Myth - The Shinnecock Indians Fact - The Shinnecock Indians resided nowhere nearBesides, all of the Indians on Long Island were part ofIt was the Europeans who placed names on the inhabitants of the local areas. Regardless, the Massapequans were the group that would have most likely visited Amityville. (Information courtesy of the Montaukett Myth - 112 Ocean Avenue was an Indian sanitarium where the mad and dying would be left exposed to the elements to die. Fact - There is no record that there ever was an Indian burial ground or a sanitarium on Ocean Avenue. Island Native American expert John Strong, author of We Are Still Here, many Indian groups lived along the tidal bays in the area, but as far as the claims about the Native Americans made in Jay Anson's The Amityville Horror, he insists that it leads him to believe it was all an entertaining hoax. local Indian population personally took author Ric Osuna to several
abandoned Indian cemeteries that are right outside of the Village ofSadly, these grounds are now used as dumping areas. Regardless, these native peoples' oral histories are quite amazing, so if a burial ground would have existed, then they would have knownBesides, these native people were a kind and gentle people, so it is absurd to think that they would leave anyone out, exposed to the elements to die or curse a land. care of their sick, dying and mentally insane and even showed the European settlers how to do the same. (Information courtesy of the Montaukett Nation). Myth - A witch named John Ketchum escaped from Salem, Massachusetts, during the witch trials and built his house on or near the famous Amityville house to continue his devil worship. is reported that his body is buried on or near the property of 112 Fact - A prominent citizen named John Ketchum did return from Ipswich, Massachusetts (a community near Salem), and settled in
Huntington Township on Long Island. While in Massachusetts, this John Ketchum acted as a representative to the local government there before returning to Long Island where some of his family resided. eventually became a prominent figure in Huntington before his deathHe was survived by his wife Bethia and four children, John, Samuel, Edward and Mary. By the way, Huntington Township is more than 10 miles from Amityville. The Ketchum family has no information regarding any John Ketchum being a witch. (Information courtesy of the Ketchum Genealogy Myth - The famed Amityville house resides on an ancient cemetery that was either abandoned or cursed. Fact - In 1913, William A. Eardeley was commissioned by the state of New York to copy down old cemetery and bible records because many of the Amityville cemeteries were either abandoned orThese cemeteries were either moved or relocated to biggerHowever, there was no report or indication
of any cemetery residing on or near the famed property. (Information courtesy of the Amityville Historical Society and New York State Records on Cemeteries). Myth - The owners of the original house at 112 Ocean Avenue had to move their house down the street because they were plagued Fact - John Moynahan purchased the property at 112 Ocean Avenue from Annie Ireland in 1924. Within a year, the Moynahans needed a bigger home because, like most families, theirs grew inWhile their new home was being built, they moved their small cottage down only a matter of a hundred yards and lived there until the construction was completed. courtesy of the Amityville Historical Society). Original house now located on NW corner of S. Ireland Myth - The red room was the gateway to hell. Fact - The red room was nothing more than a little area underneath a stairwell that the DeFeo children sometimes stored their toys or used as storage.
Today, it no longer exists since the current owner has renovated the basement and constructed over it. (Information courtesy of public record and it's not that impressive. Myth - American International Pictures' The Amityville Horror movie could not be filmed in the real house because the crew was too scared. Fact - The Village of Amityville viewed the ghost story as a hoax and did not want a film crew in their sleepy community, so they of the Village of Amityville). Myth - Kathy Lutz has three dreams in The Amityville Horror about Louise DeFeo. First, Kathy Lutz wakes up screaming because she saw that Mrs. DeFeo died by a gunshot wound to the head. "She was shot in the head", Kathy screamed! consisted of Mrs. DeFeo's body being removed from the DeFeo plot at St. Charles Cemetery and re-entombed in Brooklyn. consisted of Mrs. DeFeo making love to the painter of the DeFeo Fact - First, Mrs. DeFeo died from two gunshots to the upper
body and not a head or neck wound, even though Louise DeFeo's head seems to be near blood splatter in crime-scene photos. Second, the Brigantes never moved Mrs. DeFeo's body from the family plot because they wanted LouiseThis was recently confirmed in a records searchLastly, there is no evidence of an affair. Besides, Mr. DeFeo constantly checked up on Louise with the "red phone" that only he knew the number to since he was always so paranoid. Furthermore, William Weber admitted in a July 27, 1979 Associated Press interview that while discussing their business venture, Kathy concocted the nightmare idea about Louise(Information courtesy of public Myth - The 250-pound front door of the house was inexplicably torn off its hinges. And, a locksmith was called out to repair the Fact - The photo below shows the screen door, not storm door or front door as originally explained, torn off its hinges. gusty winds coming off the Great South Bay, a measly screen door can
Photo from Newsday 2-14-76 Myth - The Catholic Church is hiding evidence that "something" existed in the Amityville house. Fact - Father Ralph Pecoraro admitted that his only contact with the Lutzes was a phone call. Questions remain whether or not he even ventured to the famedThe assistant to the Vicar General of the Rockville Diocese (The diocese overseeing Amityville), on May 15, 2002, sent author Ric Osuna a letter stating their position. In short, the letter stated, "The Diocese maintains [the Amityville Horror] is a false(See The Catholic Church In the March 1979 issue of Writer�s Digest, Anson addressed the inconsistencies by saying, �Yeah, I know the psychical research people say I have made mistakes. They say that on such and such a day when I said it rained, it didn�t rain. I am a perfectly normal human being, and sometimes I make mistakes.� so called truths and facts stated in Jay Anson�s book were anything but