History Franchise / Amityville

* CreepyDoll: The frequency with which these appear in the films actually gets lampshaded in the audio commentary for ''Terror.'' While they are usually just inanimate set dressing, actively malevolent ones are featured in ''Dollhouse, Exorcism'' and ''Island.''

** ''The Evil Escapes:'' The house is still standing, and is cleansed when an exorcism that is performed on it forces the Evil to take refuge in a lamp, which is shipped off to California. The lamp is destroyed when it is thrown off a cliff, but the Evil survives by possessing the pet cat, Pepper.

** ''Haunting:'' The house is in a middle-class neighborhood that is nowhere near a body of water, the Lutzes are said to have lasted two years in it instead of just twenty-eight days, and one of the entities haunting it is Ronald [=DeFeo=] Jr.'s youngest brother, John Matthew. The main ghost is credited as being [=DeFeo=] himself on IMDB, but nowhere in the film itself (which does not have credits) is this made apparent.

** ''Terror:'' The Oberests were a family of occultists who lived in Amityville, and sacrificed people in an attempt to attain eternal life, though all they apparently succeeded in doing was opening a Hell Gate, which made Jimmy Oberest kill all of the other Oberests besides his baby sister, Delilah. Delilah now owns the house (which is clearly not 112 Ocean Avenue) where everything went down, and has the town's citizens help her "feed" people to it to abate the Evil, with it being mentioned that this has been going on since the 1970s.
** ''No Escape:'' The house is dilapidated and full of abandoned junk, and has been moved from the lake-adjacent suburbs to the edge of TheLostWoods. Half of the film is set in 1997, while the other half is set in 2016, and it has a GainaxEnding in which a dead 2016 character goes back in time and kills a character in 1997.

** ''No Escape:'' The house is dilapidated and full of abandoned junk, and has been moved from the lake-adjacent suburbs to the edge of TheLostWoods. Half of the film is set in 1997, while the other half is set in 2016, and it has a GainaxEnding in which a dead 2016 character seemingly goes back in time and kills a character in 1997.

** ''No Escape:'' The house is dilapidated and full of abandoned junk, and has been moved from the lake-adjacent suburbs to the edge of TheLostWoods. Half of the film is set in 1997, while the other half is set in 2016, and it has a GainaxEnding in which a dead and possessed 2016 character seemingly goes back in time and kills a character in 1997.

* NegativeContinuity: Due to legal issues[[note]]The real-life Lutz family technically owned the sequel rights to the 1979film, as a condition of letting it be made[[/note]], none of the films are technically allowed to be "real" sequels to the 1979 film. The filmmakers seem to have run with this and decided not to let any of the sequels have anything to do with each other, either.

** ''3-D:'' The murdered family is named [=DeFeo=], and not Montelli. The land is still an Indian burial ground, and the Red Room has been replaced again, this time by an abandoned well. The film ends with the house destroying itself.
** ''The Evil Escapes:'' The house is still standing, and is cleansed when an exorcism that is performed on it forces the Evil to take up residence in a lamp, which is shipped to California. The lamp is destroyed when it is thrown off a cliff, but the Evil survives by possessing the pet cat, Pepper.
** ''Curse:'' The film is set in Amityville and makes an oblique reference to the [=DeFeo=] murders, but is set in a different haunted house that has no connection to 112 Ocean Avenue.

** ''Haunting:'' The house is in a middle-class neighborhood that is nowhere near a body of water, the Lutzes are said to have lasted two years in it instead of twenty-eight days, and one of the entities haunting it is Ronald [=DeFeo=] Jr.'s youngest brother, John Matthew. The main ghost is credited as being [=DeFeo=] himself on IMDB, but nowhere in the film itself (which does not have credits) is this made apparent.

** ''Death House:'' A white witch named Abigail Wilmont moved to Amityville after being run out of Salem, and was lynched after being blamed for killing a child in the 1600s, with it being vaguely implied that her death may have jinxed or cursed Amityville. Raymond Florence's house has the iconic eye-shaped upper windows of the Amityville house, despite clearly not being 112 Ocean Avenue.

** ''Death House:'' A white witch named Abigail Wilmont moved to Amityville after being run out of Salem, and was lynched after being blamed for killing a child 1600s, with it being vaguely implied that her death may have jinxed or cursed Amityville. Raymond Florence's house has the iconic eye-shaped upper windows of the Amityville house, despite clearly not being 112 Ocean Avenue.

** ''Terror:'' The Oberests were a family of occultists who lived in Amityville, and sacrificed people in an attempt to attain eternal life, though all they apparently succeeded in doing was opening a Hell Gate, which made Jimmy Oberest kill all of the other Oberests besides his baby sister, Delilah. Delilah owns the house (which is clearly not 112 Ocean Avenue) where everything went down, and has convinced the town to help her "feed" people to it to abate the Evil, with it being mentioned that this has been going on since the 1970s.

** ''No Escape:'' The house is dilapidated and full of abandoned junk, and has been moved from the suburbs to the edge of TheLostWoods.

** ''The Awakening'' goes the meta route and shows that the other ''Amityville'' films exist in its universe, and includes a scene in which the characters watch the 1979 film while insulting the 2005 one.

* HauntedHouse: One of the most (in)famous examples in modern American history, though a few of the pseudo-sequels relocate things to other structures, like a theatre and a BedlamHouse. ''Curse'' and ''Terror'' are both set in different haunted houses that just so happen to also be set in Amityville.

* NegativeContinuity: The films. Due to legal issues[[note]]The real-life Lutz family technically owned the sequel rights to the first movie, as a condition of letting it be made[[/note]], none of them are technically allowed to be "real" sequels to the first movie. The filmmakers seem to have run with this and decided not to let any of the sequels have anything to do with each other, either.
** ''Amityville II: The Possession'' is based on the real-life [=DeFeo=] murders, which happened before the events depicted in the first film, but the family is renamed, the movie appears to take place in the 1980s, the layout of the house is different, and the murders happen quite differently than they did in the flashbacks shown in the original.
** ''Amityville 3-D'' includes an explicit disclaimer in the credits stating that it's not a sequel to either of the previous films. The house is slightly different again, especially the basement, and it refers to the [=DeFeos=] by their real name instead of the one used in the previous movie.
** ''Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes'' opens with a scene set in the infamous house, despite the fact that [[spoiler:it blew up at the end of ''Amityville 3-D''.]] Its layout is totally different than in any previous movie.
** ''The Amityville Curse'' is set in a different haunted house entirely that just happens to also be in Amityville.
** ''Amityville 1992: It's About Time'' refers to the iconic house being demolished, as opposed to [[spoiler:blowing itself up.]]
** ''Amityville: A New Generation'' decides that Amityville is now in upstate New York[[note]]It's on Long Island, which all the other films get right[[/note]], and completely re-imagines the [=DeFeo=] murders as something vaguely similar but quite different to suit its own story[[note]]One could possibly argue it's supposed to be a different event, but this still counts as it logically should have been mentioned in a previous film[[/note]].
** ''Amityville Dollhouse'' does not even include a single utterance of the word "Amityville," just a dollhouse that looks like the house from the first three films (for no apparent reason).
** ''The Amityville Haunting'' doesn't even show the exterior of the house, which is now in a middle-class neighborhood nowhere near any bodies of water.[[note]]The real-life house, which last sold in 2010 for $950,000, is in an expensive Long Island neighborhood abutting a canal.[[/note]]
** ''Amityville: The Awakening'' goes the meta route and shows that the other ''Amityville'' films exist in its universe, and includes a scene of characters watching the original film and insulting the 2005 remake.

* HauntedHouse: One of the most (in)famous examples in modern American history, though a few of the pseudo-sequels relocate things to other structures, like a theatre and a BedlamHouse.

* InNameOnly: All of the unofficial films pay at least some lip service to the ''Amityville'' mythos, with the exception of ''The Final Chapter'' and ''Prison'', which were original stories (titled ''Sickle'' and ''Against the Night'', respectively) that were rebranded as ''Amityville'' installments for their home video releases.

* PrisonEpisode: ''Prison'', though it is set in an abandoned one that the protagonists are exploring, rather than an active one that they have been sent to.

* AlwaysMale: While the evil does corrupt a fair amount of women, like Jessica Evans in ''The Evil Escapes'' and Lisa Sterling in ''It's About Time'', throughout the films, the person who it coerces (or tries to coerce) into committing PaterFamilicide is ''always'' a man like Ronald [=DeFeo=] Jr., George Lutz, Sonny Montelli, Franklin I. Bronner, Mark Janson, etc.

* BigBad: The evil, though it sometimes gets sidelined or outright replaced by other villains, like:

* BugsHeraldEvil: Flies are the evil's favorite pet, but it has also deployed [[SpidersAreScary spiders]], [[MessyMaggots maggots]], [[WickedWasps wasps]], and [[BeeAfraid bees]].
* TheCorrupter: The evil, when not outright possessing people, enjoys poisoning their minds and making them AxeCrazy. Successful and attempted victims of the corruption include Ronald [=DeFeo=] Jr. and George Lutz, Jessica Evans in ''The Evil Escapes'', Jacob and Lisa Sterling in ''It's About Time'', Franklin I. Bronner and Keyes Terry in ''A New Generation'', Jimmy Martin in ''Dollhouse'', Melanie Benson in ''Haunting'', Mark Janson in ''Legacy'', and Senator Ty Pangborn and Ben in ''Evil Never Dies.''

* DeadPersonImpersonation: The evil has a habit of taking on the form of people's dead relatives, usually fathers and husbands, like Frank Evans in ''The Evil Escapes'', Franklin I. Bronner in ''A New Generation'', Jimmy's father in ''Dollhouse'', and Mr. Janson in ''Legacy.''

* DysfunctionalFamily: Almost all of the families that appear in the films do not come off as particularly stable, even before they start being victimized by the evil, with standouts examples being the [=DeFeos=], the Montellis from ''The Possession'', the Bensons from ''Haunting'', and the Jansons from ''Legacy.''

* ForTheEvulz: The evil's raison d'être, as it so succinctly reveals in ''The Possession'' (one of the few films to give it any semblance of character):

* GenericDoomsdayVillain: The evil is more of a force than an actual character, with its personality (in the few films that even bother to give it one) being no deeper than "I am evil and do it all ForTheEvulz."

* HolyBurnsEvil: Sometimes. Other times, the evil is able to NoSell or FightOffTheKryptonite.

* IAmLegion: The evil at one point refers to itself in the plural in ''The Possession'', and it was portrayed as being an apparent hive mind that was made up of six individual demons in ''Playhouse.''

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: The evil's abilities are limited only to the imaginations of the writers.

* NoNameGiven: The evil, except in ''Evil Never Dies'', where it is explicitly stated to be {{Beelzebub}} (hence all of the flies).

* PaterFamilicide: The evil seems to take perverse joy out of making people kill their own families, having used its corrupting influence to orchestrate the massacres of the [=DeFeos=], the Montellis, the Bronners, the Jansons, and the Pangborns.

* TownWithADarkSecret: The citizens of Amityville "feed" people to the evil to keep it contained in both ''Playhouse'' and ''Terror.''

* FoundFootageFilms: ''Haunting'' and ''No Escape.''

** The mirror from ''A New Generation'' preyed on the fears and insecurities of the people who looked into it, and could manipulate reflections to make people harm themselves or others.

* CreepyChild: The films are rife with them, though the only male one is John Matthew [=DeFeo=] in ''Haunting.''

** The lamp in ''The Evil Escapes.''
** The clock in ''It's About Time.''
** The mirror in ''A New Generation.''
** The dollhouse in ''Dollhouse.''
** The toy monkey in ''Legacy.''
** The lumber in ''Exorcism.''
** The clown painting in ''Evil Never Dies.''

!!This movie series contains examples of:

* BloodyHorror: This series may have originated the whole "blood spewing from the walls, faucets, and other random things" trope that is now so prevalent in stories involving {{Haunted House}}s.

* DysfunctionalFamily: Almost all of the families that appear in the films do not come off as particularly well-adjusted, even before they start being victimized by the evil, with standouts examples being the [=DeFeos=], the Montellis from ''The Possession'', the Bensons from ''Haunting'', and the Jansons from ''Legacy.''

* IndianBurialGround: The house was built on land that was used as a burial ground by Natives. Or land where Natives exiled their invalids. Or land where a bunch of Natives were massacred. Or land where Natives sacrificed people to a GodOfEvil. Or land where Natives sacrifices people to abate demons. All anyone can really agree upon is that it was land where a bunch of Natives died.

* PaterFamilicide: The evil seems to take perverse joy in making people kill their own families, having orchestrated the massacres of the [=DeFeos=], the Montellis, the Bronners, the Jansons, and the Pangborns.

* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: Ronald [=DeFeo=] Jr. killed his family with a rifle, but most recreations of the massacre replace the weapon with a shotgun; shotguns are also used in the [=DeFeo=]-inspired mass shootings that occur in films like ''A New Generation, Asylum'' and ''Legacy.''

* TheCorrupter: The evil, when not outright possessing people, enjoys poisoning their minds and making them AxeCrazy. Successful and attempted victims of the corruption include Ronald [=DeFeo=] Jr. and George Lutz, Jessica Evans in ''The Evil Escapes'', Jacob and Lisa Sterling in ''It's About Time'', Franklin I. Bronner and Keyes Terry in ''A New Generation'', Jimmy Martin in ''Dollhouse'', Melanie Benson in ''Haunting'', Mark Janson in ''Legacy'', and Ben in ''Evil Never Dies.''

* PaterFamilicide: The evil seems to take perverse joy in making people kill their own families, having orchestrated the massacres of the [=DeFeos=], the Montellis, the Bronners, the Bensons, and the Jansons.

* ArcNumbers: 3:15, which is the approximate time that Ronald [=DeFeo=] Jr. killed all of the other [=DeFeos=].

* ArtifactOfDoom:
** The lamp in ''The Evil Escapes.''

* HauntedHeadquarters: The house is dirt cheap, and so attracts a lot of naïve and/or desperate people who rarely last long, to the point that a "For Sale" sign is an almost permanent fixture of the house's front yard.
* HauntedHouse: One of the most (in)famous examples in modern American history, though a few of the pseudo-sequels relocate things to other structures like a theatre and a BedlamHouse.

* NewHouseNewProblems: As noted in the description. Interestingly, the ''next'' owners after the Lutz reported absolutely no such problems with the house, nor have any subsequent owners.[[note]]As of 2019 the house is still occupied, having been owned by five different families since the Lutzes left.[[/note]] The only "supernatural" issues reported have been curiosity seekers taking pictures, knocking on the door, sitting out front waiting for something spooky to happen, or otherwise bothering the house's owners and their neighbors. Indeed, one of the recent owners repainted the house's exterior, removed the famous quarter-moon windows and changed the address (from 112 to 108 Ocean Avenue) to discourage tourists.

* BasedOnAGreatBigLie:...''maybe''. But the [=DeFeo=] murders really did happen, and some of the spookier circumstances surrounding them (like neighbors not hearing any of the gunshots) are true.

* GlowingEyesOfDoom: The eye-like upper windows of the house are often portrayed this way, with a lot of promotional material depicted it as an EvilOverlooker.

* AnimatedAdaptation: There was actually an animated 'documentary' made of the original ''Amityville Horror'' movie. [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids They even showed it in public schools.]]
* ArtifactsOfDoom: Following the third movie, the house is no longer actually featured as the main setting. Rather, its evil is passed on through certain objects that wind up in new homes, turning them in [[CaptainErsatz ersatz Amityvilles]]. These objects include a clock, a mirror and most ridiculously, a lamp (See Amityville 4 for the last one).
* BasedOnAGreatBigLie:...''maybe''. But the [=DeFeo=] murders really happened, and some of the spookier circumstances surrounding them (like neighbors not hearing any of the gunshots) are true.
* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: The third film in the series has the house getting [[StuffBlowingUp destroyed]], though this fails to stop the evil, with it just living on in the form of mundane objects like lamps and clocks salvaged from the rubble, which allows the evil to spread out all over the country and establish "new homes" when people obtain the junk.
* ConsummateLiar: If you believe the whole story is a lie, then the Lutzes are this trope. They took a polygraph, and passed (though it must be noted that polygraphs are [[HollywoodScience less reliable than people think]]).
* FliesEqualsEvil: A recurring theme throughout the books and movies, especially the first movie, ''Amityville 3-D'', and the remake.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Upper windows in the house are portrayed this way.
%%* HauntedHeadquarters
* HauntedHouse: One of the most famous (alleged) RealLife examples.
* InfantImmortality: Averted and played straight numerous times.
* LovecraftCountry: Although it's Set in Long Island, New York.

* NumberedSequels

* RoomFullOfCrazy: The hidden room under the house is different between films, but unpleasant and crazy anyhow.
* SupernaturalProofFather

->'''''"[-GET OUT-]"'''''

* ''The Amityville Playhouse'' (2015)

* ''Witches of Amityville Academy'' (2020)

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* ''Amityville Prison'' (2017; later re-titled ''Against the Night'')

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!!''The Reawakening'' has examples of:

* CoversAlwaysLie: The house doesn't look like the one on the cover. At all.
* FoundFootageFilms
* UndeadChild: John Matthew, the youngest of the [=DeFeo=] children.

[[AC:Film]]

* ''Film/TheConjuring2'' (2016)

* ''Film/AmityvilleTheAwakening'' (2017)

* ''The Amityville Murders'' (2018)