Entertainment Swindon

If you haven’t seen the original Amityville Horror film then you are definitely in the minority, if you’ve not even seen the 2005 reboot then what planet have you been living on? Because anyone with a pulse should instantly recognise the house in the above image…. The Amityville Horror House, the scene of a true-life horrific multiple murder that went on to be used as the backdrop of a movie that even today will send shivers down the avid horror movie fan. BUT did you know that the whole filming of the 1979 film was not allowed to use the original horror house?

The film producers did request to use the actual house as the set of the film, but the request was denied local officials and the local Historical Group have fought to wipe the existence of the murders and the link to the movies from existence.

The actual house used was the waterfront house in Toms River, New Jersey which the then owners agreed for their house to be used for the movie and for set designers to redesign the house inside and out to make it identical to the original Amityville Horror House.

Jeffrey Childers of Childers Sotherby’s International Realty spoke about how as a child he would love being driven to the house at Halloween to see the house all decorated by the then owners were very much into the festive season of ghosts and ghouls.

Speaking to Childers, he mentioned how when the film was being filmed at the Toms River location, they went as far as building a Gambrel roof on top of the existing house to match the Amityville House

Unlike the actual murder house in Amityville, Long Island, this house has not been effected by the history of the original house where the murders took place, so unlike the Amityville Horror House, the Toms River house recent sale went for $1.5million.

The property is pretty much the same square footage as the Amityville house, around 4000sq feet and also having a waterfront view and boat house. This modern decorated house shows no similarity to the Amityville house now boasting a custom made kitchen and even a bar and home theatre.

The house went on the market in September 2022 for $1.69million and was sold for just under $1.5million. When you see the last selling price for the Amityville Horror House which went for just $600,000 a house of similar age and size, with waterfront view and boat house, just shows how nearly 50yrs on from the violent murders, that superstition & fear of the stories surrounding the house and the movies, has put people off of buying the Amityville Horror House.