IT is a real life horror story that inspired a best-selling book and then a series of Hollywood movies, with the grim fascination enduring to this day. Now a death may bring some closure to The Amityville Horror.

Real life?
Late on November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr ran into a bar in Amityville, a village in Suffolk County, New York, and said his parents had been shot inside their home. A search of the house found six members of the family were dead in their beds - his 43-year-old parents and his four siblings, aged 18, 13, 12 and nine.

DeFeo Jr?
The lone survivor, he initially told police the killings had been mafia related, but then confessed, saying: "Once I started, I just couldn't stop.” He was jailed the following year, ordered to serve six sentences of 25 years to life.

The home was sold?
A year on from the killings, a couple - George and Kathy Lutz - purchased it. The day before they moved in, they asked a priest to bless the house, but it was said Fr Ray Pecoraro felt an unseen hand slap him and heard a voice yell "Get out!” Just 28 days later, the Lutzes moved out, reporting a raft of paranormal events, including “strange sounds, voices and green slime oozing from the walls”.

More than that?
Mr Lutz said at times his wife would physically transform into an old woman, while they would wake each morning at 3.15am - the time of the murders - and began sleeping face down, which is how the bodies were found.

Then came the book?
American author Jay Anson published "The Amityville Horror" in 1977, based on the events that had taken place. It became a best-seller, recounting the story of a house possessed by evil spirits and haunted by psychic phenomena.

Then Hollywood stepped in?
In 1979, the cult classic “The Amityville Horror” was released, starring James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Rod Steiger, proving to be a box office hit. More recent takes include a 2005 version starring Ryan Reynolds.

Now?
DeFeo Jr has died at the age of 69 at a correctional facility in New York, but the home that was the scene of such slaughter is still standing, although its address was changed from 112 Ocean Avenue to 108 to discourage tourists. The property has been put up for sale on four occasions since the murders, last selling in March 2017 for $605,000.

The truth? 
DeFeo Jr's story changed over the years, claiming in 2006 that he killed his parents and only killed his eldest sister after she killed their other siblings.

Meanwhile?
The Lutzes, who divorced in the 1980s and have both since died, faced accusations of trying to capitalise on the house’s notoriety. Anson had used 45 hours of their taped conversations for his book and they got a percentage of the profits. Asked to prove the phenomena was real, the late author said: “You cannot summon the supernatural on demand as proof.”