TOMS RIVER, NJ – Two months to the date after the death of the man who murdered his family and inspired author Jay Anderson’s Amityville Horror series, a freak incident sparked a fire at the home made famous in the 1979 thriller movie.
On Wednesday while nobody was home, a fire broke out at the Brooks Road home known as the “Amityville Horror House”.
While the actual home featured in the infamous Amityville horror murders is in New York, when filmmakers wanted to turn the story into a movie, they used this Toms River home as a replica of the Long Island murder scene. In that home in 1976, Ron DeFeo, Jr. brutally murdered his mother, father, two sisters and two brothers.
Ironically, DeFeo just died two months ago in prison on March 12th.
Related: Amityville Horror killer Ronald DeFeo Dead at 69
On May 12th a propane tank on the deck at the home exploded and burst into flames. Neighbors say nobody was home at the time of the explosion.
Firefighters responded and extinguished the fire which damaged the home’s rear deck.
“This morning our fire investigators were on the scene of a working deck fire in the Downtown section of town. The fire was contained to the rear deck of the house. The home has been identified as the infamous Amityville Horror House. Great job by all! The cause is still under investigation at this time,” the Toms River Fire Prevention Inspectors IAFF Local 5303 said in a statement.
Photos by Toms River Fire Prevention Inspectors IAFF Local 5303
