Among Edward and Lorraine Warren's famous cases is the
Amityville case. The story explains to us the reality of the haunted house at
112, Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York City. The house was one of its kind. It
was built around 1925 and was very beautiful both from the outside and inside.
Many people do not believe in the presence of demonic forces in the world. Some
may say that it is superstitious.
History
23-year-old Ronald Defeo Junior killed six of his family members with a rifle while they were asleep. It is said that he might have been brought up by an abusive father and a passive mother. It was that night that he heard voices urging him to kill them.
The people who were murdered were; their parents; Louis and Ronald Defeo Sr. siblings; 18-year-old Dawn, 13-year-old Alison, 12-year-old Marc, and nine-year-old John Matthew. The murder took place at 3:15 am which is considered to be the witching hour. Ronald Defeo Jr. accepts that he had committed these murders and was fully aware of what he was doing, but exclaims that he had heard voices during that night that told him to kill them all.
People to this day believe that the house is haunted and it was the evil
spirits that were talking to him through those voices. The boy was arrested and
sentenced to 25 years imprisonment.
The Lutz Family
After those murders, many families purchased that house and had been forced to evacuate. From the Lutz family, the Amityville horror first emerged. The house was purchased by George and Kathleen Lutz who moved into that house along with their three children in December 1975. They were forced to evacuate that house 28 days later after they had started living in the house.
On January 15th, 1976, they fled that house. Their stay was marked by
several paranormal encounters, including moving objects, hearing voices, etc.
By the end of January 1976, the press was aware of the horror through the Lutz
claims. An investigation into the case had begun.
The Warren’s
Ed and Lorraine Warren were one of seven exorcists in the country. Out of the six were clergy whereas Ed and Lorraine were the only lay exorcists in the country. They began their work in the mid-1940s but were not widely known until the 1970s. Ed Warren came from a family where he had experienced possessions and the presence of demons.
He thus decided to help
people overcome these possessions and bring to the notice of people that demons
do exist. When they hear people saying that demons do not exist, they invite
them over to their occult museum. Here, they have kept many items that they
have collected in the past from various haunted locations, such as the
Annabelle doll, the shadowy widow, the conjuring mirror, etc. They started
addressing people in guest lectures since they felt that many people,
especially youth, have been engaging in occult practices since the 1960s.
Warren’s Involvement In The Amityville
Case
In the last week of February 1976, the Warrens received a call at their home from a young woman who was a television producer in New York City. She explained to them everything that had happened to the Defeo’s and the Lutz's. The Warrens agreed to investigate that case. When they reached the house, the first thing they did was walk around the house.
They took the keys from the Lutz family, opened the house, and stepped inside. They walked around the house together and found that the house was just like a normal house. It contained food inside the kitchen cupboards & refrigerators, unwashed dishes lying in the sink, clothes & jewelry in the bedroom, etc. They concluded that there were evil spirits at that place.
They returned to the
house at a later date to investigate at night before television cameras and
recording equipment. Based on their findings, they revealed what they could. On
March 6th, 1976 while the Warrens were talking, they explained that two types
of spirits are encountered in true haunting situations; one is human, and the
other is inhuman.
A priest who was a good friend of the Warrens talked about
leaving the house. The door of a room inside that house suddenly closed while
he was inside. He was troubled by a lot of houseflies. He heard a voice telling
him to leave when the door opened.
After the Amityville case was solved, the Warrens returned home. There was something strange that happened to them in their house that wasn't very strange. As Ed Warren sat inside his office doing his work, he heard some footsteps. He thought that it was Lorraine. The footsteps stopped, and nothing appeared. The time was around 3 am, the witching hour. He noticed something was wrong.
He took the cross from the drawer and walked ahead. He saw
something like a swirling black wind approaching the passage. The closer he got
to it, the closer it came. He then showed the crucifix and ordered that
apparition to go away. The apparition left him and went upstairs to Lorraine.
She also experienced a similar apparition and was almost surrounded by it until
Ed came along with the crucifix and the apparition disappeared.
We cannot deny the fact that demons do not exist. The above
story is an excellent example of how we can be inspired to do evil. It is only
through surrendering to God's plans that we can triumph over evil, no matter
what happens.
Written
by Claton Borges Suares
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