5 Chilling Secrets Of The Amityville House Basement: The Truth About The 'Red Room'

The Amityville Horror House, a Dutch Colonial property with its iconic quarter-round windows, remains one of the most famous and chilling locations in American paranormal lore. As of December 10, 2025, the house, now privately owned and renumbered to 108 Ocean Avenue, continues to fascinate enthusiasts and skeptics alike, with much of the terror narrative centered on its subterranean level. The basement, often overshadowed by the upstairs horrors, holds the key to the legend’s most enduring mystery: the infamous “Red Room.”

This article dives deep into the facts and fiction surrounding the Amityville house basement, examining the claims made by the Lutz family, the reality of the alleged secret room, and the chilling connection to the 1974 DeFeo family murders. We will explore the historical context, the paranormal claims, and the definitive debunking efforts that have attempted to separate the truth from the lucrative hoax that became a global phenomenon.

The True History of the Amityville House Basement

The basement of the house, originally located at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, Long Island, New York, is a standard feature for a home built in 1927. Before it became the subject of Jay Anson's 1977 book, The Amityville Horror, it was simply a utility and storage area. Its terrifying reputation began with the tragic events of November 13, 1974, when Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his parents and four siblings as they slept in their beds.

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While the murders took place on the upper floors, the basement was later woven into the fabric of the haunting narrative. The most persistent and terrifying claim about the basement comes from the Lutz family—George and Kathy Lutz—who moved into the house just 13 months after the DeFeo murders and fled 28 days later, claiming to have been terrorized by a malevolent entity.

The Lutzes' account, which formed the basis of the best-selling book and subsequent movies, introduced the world to an alleged "secret room" in the basement. This specific detail became a cornerstone of the house's dark legend, suggesting a history of occult practices or a portal to evil that predated the DeFeo family.

The Infamous 'Red Room': Legend vs. Fact

The story of the "Red Room" is arguably the most compelling and specific piece of evidence the Lutz family provided about the house's alleged haunting. George Lutz claimed to have discovered a hidden room behind the stairs in the basement. According to the book, this small space had walls painted a solid red and emitted a foul, sulfurous odor, sometimes described as smelling of blood.

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The Lutzes speculated that this room was a portal to hell, a site for Satanic cult activity, or a place where a Native American chief was once held, linking the house's evil to a history of violence and the occult. However, subsequent investigations and testimonies have largely debunked the supernatural claims surrounding this space, revealing a more mundane reality.

• The Reality of the Room: Contrary to the "secret room" narrative, the space was actually a small, pre-existing closet or storage space located under the basement stairs.
• Not Concealed: Later owners and people familiar with the house confirmed that the "Red Room" was not concealed in any way and would have been known to anyone who toured the house, including the Lutzes, before they bought it.
• The Well Connection: Some accounts, including one from a friend of the murdered DeFeo daughter, Allison, suggest the location of the room was near or even contained a colonial-era well, which could explain the dampness or strange odors George Lutz claimed to have experienced. This detail adds a layer of historical intrigue but removes the supernatural element.
• The Debunking: Skeptics and investigators have pointed to the "Red Room" as a prime example of the exaggerations and fabrications that fueled the Amityville Horror hoax. The Lutzes' story, while terrifying, has been widely questioned, with critics suggesting the couple fabricated or embellished the haunting to profit from the DeFeo tragedy.

The basement's true identity lies somewhere between a standard utility room and a storage space that became a focal point for one of the greatest paranormal stories ever told. The "Red Room" was a powerful narrative device, turning a simple closet into a terrifying symbol of diabolical forces.

The DeFeo Murders and the Basement's Role

While the paranormal claims focus on the "Red Room," the basement also features in the criminal investigation of the DeFeo murders. Ronald DeFeo Jr., the sole survivor and confessed killer, initially tried to cover up the crime by making it look like a botched robbery.

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In later, often contradictory, testimonies, DeFeo alleged that two friends were with him in the family home's basement, helping him to stage the crime scene. This claim, though never substantiated, suggests the basement was a location of planning or preparation in the hours following the horrific event. This connection to the actual crime—a confirmed event of extreme violence—gives the basement a genuine, non-supernatural aura of dread that is far more concrete than the Lutz's ghost stories.

The cold, concrete floor and confined space of the basement serve as a stark reminder of the house's dark history. It is a place where the convicted killer himself spent time immediately following the murders, adding a layer of psychological terror that transcends the fictional haunting narrative. The connection between the DeFeo family's end and the house's structure is a powerful, undeniable entity in the Amityville legend.

Modern Status and the Enduring Mystery

Today, the Amityville house (now 108 Ocean Avenue) is a private residence. It has changed hands several times since the Lutzes fled, with various owners attempting to distance themselves from the notoriety. The house was last sold in February 2017 for $605,000 to an undisclosed owner, who, like previous residents, maintains a strict policy of privacy and discourages visitors and tourists.

The current status of the basement is unknown to the public, but it is highly unlikely to resemble the terrifying space described in The Amityville Horror. Any red paint would have long been removed, and the small closet under the stairs is almost certainly used for mundane storage. The quarter-round windows, the only exterior feature that remains universally recognizable from the movie adaptations, continue to watch over a house that is now just a quiet, expensive property on Long Island.

Why the Basement Legend Persists

The enduring power of the Amityville house basement lies in its ability to tap into primal fears of the unknown and the subterranean. Basements, by their nature, are dark, damp, and hidden—perfect canvases for a horror narrative. The "Red Room" provided a tangible, physical location for the house's alleged evil, a place that could be "discovered" and documented, making the story feel more real.

Even with overwhelming evidence suggesting the Lutz story was a hoax—a highly lucrative one that launched a multi-million dollar franchise—the specific details, like the colonial-era well, the smell of blood, and the secret closet, continue to be debated by paranormal investigators and true-crime enthusiasts. The Amityville house basement, therefore, is not just a room; it’s a symbol of the blurry line between real-life tragedy and Hollywood fiction, a dark footnote in a story that refuses to die.