Post by Tomspy77 on Sept 29, 2010 19:49:02 GMT -6
The new owners of the notorious "Amityville Horror" house have a Halloween message for curious onlookers – keep walking!
David and Caroline D'Antonio, who purchased the $950,000 Dutch Colonial home in the Long Island, N.Y. community of Amityville last week, already are dreading the upcoming holiday. (Also see AOL Real Estate's guide, "Buyers Beware: Was That House a Crime Scene?")
"We almost didn't close until after Halloween," Caroline D'antonio told Newsday. "It's going to be very hard to live here for a while."
The Amityville house was first thrust into the spotlight in 1974, when Ronald Defeo Jr. shot and killed his parents and siblings in their sleep on the premises. More than 30 years later, the home has been the subject of nine movies and several television specials, each making some claim to the presence of paranormal activity in the home.
A look at the home today, however, evokes picket fences, not poltergeists. Still, the D'Antonios claim to have received hundreds of phone calls from strangers since it was announced that they were buying the home in August, and have had their personal e-mail account hacked.
The listings agent, Laura Zambratto, had "no comment" on the recent purchase.
And it's not just zealous fans stalking the five-bedroom, 3.5 bath home (pictured at left and below). In May, the animal rights organization, PETA, allegedly offered to rent the home as the site of a future art exhibit: "The Amityville Slaughterhouse of Horrors," an installation that would have featured a cacophony of buzz saws and animatronic chickens.
Menageries of dead chickens aside, the new owners say that they're still pleased with their purchase, and that the media frenzy won't detract from their "dream house." The home was listed for sale at $1.15 million in May.
David and Caroline D'Antonio, who purchased the $950,000 Dutch Colonial home in the Long Island, N.Y. community of Amityville last week, already are dreading the upcoming holiday. (Also see AOL Real Estate's guide, "Buyers Beware: Was That House a Crime Scene?")
"We almost didn't close until after Halloween," Caroline D'antonio told Newsday. "It's going to be very hard to live here for a while."
The Amityville house was first thrust into the spotlight in 1974, when Ronald Defeo Jr. shot and killed his parents and siblings in their sleep on the premises. More than 30 years later, the home has been the subject of nine movies and several television specials, each making some claim to the presence of paranormal activity in the home.
A look at the home today, however, evokes picket fences, not poltergeists. Still, the D'Antonios claim to have received hundreds of phone calls from strangers since it was announced that they were buying the home in August, and have had their personal e-mail account hacked.
The listings agent, Laura Zambratto, had "no comment" on the recent purchase.
And it's not just zealous fans stalking the five-bedroom, 3.5 bath home (pictured at left and below). In May, the animal rights organization, PETA, allegedly offered to rent the home as the site of a future art exhibit: "The Amityville Slaughterhouse of Horrors," an installation that would have featured a cacophony of buzz saws and animatronic chickens.
Menageries of dead chickens aside, the new owners say that they're still pleased with their purchase, and that the media frenzy won't detract from their "dream house." The home was listed for sale at $1.15 million in May.