The Amityville Horror is based on a true story. On November 13, 1974, Ronald J. DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family in the house at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. Thirteen months later, the Lutz family purchased the home for $80,000 and moved in. Soon after, they began noticing odd things around the house such as doors being ripped from hinges and slime oozing from the ceilings. George Lutz maintained that events in the book were "mostly true", and he and Kathy Lutz took a polygraph test relating to their experiences at the house in June 1979.

The Lutz family experienced supernatural activity during their stay at 112 Ocean Avenue, which was investigated by paranormal experts and self-styled vampirologist Dr. Stephen Kaplan. The documentary My Amityville Horror featured interviews with Daniel Lutz, one of the children who lived in the house during this period. However, some have questioned the validity of their story, with Daniel claiming that George invited mysterious and dangerous forces into their lives due to his interest in the occult.

The Amityville Horror novel by Anson was based on these supernatural accounts by the Lutz family and became a major hit once it hit bookshelves. It was adapted into a movie starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder in 1979, which has since become a must-see horror film within its genre. Some changes were made when adapting it for film but many of the haunting recounts stayed true to Anson's novel for a deeper horror effect.