Typically homes where gruesome crimes take place sell for a steep discount. The home where a family was murdered on Long Island may be the exception. That is because the murder spawned The Amityville Horror movies.
The successful series of movies captured the imagination of the country after a man murdered 6 family members in the home and the ghost was supposed to be haunting the house. With that notoriety you would think that even 36 years later the home would be stigmatized.
But in today’s culture my guess is that the allure of it being the basis for a successful movie will outweigh the murders. The value adding of fame and Tinseltown will beat the stigmatism of the murders that occurred.
The real estate listing for the house that went on the market Monday at 108 Ocean Ave. refers to it as a “legendary home,” but most people would know the sideways Dutch Colonial on the canal as the so-called Amityville Horror house.
Listed for $1.15 million, the picturesque and pristine home looks very different from the home where Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered six family members as they slept in 1974. The 28 supposedly haunted days in the house experienced by subsequent owners George and Kathleen Lutz spawned the 1977 bestselling Jay Anson book “The Amityville Horror: A True Story” and a series of scary movies about alleged supernatural happenings at the house starting in 1979. via Newsday
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I disagree, it's still creepy. It's not like it was a fun family oriented summer blockbuster that was filmed there, it was a horror movie about the creepy history of the house.
It's also an expensive house, who is going to pay over a million dollar for a house with that kind of reputation. That's a pretty bad investment because it might be hard to resell in a couple years.
If it was a less expensive house, it could probably sell to someone who couldn't otherwise afford it at a discount. When you have a million dollars to put on a house, you have options so unless you're really into that kind of stuff, you'll be looking somewhere else.
You're right, the fact it has been used by film-makers doesn't erase the bloody history of that house. And those films weren't that good anyway. I don't think it's going to attract many potential buyers, unless they're horror fans. On the other hand, it really is a beautiful house…
I don’t think it’s going to attract many potential buyers, unless they’re horror fans. On the other hand, it really is a beautiful house…
I think it's a beautiful home. It's not up to par in value with comps in the area but none of the other homes have the fame that this home has. As for it's history…true it's the main character of the 70's and 80's films, it's just that….a fictional character. It's not even the house that was actually featured in the film. I think it would bother me more to live in that house and have people constantly taking photos and videos of it than living in it knowing that nearly 30 years ago a family was murdered there by a disfunctional member.
I think it would still be kind of creepy to live there.