The Amityville Horror Movie House
18 Brooks Road · Toms River, NJ
Note: I don't know how to make this any clearer. This is not the house in Amityville, New York. This is the one used in the original movie. Stop e-mailing me with "corrections."
You might never guess it, but this is the actual house from The Amityville Horror — the one where it was filmed, not the one that had the horror. (In case you didn't know, it's based on an alleged true event.)
It's been repainted, obviously, and has undergone a number of changes mostly to stop people from taking pictures of it. (See picture.)
The roof and the pie-shaped windows on the top floor, the house's most telling features, no longer appear as they do in the movie. Visitors to this site have told me both a) that the barn-shaped roof was a facade added for filming, then removed and b) shots of the house that included the roof were of the actual house in Amityville. From everything I've been told, my educated guess is (a) but I'm really not concerned enough to do any real investigating.
Additionally, I've been told that the house used to be in another spot. It had been moved by its owner from its original location, one plot over. The owner then had another house built for his daughter on the then vacant land next door. Reportedly, the house had also been turned sideways to further confuse would-be tourists. Again, visitors to this site are split on the truth; some agree it was moved and turned sideways, others say it was just moved, and still others say it was never moved at all.
And one last detail up for debate: the house's address. This is one of the very first points of interest I ever visited with the intention of creating a Web site, and I didn't bother to check the address. I've been told it's 18 Dock Street as well as 18 Brooks Road. You can try both of these addresses using a mapping service and you'll see they're right around the corner from one another. So, just check the area and you'll probably find the right place. But please don't disturb the residents.
By the way, if you're interested in finding out about the house from the new Amityville movie with that guy from Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, I can't help you there. I do know it's a real house that had the tell-tale windows and roof added on and that they actually filmed in the house rather than a soundstage, which is quite rare, but that's all I know.
Note: I don't know how to make this any clearer. This not the house in Amityville, New York. This is the one used in the original movie. Stop e-mailing me with "corrections."
