 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,597 I don't believe I'll ever get out of prison. 244 00:14:19,597 --> 00:14:22,252 You know, they made a monster out of me. 245 00:14:22,252 --> 00:14:23,906 And the public is terrified of me 246 00:14:23,906 --> 00:14:26,343 and they don't want me back out on the street. 247 00:14:31,174 --> 00:14:34,003 [Daniel] I spent the years 2004 to 2007 248 00:14:34,003 --> 00:14:38,007 in prison with Ronnie DeFeo. 249 00:14:38,007 --> 00:14:40,531 In prison, they show a lot of movies. 250 00:14:40,531 --> 00:14:43,404 But they never showed any of the Amityville Horror movies 251 00:14:43,404 --> 00:14:46,189 in Green Haven because Ronnie was there. 252 00:14:46,189 --> 00:14:48,496 And Ronnie would have made a big old stink 253 00:14:48,496 --> 00:14:51,978 about how showing the movie would put him in danger. 254 00:14:55,068 --> 00:14:58,941 He also blamed them for his parole problems. 255 00:14:58,941 --> 00:15:00,987 An Amityville Horror movie came out at the same time 256 00:15:00,987 --> 00:15:02,684 as his parole hearing. 257 00:15:02,684 --> 00:15:04,468 And he claimed that this made it 258 00:15:04,468 --> 00:15:06,993 absolutely impossible for him to get a fair hearing. 259 00:15:06,993 --> 00:15:10,300 And that's why he was denied parole. 260 00:15:14,087 --> 00:15:15,958 It's all because of those fucking movies, 261 00:15:15,958 --> 00:15:19,179 not because he had killed six people. 262 00:15:19,179 --> 00:15:20,615 You want me to look out the window first 263 00:15:20,615 --> 00:15:22,399 and look at Neil's hand and then walk into Neil. 264 00:15:22,399 --> 00:15:23,618 [Daniel] When he first told me 265 00:15:23,618 --> 00:15:26,012 that the mob rubbed out his family, 266 00:15:26,012 --> 00:15:29,363 I of course nodded and said, "Sorry that happened." 267 00:15:29,363 --> 00:15:31,974 It took about a little over a year 268 00:15:31,974 --> 00:15:33,541 for him to start telling me a different story. 269 00:15:33,541 --> 00:15:35,238 [director] And go. 270 00:15:35,238 --> 00:15:37,240 [Daniel] Ronnie talked to me in a hushed voice 271 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:40,548 and he said, "You know, it's really fucked up. 272 00:15:40,548 --> 00:15:43,377 "My sister, Dawn, 273 00:15:43,377 --> 00:15:45,161 "murdered my family. 274 00:15:45,161 --> 00:15:47,729 "The only way I survived was by 275 00:15:47,729 --> 00:15:50,079 "taking the gun away and shooting her. 276 00:15:50,079 --> 00:15:51,559 "It was the worst thing I ever did. 277 00:15:51,559 --> 00:15:52,603 It was horrible." 278 00:15:54,649 --> 00:15:57,086 [Ronnie] I heard a roar. You know, it was a gunshot. 279 00:15:57,086 --> 00:15:59,088 It was loud. 280 00:15:59,088 --> 00:16:02,352 I soon entered my father's room. 281 00:16:02,352 --> 00:16:07,357 I pushed the light button on the wall there. 282 00:16:07,357 --> 00:16:09,794 I saw a hole in my father's back--one hole. 283 00:16:09,794 --> 00:16:11,622 I ran across the hallway, right? 284 00:16:11,622 --> 00:16:14,103 And I saw my little sister there, 285 00:16:14,103 --> 00:16:16,366 you know. 286 00:16:16,366 --> 00:16:18,455 I started really getting crazy there, you know. 287 00:16:18,455 --> 00:16:21,502 I saw her--with her head, you know-- 288 00:16:21,502 --> 00:16:23,069 blood running down the side of her head. 289 00:16:23,069 --> 00:16:24,635 I ran upstairs then. 290 00:16:24,635 --> 00:16:27,725 The only one alive in the house was my sister. 291 00:16:27,725 --> 00:16:29,466 I went off. 292 00:16:29,466 --> 00:16:31,164 I threw her across the room. 293 00:16:31,164 --> 00:16:33,253 She went flying, landed in the bed on her stomach. 294 00:16:33,253 --> 00:16:34,602 That's when I grabbed the rifle. 295 00:16:34,602 --> 00:16:37,039 It was all one big motion. 296 00:16:37,039 --> 00:16:38,345 I--I killed her. 297 00:16:38,345 --> 00:16:41,522 I shot my sister in the head. 298 00:16:41,522 --> 00:16:43,132 Like I say, I just lost it. 299 00:16:43,132 --> 00:16:44,699 It just happened so quick, I lost it. 300 00:16:49,660 --> 00:16:52,750 [somber music plays] 301 00:16:52,750 --> 00:16:57,146 Over the years, Ron DeFeo had several versions of 302 00:16:57,146 --> 00:17:00,715 how his sister, Dawn, was one of the shooters. 303 00:17:00,715 --> 00:17:03,152 And this story changed over the decades. 304 00:17:03,152 --> 00:17:06,677 It wasn't just one "Dawn was involved" story. 305 00:17:06,677 --> 00:17:09,115 My father writes in his book that 306 00:17:09,115 --> 00:17:11,160 he characterizes the accusation that 307 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:14,598 Dawn was one of the killers as preposterous. 308 00:17:14,598 --> 00:17:21,562 ♪ 309 00:17:26,610 --> 00:17:29,526 He thought that it was unlikely that 310 00:17:29,526 --> 00:17:34,096 a young woman who had no known experience with firearms 311 00:17:34,096 --> 00:17:37,360 would be able to so expertly move from room to room 312 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:40,581 and in close range, with just a shot or two, 313 00:17:40,581 --> 00:17:42,409 kill her siblings. 314 00:17:42,409 --> 00:17:46,152 So my father did not believe the "Dawn is involved" story. 315 00:17:48,328 --> 00:17:50,373 [Carol] When I heard him accuse Dawn 316 00:17:50,373 --> 00:17:51,809 of being part of the murders, 317 00:17:51,809 --> 00:17:54,377 I was just astounded. 318 00:17:54,377 --> 00:17:56,640 And I thought, "How dare you?" 319 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,208 She did not have that in her heart. 320 00:17:59,208 --> 00:18:01,819 She loved her parents. She loved her siblings. 321 00:18:04,344 --> 00:18:06,563 He was just trying to deflect, I think. 322 00:18:06,563 --> 00:18:10,219 Yeah, I just knew that he was full of shit. 323 00:18:10,219 --> 00:18:13,440 I read about the sequel, The Possession. 324 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:15,790 I was so incensed. And I'm trying to remember now. 325 00:18:15,790 --> 00:18:17,226 I'm pretty sure that was the one where 326 00:18:17,226 --> 00:18:19,141 they tried to now introduce the idea that 327 00:18:19,141 --> 00:18:20,925 there might have been some incest. 328 00:18:20,925 --> 00:18:23,276 And I said this is absolutely now obscene. 329 00:18:23,276 --> 00:18:27,323 They want to make a movie about whatever that's not true, 330 00:18:27,323 --> 00:18:28,803 you know, call it something else even. 331 00:18:28,803 --> 00:18:30,544 At that point, it's really so exploitative. 332 00:18:30,544 --> 00:18:33,503 [somber music plays] 333 00:18:33,503 --> 00:18:40,467 ♪ 334 00:18:46,255 --> 00:18:48,431 The Possession shows the ways in which that story 335 00:18:48,431 --> 00:18:51,608 got out of the Lutz's hands. 336 00:18:51,608 --> 00:18:54,176 The sequel wildly fabricates things 337 00:18:54,176 --> 00:18:57,353 because that's what we do with stories like this. 338 00:18:57,353 --> 00:19:00,182 You can't tell the story in a strictly factual way 339 00:19:00,182 --> 00:19:02,271 because no one--no one really wants to see that. 340 00:19:02,271 --> 00:19:03,794 [narrator] What was in this house? 341 00:19:03,794 --> 00:19:05,622 - [door slams] - No. 342 00:19:05,622 --> 00:19:07,581 [narrator] What evil could drive their son to madness 343 00:19:07,581 --> 00:19:09,583 and destroy everything and everyone he loved? 344 00:19:09,583 --> 00:19:11,324 Mommy! 345 00:19:11,324 --> 00:19:12,716 Dino De Laurentiis put out a movie called 346 00:19:12,716 --> 00:19:14,457 Amityville Horror II, 347 00:19:14,457 --> 00:19:16,285 which they eventually changed to Amityville II 348 00:19:16,285 --> 00:19:17,765 and did it without our permission. 349 00:19:17,765 --> 00:19:21,812 [narrator] Amityville II: The Possession. 350 00:19:21,812 --> 00:19:25,555 [George] And that became a 12, 13-year lawsuit. 351 00:19:25,555 --> 00:19:26,861 So even if you have the rights, 352 00:19:26,861 --> 00:19:28,689 even if you're trying to do this 353 00:19:28,689 --> 00:19:30,473 the best way you possibly can 354 00:19:30,473 --> 00:19:32,997 and fix the stuff that's been wrong or been said wrong, 355 00:19:32,997 --> 00:19:35,348 things will come along and keep you from doing that. 356 00:19:35,348 --> 00:19:42,355 ♪ 357 00:19:50,493 --> 00:19:53,366 [Christopher] I remember as a kid being in school 358 00:19:53,366 --> 00:19:56,238 and we were asked what our parents do for a living. 359 00:19:56,238 --> 00:19:58,675 I didn't even know what they did for a living. 360 00:19:58,675 --> 00:20:00,329 I remember asking George. 361 00:20:00,329 --> 00:20:01,678 And he said "I'm a writer." 362 00:20:01,678 --> 00:20:03,593 And I said, "What do you write about?" 363 00:20:03,593 --> 00:20:06,248 And he said, "Things that happened." 364 00:20:06,248 --> 00:20:07,684 And that was where he left it. 365 00:20:07,684 --> 00:20:12,254 Amityville became George's whole project. 366 00:20:12,254 --> 00:20:13,516 It was his business. 367 00:20:13,516 --> 00:20:15,605 He kept the publicity up. 368 00:20:15,605 --> 00:20:17,259 That was his way of working. 369 00:20:17,259 --> 00:20:19,783 He supported his family with Amityville. 370 00:20:21,959 --> 00:20:23,700 [Christopher] The progression that George went through 371 00:20:23,700 --> 00:20:26,964 was like, very obsessive 372 00:20:26,964 --> 00:20:29,663 of the notoriety 373 00:20:29,663 --> 00:20:33,406 and getting out there and his public image. 374 00:20:33,406 --> 00:20:35,495 Behind closed doors, he was a very different guy 375 00:20:35,495 --> 00:20:39,716 than what he was portraying publicly. 376 00:20:39,716 --> 00:20:42,763 [Carol] I asked Kathy a couple of times about the children. 377 00:20:42,763 --> 00:20:46,810 And she told me that she was trying to 378 00:20:46,810 --> 00:20:50,945 shelter them from everything that was going on. 379 00:20:50,945 --> 00:20:52,729 But I didn't think, at that point, 380 00:20:52,729 --> 00:20:54,557 they were being sheltered. 381 00:20:54,557 --> 00:20:56,603 It was just too public. 382 00:20:56,603 --> 00:20:58,387 And when it happens to a family, 383 00:20:58,387 --> 00:21:01,434 usually they close the door and they don't talk about it. 384 00:21:01,434 --> 00:21:03,523 [interviewer] Yeah. 385 00:21:03,523 --> 00:21:06,090 And unless these things are talked about, 386 00:21:06,090 --> 00:21:08,745 they'll never be understood. 387 00:21:08,745 --> 00:21:10,791 [James] When you would talk to the family and the kids 388 00:21:10,791 --> 00:21:14,055 and I would ask them questions, 389 00:21:14,055 --> 00:21:16,753 they would not go, "Well, um--" 390 00:21:16,753 --> 00:21:18,451 They'd have the answer right now, 391 00:21:18,451 --> 00:21:21,323 like they'd been schooled. 392 00:21:21,323 --> 00:21:23,325 [Christopher] I listened to James Brolin talk 393 00:21:23,325 --> 00:21:24,718 about how he met the kids 394 00:21:24,718 --> 00:21:27,721 and they sounded like they were coached. 395 00:21:27,721 --> 00:21:30,114 We were in a situation where 396 00:21:30,114 --> 00:21:31,986 if we weren't on our best behavior, 397 00:21:31,986 --> 00:21:33,901 we were gonna get the shit knocked out of us 398 00:21:33,901 --> 00:21:35,816 when we got home. 399 00:21:35,816 --> 00:21:37,948 So to say that we were coached, 400 00:21:37,948 --> 00:21:40,429 the guy doesn't know what we were going through. 401 00:21:40,429 --> 00:21:42,344 Ooh, "big star." 402 00:21:42,344 --> 00:21:44,781 Okay, so you made your name off of that movie. 403 00:21:44,781 --> 00:21:46,827 You didn't live it. 404 00:21:47,697 --> 00:21:51,353 George was a former Marine, a black belt in jujitsu. 405 00:21:51,353 --> 00:21:53,442 I had no defense against him. 406 00:21:55,401 --> 00:21:56,445 [sighs softly] 407 00:21:56,445 --> 00:22:03,365 ♪ 408 00:22:04,671 --> 00:22:07,369 So George believed that, 409 00:22:07,369 --> 00:22:10,067 with my mind, I could make him ill... 410 00:22:12,418 --> 00:22:15,464 even to the point where... 411 00:22:17,553 --> 00:22:19,120 he thought he was gonna die. 412 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:21,775 And he came in and he started beating the shit out of me 413 00:22:21,775 --> 00:22:25,344 for my thoughts. 414 00:22:27,084 --> 00:22:29,391 Killing him through telepathy was just 415 00:22:29,391 --> 00:22:32,046 so fucking fucked up, man. 416 00:22:36,137 --> 00:22:38,574 And I really didn't plan on talking about that. 417 00:22:38,574 --> 00:22:40,881 I need a minute, man. 418 00:22:43,579 --> 00:22:45,494 [sighs] 419 00:22:45,494 --> 00:22:47,366 [quietly] Holy fuck. 420 00:22:54,068 --> 00:22:57,811 [Carol] If the Warrens found that Christopher, in a sense, 421 00:22:57,811 --> 00:23:00,030 has some psychic ability, 422 00:23:00,030 --> 00:23:03,643 I can see where one step could lead to another. 423 00:23:03,643 --> 00:23:05,993 Because George, he was afraid that 424 00:23:05,993 --> 00:23:08,474 Christopher took the evil with him, 425 00:23:08,474 --> 00:23:10,606 was possessed by the evil. 426 00:23:12,565 --> 00:23:17,004 George was kind of constantly haunted. 427 00:23:17,004 --> 00:23:19,006 He would hear voices. 428 00:23:19,006 --> 00:23:21,922 We would be driving somewhere 429 00:23:21,922 --> 00:23:24,881 and he would turn around while he was driving 430 00:23:24,881 --> 00:23:29,059 and yell at something in the back of the car. 431 00:23:29,059 --> 00:23:31,584 He would be sitting in the room, 432 00:23:31,584 --> 00:23:34,543 and all of a sudden, 433 00:23:34,543 --> 00:23:38,112 he'd get up and start screaming at something... 434 00:23:40,549 --> 00:23:44,074 telling these spirits or whatever that was haunting him 435 00:23:44,074 --> 00:23:49,036 to go away, to not bother him. 436 00:23:49,036 --> 00:23:51,125 It gets to the point where you're convinced that 437 00:23:51,125 --> 00:23:54,563 there is evil, there is something there. 438 00:23:56,652 --> 00:24:00,264 It kind of felt like George was acting possessed. 439 00:24:00,264 --> 00:24:05,487 ♪ 440 00:24:05,487 --> 00:24:09,491 I had found out I was pregnant with my first child. 441 00:24:09,491 --> 00:24:11,928 And I didn't want my unborn child 442 00:24:11,928 --> 00:24:14,801 to have to experience anything like that. 443 00:24:14,801 --> 00:24:17,194 I was just frightened by it. 444 00:24:17,194 --> 00:24:20,502 I went back home to Brooklyn. 445 00:24:20,502 --> 00:24:23,505 I don't want anything to do with Amityville at all. 446 00:24:23,505 --> 00:24:25,725 I don't want anything to do with the Lutzes. 447 00:24:25,725 --> 00:24:30,164 And just--I never contacted 448 00:24:30,164 --> 00:24:32,514 George and Kathy again after that. 449 00:24:32,514 --> 00:24:35,299 [soft dramatic music plays] 450 00:24:35,299 --> 00:24:39,956 ♪ 451 00:24:39,956 --> 00:24:44,961 [chorus vocalizing] 452 00:24:44,961 --> 00:24:47,964 ♪ 453 00:24:47,964 --> 00:24:49,531 [Christopher] Book number two 454 00:24:49,531 --> 00:24:51,794 that he authorized to have written, 455 00:24:51,794 --> 00:24:55,581 it talks about how he had to go through an exorcism. 456 00:24:55,581 --> 00:24:59,193 [chorus singing in Latin] 457 00:25:07,244 --> 00:25:08,811 In London, England, 458 00:25:08,811 --> 00:25:10,683 the Archbishop of Canterbury's exorcist, 459 00:25:10,683 --> 00:25:13,207 Reverend Neil Smith, 460 00:25:13,207 --> 00:25:16,558 he performed for us what some people would call an exorcism. 461 00:25:16,558 --> 00:25:18,734 I'd call it more of a blessing. 462 00:25:18,734 --> 00:25:20,823 [chorus continuing] 463 00:25:20,823 --> 00:25:22,303 But it was a rite of separation 464 00:25:22,303 --> 00:25:24,261 in the Anglican church. 465 00:25:24,261 --> 00:25:26,350 And it was a separation from the house, 466 00:25:26,350 --> 00:25:28,918 from the effects of the house. 467 00:25:28,918 --> 00:25:30,354 He looked right at Kathy and said, 468 00:25:30,354 --> 00:25:32,705 "You're still affected by this." 469 00:25:32,705 --> 00:25:35,664 Beat down Satan under our feet 470 00:25:35,664 --> 00:25:40,843 and cause all evil forces to depart! 471 00:25:42,932 --> 00:25:44,717 [William] I've personally observed exorcism 472 00:25:44,717 --> 00:25:49,373 both in Catholic circles and evangelical ones. 473 00:25:49,373 --> 00:25:53,987 Exorcism can function as a placebo ritual. 474 00:25:53,987 --> 00:25:56,729 And that that is then going to aid them 475 00:25:56,729 --> 00:25:58,644 in their feeling of recovery, 476 00:25:58,644 --> 00:26:01,385 and it actually will produce a physical sensation 477 00:26:01,385 --> 00:26:05,651 that could, in a way, improve their condition. 478 00:26:05,651 --> 00:26:08,610 [eerie music plays] 479 00:26:08,610 --> 00:26:15,574 ♪ 480 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:20,840 [Christopher] You don't need an exorcism 481 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,017 because you lived in a haunted house. 482 00:26:24,017 --> 00:26:27,629 You get an exorcism because you've got demons. 483 00:26:29,979 --> 00:26:31,633 What is it like to live with a man 484 00:26:31,633 --> 00:26:33,722 that's in need of an exorcism 485 00:26:33,722 --> 00:26:35,419 that's your stepdad 486 00:26:35,419 --> 00:26:38,031 who's treating you like a stepson 487 00:26:38,031 --> 00:26:40,903 that doesn't care who the hell you are? 488 00:26:43,079 --> 00:26:45,081 [Laura] Christopher was always looking over his shoulder, 489 00:26:45,081 --> 00:26:47,693 like, "Oh, I better not say anything I'm not supposed to 490 00:26:47,693 --> 00:26:50,260 or I'll get in trouble." 491 00:26:50,260 --> 00:26:54,134 The thing that really struck me most was that 492 00:26:54,134 --> 00:26:57,006 Danny would just glare at George. 493 00:26:57,006 --> 00:27:01,097 He did not hide his feelings. 494 00:27:01,097 --> 00:27:03,099 If looks could kill, 495 00:27:03,099 --> 00:27:05,362 I mean, he would have had laser beams towards George 496 00:27:05,362 --> 00:27:08,931 coming out of both eyes. 497 00:27:08,931 --> 00:27:11,760 [Carol] Kathy had, from what I know, 498 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,110 an abusive first husband. 499 00:27:14,110 --> 00:27:19,202 And it left her as a divorced woman in the '70s 500 00:27:19,202 --> 00:27:21,465 with three children, which, at that time, 501 00:27:21,465 --> 00:27:25,382 it was not exactly looked well upon. 502 00:27:25,382 --> 00:27:30,213 So when George came along and was willing to accept her 503 00:27:30,213 --> 00:27:33,303 and the children, it was wonderful, 504 00:27:33,303 --> 00:27:34,957 from her point of view, 505 00:27:34,957 --> 00:27:38,787 that somebody wanted to make them a family again. 506 00:27:38,787 --> 00:27:40,876 And she did everything she could 507 00:27:40,876 --> 00:27:42,748 to keep the marriage together 508 00:27:42,748 --> 00:27:45,272 because of the children. 509 00:27:45,272 --> 00:27:47,404 [camera shutter clicks] 510 00:27:47,404 --> 00:27:48,841 [interviewer] But you said you and Kathy 511 00:27:48,841 --> 00:27:50,930 weren't together anymore. 512 00:27:50,930 --> 00:27:55,717 And I was wondering if you can say when you divorced and why, 513 00:27:55,717 --> 00:27:57,414 if it had anything to do with this or-- 514 00:27:57,414 --> 00:28:00,156 The reasons we got divorced are really personal. 515 00:28:00,156 --> 00:28:05,771 We went in separate directions about exposing the house. 516 00:28:05,771 --> 00:28:07,990 As far as Kathy is concerned, 517 00:28:07,990 --> 00:28:11,907 her point is that she only wants to deal with 518 00:28:11,907 --> 00:28:13,169 the nonfiction part 519 00:28:13,169 --> 00:28:15,084 and does not believe that 520 00:28:15,084 --> 00:28:17,391 fiction also helps to do that. 521 00:28:17,391 --> 00:28:20,829 ♪ 522 00:28:20,829 --> 00:28:22,396 [Christopher] My mom became ill. 523 00:28:22,396 --> 00:28:26,487 She had a medical condition and she needed help. 524 00:28:26,487 --> 00:28:28,532 I took up residence with her, 525 00:28:28,532 --> 00:28:31,884 started to care for her until her death. 526 00:28:37,541 --> 00:28:38,978 That was when I decided to 527 00:28:38,978 --> 00:28:41,371 change my name back to Quaratino. 528 00:28:41,371 --> 00:28:45,288 And so for several years, I got to enjoy the anonymity 529 00:28:45,288 --> 00:28:48,770 of not being associated with that story anymore. 530 00:28:48,770 --> 00:28:52,121 ♪ 531 00:28:52,121 --> 00:28:55,037 And then one day, I got a phone call. 532 00:28:55,037 --> 00:28:57,083 And that's when I found out that 533 00:28:57,083 --> 00:28:58,954 George was getting ready to make another movie. 534 00:28:58,954 --> 00:29:00,564 Next year, there will finally be 535 00:29:00,564 --> 00:29:03,785 an authorized sequel of sorts, 536 00:29:03,785 --> 00:29:05,874 Amityville Horror: 25 Years Later. 537 00:29:05,874 --> 00:29:08,834 - Is it real? - Yes, it's in production now. 538 00:29:08,834 --> 00:29:11,097 And you're the first people I'm telling in the media. 539 00:29:11,097 --> 00:29:13,186 And then I find out that George's movie 540 00:29:13,186 --> 00:29:15,318 is gonna be about a Lutz son returning to the house 541 00:29:15,318 --> 00:29:17,016 25 years later, 542 00:29:17,016 --> 00:29:19,540 killing him through telepathy in the end of the movie. 543 00:29:19,540 --> 00:29:22,282 So I did whatever I could to, like, stop what he was doing. 544 00:29:22,282 --> 00:29:25,241 ♪ 545 00:29:25,241 --> 00:29:27,113 I took to the internet. 546 00:29:30,290 --> 00:29:33,075 AmityvilleHorror.com became available 547 00:29:33,075 --> 00:29:36,252 and I scooped it up. 548 00:29:36,252 --> 00:29:42,476 He sued me for what he said was a trademark violation. 549 00:29:42,476 --> 00:29:46,262 I can't say that what I had done actually stopped it, 550 00:29:46,262 --> 00:29:52,268 but I was making as much of a ruckus about it as I could. 551 00:29:52,268 --> 00:29:56,011 All in favor, sign up on my Facebook page 552 00:29:56,011 --> 00:30:00,276 and let's make history. 553 00:30:00,276 --> 00:30:02,148 Good night. 554 00:30:06,326 --> 00:30:09,372 [soft music plays] 555 00:30:09,372 --> 00:30:13,289 I've made myself publicly available on social media 556 00:30:13,289 --> 00:30:15,944 for about a decade now. 557 00:30:15,944 --> 00:30:20,383 I'm just really amazed at the stories I hear from people 558 00:30:20,383 --> 00:30:22,995 that were greatly affected by it 559 00:30:22,995 --> 00:30:24,344 when it initially came out. 560 00:30:24,344 --> 00:30:27,564 ♪ 561 00:30:27,564 --> 00:30:32,265 People of my generation or even older that, like, 562 00:30:32,265 --> 00:30:36,008 this story really resonated with them. 563 00:30:36,008 --> 00:30:38,227 There's so many people in the paranormal field 564 00:30:38,227 --> 00:30:40,012 that I have met through the years, 565 00:30:40,012 --> 00:30:41,317 having gone to conferences, 566 00:30:41,317 --> 00:30:43,058 and I often ask people, 567 00:30:43,058 --> 00:30:45,234 "What's got you so interested in the paranormal?" 568 00:30:45,234 --> 00:30:47,541 And so many people have told me, 569 00:30:47,541 --> 00:30:49,499 you know, "When I was a kid, I saw your-- 570 00:30:49,499 --> 00:30:51,893 I saw the movie about your family." 571 00:30:51,893 --> 00:30:57,986 ♪ 572 00:30:57,986 --> 00:31:03,600 Enough about the story resonates as real. 573 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:08,388 ♪ 574 00:31:08,388 --> 00:31:10,999 And that's why it continues on. 575 00:31:10,999 --> 00:31:13,001 ♪ 576 00:31:13,001 --> 00:31:14,916 Why is it you feel like people want to cling 577 00:31:14,916 --> 00:31:17,092 to this story? 578 00:31:17,092 --> 00:31:20,313 Partially because they have fantasies that they believe in 579 00:31:20,313 --> 00:31:22,706 and partially because there's money to be made. 580 00:31:22,706 --> 00:31:24,534 [applause] 581 00:31:24,534 --> 00:31:26,362 [host] He holds the unique title of demonologist. 582 00:31:26,362 --> 00:31:27,711 She's a psychic. 583 00:31:27,711 --> 00:31:29,191 Together they just completed work as 584 00:31:29,191 --> 00:31:32,281 demonology advisors on the upcoming film 585 00:31:32,281 --> 00:31:34,501 Amityville II: The Possession. 586 00:31:34,501 --> 00:31:36,329 Please welcome Ed and Lorraine Warren. 587 00:31:36,329 --> 00:31:38,635 [applause] 588 00:31:38,635 --> 00:31:40,028 [Christopher] The Warrens, 589 00:31:40,028 --> 00:31:43,075 they made a career for themselves. 590 00:31:43,075 --> 00:31:44,467 They highlighted the fact that 591 00:31:44,467 --> 00:31:46,034 they were involved in our story. 592 00:31:46,034 --> 00:31:47,427 What's the most famous case 593 00:31:47,427 --> 00:31:49,211 you've ever been involved with? 594 00:31:49,211 --> 00:31:51,213 Well, I would have to say the Amityville Horror, 595 00:31:51,213 --> 00:31:53,389 since it's world renowned. 596 00:31:53,389 --> 00:31:56,523 [Christopher] Years later, I found out that they had been 597 00:31:56,523 --> 00:31:59,526 the creative consultant on multiple movies 598 00:31:59,526 --> 00:32:01,963 after the initial movie. 599 00:32:01,963 --> 00:32:05,967 And I didn't find that to be, like, genuine. 600 00:32:05,967 --> 00:32:08,622 [terrifying music plays] 601 00:32:08,622 --> 00:32:09,971 [reporter] When The Conjuring opened 602 00:32:09,971 --> 00:32:11,973 in theaters in 2013, 603 00:32:11,973 --> 00:32:13,627 it was a box-office hit 604 00:32:13,627 --> 00:32:17,457 that raked in $137 million in the U.S. 605 00:32:17,457 --> 00:32:20,242 and terrified audiences worldwide. 606 00:32:20,242 --> 00:32:22,505 This is as close to hell as I ever want to get. 607 00:32:22,505 --> 00:32:26,161 ♪ 608 00:32:26,161 --> 00:32:28,598 [Christopher] People would attach themselves to this 609 00:32:28,598 --> 00:32:31,079 in one way or another. 610 00:32:31,079 --> 00:32:34,256 Jay Anson, having been penned as the author, 611 00:32:34,256 --> 00:32:36,476 is the one that's making the big money on it. 612 00:32:36,476 --> 00:32:39,261 Last I know, he made, like, 16 million on it. 613 00:32:39,261 --> 00:32:40,697 16 million. 614 00:32:40,697 --> 00:32:42,699 My parents made, like, 400,000. 615 00:32:42,699 --> 00:32:45,311 - [flies buzzing] - [screams] 616 00:32:45,311 --> 00:32:48,096 [voice] Get out! 617 00:32:48,096 --> 00:32:49,619 It's a remake that's really worthy, 618 00:32:49,619 --> 00:32:51,099 simply because the original doesn't-- 619 00:32:51,099 --> 00:32:54,146 I don't believe, holds up after time. 620 00:32:54,146 --> 00:32:55,495 Kill them! 621 00:32:55,495 --> 00:32:57,671 The greatest haunted house story ever told. 622 00:32:57,671 --> 00:33:00,021 ♪ 623 00:33:00,021 --> 00:33:02,154 [voice] Catch them. 624 00:33:02,154 --> 00:33:04,330 Kill them. 625 00:33:04,330 --> 00:33:05,592 [Daniel] Catch 'em and you kill 'em. 626 00:33:05,592 --> 00:33:07,507 You catch 'em and you kill 'em. 627 00:33:07,507 --> 00:33:10,031 Ronnie DeFeo kept repeating this over and over. 628 00:33:10,031 --> 00:33:12,164 I've never seen anything like this. 629 00:33:12,164 --> 00:33:14,427 "How can I get a fair hearing when all they know 630 00:33:14,427 --> 00:33:18,213 is that I catch 'em and kill 'em?" 631 00:33:18,213 --> 00:33:20,563 He was angry at Hollywood. 632 00:33:20,563 --> 00:33:23,740 He claimed that he should have been compensated 633 00:33:23,740 --> 00:33:29,572 for his contribution to the Amityville Horror movies. 634 00:33:29,572 --> 00:33:32,488 The Amityville Horror really is supposed to be me. 635 00:33:32,488 --> 00:33:35,535 Because I'm the one that 636 00:33:35,535 --> 00:33:37,276 got convicted of killing my family. 637 00:33:37,276 --> 00:33:38,581 I'm the one they say did it. 638 00:33:38,581 --> 00:33:40,322 I'm the one that's supposed to be possessed. 639 00:33:40,322 --> 00:33:42,716 [indistinct chatter] 640 00:33:42,716 --> 00:33:45,327 [Daniel] He had told me about the mob stuff, 641 00:33:45,327 --> 00:33:48,156 and then said Dawn killed the whole family. 642 00:33:48,156 --> 00:33:50,724 So I guess it's implied that 643 00:33:50,724 --> 00:33:53,292 he had acknowledged that the mafia story wasn't true. 644 00:33:53,292 --> 00:33:56,295 ♪ 645 00:33:56,295 --> 00:33:58,819 From what I understood, the father had 646 00:33:58,819 --> 00:34:01,300 legitimate connections with the mafia. 647 00:34:01,300 --> 00:34:04,694 But this did not spread to the son. 648 00:34:04,694 --> 00:34:06,609 The mob guys in the jail 649 00:34:06,609 --> 00:34:08,481 wouldn't have anything to do with him. 650 00:34:08,481 --> 00:34:10,700 I mean, they actively disliked him. 651 00:34:10,700 --> 00:34:13,094 They felt he was an embarrassment to them. 652 00:34:13,094 --> 00:34:15,488 I don't believe organized crime had anything to do with that. 653 00:34:15,488 --> 00:34:16,532 Anything. 654 00:34:16,532 --> 00:34:18,143 There were two major rules: 655 00:34:18,143 --> 00:34:19,666 you never killed a guy in his house 656 00:34:19,666 --> 00:34:21,755 and you never killed him in front of his family. 657 00:34:21,755 --> 00:34:25,193 That was the rule and you didn't break that rule. 658 00:34:25,193 --> 00:34:28,109 [Ronnie] The horror itself is my family getting killed. 659 00:34:28,109 --> 00:34:30,459 I guess that's the only really tragedy here. 660 00:34:30,459 --> 00:34:34,724 Everything else... it's fantasy really. 661 00:34:35,812 --> 00:34:37,727 It's fiction. 662 00:34:37,727 --> 00:34:43,559 ♪ 663 00:34:47,172 --> 00:34:52,307 [Daniel] When Ronnie died in 2021, I felt really sad, 664 00:34:52,307 --> 00:34:56,137 which is kind of strange because he's a multi murderer. 665 00:34:56,137 --> 00:34:58,835 He hadn't been, like, the greatest guy I ever met. 666 00:34:58,835 --> 00:35:02,143 He was actually an oddity, if anything. 667 00:35:02,143 --> 00:35:03,753 And I was surprised that he died 668 00:35:03,753 --> 00:35:06,147 a little younger than I thought. 669 00:35:06,147 --> 00:35:09,803 But he had been using drugs his whole life, 670 00:35:09,803 --> 00:35:11,587 as a prisoner too. 671 00:35:11,587 --> 00:35:13,676 Also, of course, prison is a stressful place 672 00:35:13,676 --> 00:35:14,895 and it wears on you. 673 00:35:14,895 --> 00:35:17,854 [man singing in Latin] 674 00:35:17,854 --> 00:35:24,818 ♪ 675 00:35:41,835 --> 00:35:46,361 [T.K.] My grandmother was the secretary to Father Ray. 676 00:35:47,232 --> 00:35:52,367 One of his annulment cases was George's first marriage. 677 00:35:52,367 --> 00:35:53,890 She really documented everything 678 00:35:53,890 --> 00:35:57,503 because she just had a bad intuition over time. 679 00:35:57,503 --> 00:36:00,288 And the intuition was just, there's something there, 680 00:36:00,288 --> 00:36:01,811 but I don't know what it is. 681 00:36:01,811 --> 00:36:04,988 I was married previously also to a Catholic. 682 00:36:04,988 --> 00:36:07,861 And as part of the annulment proceedings for that marriage, 683 00:36:07,861 --> 00:36:10,298 I was called down to the diocese office 684 00:36:10,298 --> 00:36:12,561 and interviewed. 685 00:36:12,561 --> 00:36:14,694 [T.K.] The annulment documents 686 00:36:14,694 --> 00:36:18,001 do reveal things about George's past 687 00:36:18,001 --> 00:36:20,787 and have never been released. 688 00:36:20,787 --> 00:36:27,315 ♪ 689 00:36:27,315 --> 00:36:29,839 Yeah, so the letter, um, 690 00:36:29,839 --> 00:36:32,886 from the therapist was quite interesting 691 00:36:32,886 --> 00:36:35,976 because of the fact that he has the perspective from both 692 00:36:35,976 --> 00:36:39,284 George and his first wife. 693 00:36:39,284 --> 00:36:40,850 And she defines her role as being 694 00:36:40,850 --> 00:36:43,331 a maid in his office and in his home. 695 00:36:43,331 --> 00:36:45,725 He never allowed me to open my mouth. 696 00:36:48,554 --> 00:36:51,252 Yeah. 697 00:36:51,252 --> 00:36:56,257 He'd proudly use terms as, "I got her trained," 698 00:36:56,257 --> 00:37:00,479 to defiantly state his position in their marriage. 699 00:37:01,436 --> 00:37:04,744 "His rigid expansive attitude appeared to conceal 700 00:37:04,744 --> 00:37:06,528 "a very frightened individual 701 00:37:06,528 --> 00:37:09,531 "who was most insecure concerning his role 702 00:37:09,531 --> 00:37:11,620 as a male and husband." 703 00:37:13,709 --> 00:37:16,364 George has effectively extorted money. 704 00:37:16,364 --> 00:37:18,540 She invested all of her savings, 705 00:37:18,540 --> 00:37:20,629 and he refused to allow her name 706 00:37:20,629 --> 00:37:24,894 to appear on the title of the house. 707 00:37:24,894 --> 00:37:27,897 This is a little uncomfortable to read. 708 00:37:27,897 --> 00:37:30,509 ♪ 709 00:37:30,509 --> 00:37:32,598 There is evidence that he abused her physically 710 00:37:32,598 --> 00:37:33,903 on several occasions. 711 00:37:33,903 --> 00:37:36,079 Apparently, she required medical assistance 712 00:37:36,079 --> 00:37:39,692 for injuries that were inflicted by George. 713 00:37:39,692 --> 00:37:42,564 ♪ 714 00:37:42,564 --> 00:37:45,524 The feedback from the medical expert, it says, 715 00:37:45,524 --> 00:37:47,787 "In this case, with the preparation 716 00:37:47,787 --> 00:37:50,920 "I am able to state with medical and moral certainty, 717 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:53,923 "that at the time of his marriage, 718 00:37:53,923 --> 00:37:55,882 "George Lutz was suffering from 719 00:37:55,882 --> 00:37:58,319 "a serious personality disorder. 720 00:37:58,319 --> 00:38:00,582 "This would appropriately be diagnosed as 721 00:38:00,582 --> 00:38:03,759 antisocial personality." 722 00:38:05,370 --> 00:38:12,290 ♪ 723 00:38:21,908 --> 00:38:24,606 [Carol] "George Lutz was suffering from a serious 724 00:38:24,606 --> 00:38:27,348 "personality disorder. 725 00:38:27,348 --> 00:38:31,483 "His callousness and selfishness is typical 726 00:38:31,483 --> 00:38:33,528 "of the sociopathic 727 00:38:33,528 --> 00:38:35,922 or antisocial personality." 728 00:38:38,054 --> 00:38:41,623 I'm kind of mystified that somebody can be 729 00:38:41,623 --> 00:38:43,669 that much of a chameleon. 730 00:38:43,669 --> 00:38:48,891 I'm shocked that he hid it so well. 731 00:38:48,891 --> 00:38:50,545 I really am. 732 00:38:50,545 --> 00:38:53,505 [unsettling music plays] 733 00:38:53,505 --> 00:38:55,985 ♪ 734 00:38:55,985 --> 00:38:58,553 [Jennifer] Antisocial personality disorder 735 00:38:58,553 --> 00:39:01,034 is a diagnosis that tends to be given to people 736 00:39:01,034 --> 00:39:06,039 who have a blatant disregard for the rights of others. 737 00:39:06,039 --> 00:39:08,737 These are people who do not show empathy 738 00:39:08,737 --> 00:39:10,826 or remorse for other people. 739 00:39:10,826 --> 00:39:13,612 And they're oftentimes believed to be manipulative. 740 00:39:13,612 --> 00:39:15,918 So they might present differently 741 00:39:15,918 --> 00:39:19,922 or say different things or shift facts 742 00:39:19,922 --> 00:39:22,055 when they're talking to different people. 743 00:39:24,927 --> 00:39:28,017 In 2006, Dr. Hoge, a psychiatrist, 744 00:39:28,017 --> 00:39:31,151 interviewed Ronnie DeFeo to get a better understanding of 745 00:39:31,151 --> 00:39:33,196 how Ronnie DeFeo was presenting, 746 00:39:33,196 --> 00:39:35,590 how he was thinking about the crimes. 747 00:39:37,070 --> 00:39:40,160 He believed that Ronnie DeFeo was experiencing 748 00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:41,901 an antisocial personality disorder, 749 00:39:41,901 --> 00:39:44,643 that he seems to be more manipulative. 750 00:39:46,471 --> 00:39:49,430 [ominous music plays] 751 00:39:49,430 --> 00:39:56,176 ♪ 752 00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:03,139 Sometimes individuals try to 753 00:40:03,139 --> 00:40:07,883 give an excuse for violent behavior or abusive behavior. 754 00:40:07,883 --> 00:40:10,756 "The devil made me do it" or "I was possessed at the time." 755 00:40:10,756 --> 00:40:12,497 And sometimes these individuals will 756 00:40:12,497 --> 00:40:14,890 even undergo exorcisms, 757 00:40:14,890 --> 00:40:19,112 as in the case of the Lutz family stepfather. 758 00:40:19,112 --> 00:40:20,896 So that can be a little bit puzzling. 759 00:40:20,896 --> 00:40:23,551 How do we interpret that? 760 00:40:23,551 --> 00:40:25,988 Our only answer is that we're not totally sure. 761 00:40:25,988 --> 00:40:32,952 ♪ 762 00:40:38,914 --> 00:40:42,178 There was a tribe of Indians called the Shinnecocks, 763 00:40:42,178 --> 00:40:45,704 and they used this land as a sort of exposure pen. 764 00:40:45,704 --> 00:40:47,575 They put all the crazy people here, 765 00:40:47,575 --> 00:40:49,664 and they left them here to die. 766 00:40:49,664 --> 00:40:52,188 [Shea] The Amityville Horror film 767 00:40:52,188 --> 00:40:53,886 is the first time in cinema 768 00:40:53,886 --> 00:40:57,846 where the Indian burial ground trope is used. 769 00:40:57,846 --> 00:40:59,587 [narrator] That's why no one 770 00:40:59,587 --> 00:41:02,285 ever buried a human being out there. 771 00:41:02,285 --> 00:41:03,765 You are thinking of putting him out there. 772 00:41:03,765 --> 00:41:05,593 Don't deny the thought hadn't crossed your mind. 773 00:41:05,593 --> 00:41:07,769 [Shea] The Indian burial ground trope-- 774 00:41:07,769 --> 00:41:09,684 I like to call it the IBG-- 775 00:41:09,684 --> 00:41:15,603 is the idea that if a place is built 776 00:41:15,603 --> 00:41:17,126 on an Indian burial ground, 777 00:41:17,126 --> 00:41:20,565 it is somehow more haunted or evil 778 00:41:20,565 --> 00:41:22,262 or is going to inspire 779 00:41:22,262 --> 00:41:25,961 something really dreadful to happen. 780 00:41:25,961 --> 00:41:31,793 And yes, the Shinnecock Nation exists on Long Island. 781 00:41:31,793 --> 00:41:35,971 They would venture to the area of the Amityville house 782 00:41:35,971 --> 00:41:38,191 for possibly hunting. 783 00:41:38,191 --> 00:41:40,802 But it wasn't really part of their traditional land. 784 00:41:40,802 --> 00:41:45,764 ♪ 785 00:41:45,764 --> 00:41:48,984 [John] The Indian burial ground in movies 786 00:41:48,984 --> 00:41:51,552 is just such a cliché. 787 00:41:51,552 --> 00:41:55,556 But people love that shit. They eat it up. 788 00:41:55,556 --> 00:41:57,558 The site is supposed to be located on 789 00:41:57,558 --> 00:41:58,777 an Indian burial ground, 790 00:41:58,777 --> 00:42:00,213 and I believe they actually had to 791 00:42:00,213 --> 00:42:02,737 repel a few Indian attacks as they were building it. 792 00:42:02,737 --> 00:42:05,305 Why is it that the Indian burial ground 793 00:42:05,305 --> 00:42:07,873 is always what people claim? 794 00:42:07,873 --> 00:42:10,049 [man 1] This was their burial ground. 795 00:42:10,049 --> 00:42:12,660 [Shea] Is it the white settler guilt? 796 00:42:12,660 --> 00:42:14,183 [man 2] Whose burial ground? 797 00:42:14,183 --> 00:42:15,968 [man 1] Mi'kmaq Indians. 798 00:42:15,968 --> 00:42:20,233 Is it this idea that there has to be some kind of evil... 799 00:42:21,930 --> 00:42:26,369 to justify why we took this land? 800 00:42:26,369 --> 00:42:30,896 ♪ 801 00:42:30,896 --> 00:42:33,246 Even popular ghost shows 802 00:42:33,246 --> 00:42:36,031 and the paranormal hunters that go out, 803 00:42:36,031 --> 00:42:38,033 it's a very easy explanation, 804 00:42:38,033 --> 00:42:39,992 especially if you're in the areas 805 00:42:39,992 --> 00:42:43,082 that are associated with tribal people. 806 00:42:47,086 --> 00:42:48,348 [Dr. Greenaway] Perhaps we can think about this as a way 807 00:42:48,348 --> 00:42:49,958 of dealing with the kind 808 00:42:49,958 --> 00:42:53,222 of repressed and unspoken complicity, 809 00:42:53,222 --> 00:42:54,397 especially in suburbia, 810 00:42:54,397 --> 00:42:56,878 as a way of trying to tease out 811 00:42:56,878 --> 00:42:59,838 some of the unspoken violence, 812 00:42:59,838 --> 00:43:02,841 the unspoken horror of American history itself. 813 00:43:02,841 --> 00:43:05,713 [soft dramatic music plays] 814 00:43:05,713 --> 00:43:12,720 ♪ 815 00:43:24,863 --> 00:43:27,779 [dark synth music plays] 816 00:43:27,779 --> 00:43:30,825 ♪ 817 00:43:30,825 --> 00:43:33,741 The fact that so many people wanted the story to be true 818 00:43:33,741 --> 00:43:36,091 or in fact believed the story to be true 819 00:43:36,091 --> 00:43:39,181 is much more revealing and is much more interesting 820 00:43:39,181 --> 00:43:40,922 than whether the story itself is true or not. 821 00:43:40,922 --> 00:43:43,925 ♪ 822 00:43:43,925 --> 00:43:49,191 What really happened is that we all joined in the story. 823 00:43:49,191 --> 00:43:54,153 It became something that is self-sustaining. 824 00:43:54,153 --> 00:43:58,287 It became kind of a feedback loop. 825 00:43:58,287 --> 00:44:01,769 ♪ 826 00:44:01,769 --> 00:44:04,380 You can come into a space you think is yours, 827 00:44:04,380 --> 00:44:06,165 but it has history. 828 00:44:06,165 --> 00:44:08,689 There's traces, there's trauma. 829 00:44:08,689 --> 00:44:12,954 [thunder booms] 830 00:44:12,954 --> 00:44:15,000 Did this actually happen? 831 00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:17,872 Maybe something did happen that was demonic. 832 00:44:17,872 --> 00:44:21,789 We still don't know how to reckon with historical trauma. 833 00:44:21,789 --> 00:44:24,966 It still rises up to battle with. 834 00:44:24,966 --> 00:44:28,709 [screaming] 835 00:44:28,709 --> 00:44:30,189 [Dr. Greenaway] If you think about buildings that have seen 836 00:44:30,189 --> 00:44:31,407 great violence or great suffering, 837 00:44:31,407 --> 00:44:32,974 you think to yourself, 838 00:44:32,974 --> 00:44:34,759 "Maybe they should be haunted." 839 00:44:34,759 --> 00:44:35,977 There should be something here 840 00:44:35,977 --> 00:44:37,892 because that way, it would mean that 841 00:44:37,892 --> 00:44:39,981 all of that pain and suffering hasn't been forgotten. 842 00:44:39,981 --> 00:44:42,418 [screams] 843 00:44:42,418 --> 00:44:45,030 She was shot in the head! 844 00:44:45,030 --> 00:44:47,989 [Laura] I never thought it was gonna be the basis of 845 00:44:47,989 --> 00:44:51,732 an enduring story that we're still talking about 846 00:44:51,732 --> 00:44:53,342 nearly 50 years later. 847 00:44:53,342 --> 00:44:55,170 This has got to be the end. 848 00:44:55,170 --> 00:44:57,303 I don't understand why people-- 849 00:44:57,303 --> 00:44:59,827 I don't know why people are so interested in it. 850 00:44:59,827 --> 00:45:01,307 I guess because it's a ghost story 851 00:45:01,307 --> 00:45:03,352 and people love ghost stories 852 00:45:03,352 --> 00:45:05,180 and they want to believe they're real. 853 00:45:05,180 --> 00:45:07,966 You want to believe there's something beyond our lives, 854 00:45:07,966 --> 00:45:10,185 something that's beyond us. 855 00:45:10,185 --> 00:45:14,363 Everyone in the world that I've spoken to, 856 00:45:14,363 --> 00:45:18,280 if I mention it, know about this story. 857 00:45:18,280 --> 00:45:21,544 They're fascinated by it. 858 00:45:21,544 --> 00:45:25,026 But the sad thing is that he killed everybody. 859 00:45:25,026 --> 00:45:29,161 No! No! No! 860 00:45:29,161 --> 00:45:30,205 No! 861 00:45:30,205 --> 00:45:32,120 [thunder booms] 862 00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:33,034 [Alexandra] I think a lot of it's true 863 00:45:33,034 --> 00:45:34,862 and a lot of it's not. 864 00:45:34,862 --> 00:45:37,560 And I don't think there was a demon in the house doing it. 865 00:45:37,560 --> 00:45:39,214 I think there's some people in this world 866 00:45:39,214 --> 00:45:41,869 are as evil as demons. 867 00:45:41,869 --> 00:45:46,395 I believe it's now been 32 movies 868 00:45:46,395 --> 00:45:49,529 that have attached the name Amityville to them 869 00:45:49,529 --> 00:45:54,534 to capitalize upon this crap that I went through as a kid. 870 00:45:54,534 --> 00:45:59,147 And none of those people give a shit what really happened. 871 00:45:59,147 --> 00:46:03,978 [Laura] George was embroiled in one lawsuit after another. 872 00:46:03,978 --> 00:46:06,111 He had a lawsuit going with MGM 873 00:46:06,111 --> 00:46:09,201 over the 2005 remake. 874 00:46:09,201 --> 00:46:12,204 After that lawsuit was settled, 875 00:46:12,204 --> 00:46:15,555 May 6, 2006, 876 00:46:15,555 --> 00:46:18,036 George has a massive heart attack... 877 00:46:19,951 --> 00:46:21,953 and dies. 878 00:46:21,953 --> 00:46:24,172 ♪ 879 00:46:24,172 --> 00:46:26,479 [Tommy] Ronnie still haunts me. 880 00:46:26,479 --> 00:46:30,918 Maybe I had a shot at getting the truth out of him. 881 00:46:30,918 --> 00:46:32,485 I wanted to look him in the eye and say, 882 00:46:32,485 --> 00:46:34,922 "What went down?" 883 00:46:34,922 --> 00:46:37,838 But we'll probably never know. 884 00:46:37,838 --> 00:46:39,274 And that's a shame. 885 00:46:39,274 --> 00:46:43,191 I feel like Ronnie committed the murders alone. 886 00:46:43,191 --> 00:46:44,845 He's scum. 887 00:46:44,845 --> 00:46:46,847 And he's dead now and he's rotting in hell. 888 00:46:46,847 --> 00:46:48,849 And that's my feeling. 889 00:46:48,849 --> 00:46:50,372 [chuckles] 890 00:46:52,548 --> 00:46:55,073 [Christopher] No doubt George was a victim 891 00:46:55,073 --> 00:46:58,119 of the karma that he put out. 892 00:46:58,119 --> 00:47:00,121 "I'm gonna make a movie about my son 893 00:47:00,121 --> 00:47:02,384 killing me through telepathy." 894 00:47:04,299 --> 00:47:06,475 I'm not gonna tell the story about 895 00:47:06,475 --> 00:47:10,262 what happened the day that he did die. 896 00:47:10,262 --> 00:47:14,353 But that thing that he wanted in the movie? 897 00:47:14,353 --> 00:47:16,877 Careful what you wish for. 898 00:47:16,877 --> 00:47:19,662 [ominous music plays] 899 00:47:19,662 --> 00:47:26,582 ♪ 900 00:47:29,368 --> 00:47:32,023 [John] The house will continue to be a time bomb... 901 00:47:34,634 --> 00:47:39,247 ticking away, ticking away. 902 00:47:39,247 --> 00:47:41,989 One fine day, someone will move into that house 903 00:47:41,989 --> 00:47:47,952 who have some of the qualities of young Ronald DeFeo Jr. 904 00:47:47,952 --> 00:47:51,129 and it'll start all over again. 905 00:47:51,129 --> 00:47:55,350 ♪ 906 00:47:55,350 --> 00:47:58,266 [Fever Queen's "Molding" playing] 907 00:47:58,266 --> 00:48:05,186 ♪ 908 00:48:12,411 --> 00:48:18,025 [woman] ♪ You were always Trying to mold me ♪ 909 00:48:18,025 --> 00:48:21,376 ♪ Mold me 910 00:48:21,376 --> 00:48:27,034 ♪ But I'm not made of clay 911 00:48:27,034 --> 00:48:30,516 ♪ Oh 912 00:48:30,516 --> 00:48:36,130 ♪ You were always Busy molding ♪ 913 00:48:36,130 --> 00:48:39,481 ♪ Molding 914 00:48:39,481 --> 00:48:45,096 ♪ Dating girls Half your age ♪ 915 00:48:45,096 --> 00:48:51,972 ♪ 916 00:48:51,972 --> 00:48:58,283 ♪ I know you like working With your hands ♪ 917 00:48:58,283 --> 00:49:03,331 ♪ But hands are for holding 918 00:49:03,331 --> 00:49:08,293 ♪ 919 00:49:08,293 --> 00:49:11,339 [eerie tone droning]