I'm familiar the house layout, that's NOT the Amityville house in the "ghostchild" photo.
In the actual house going up the stairs you would see the bathroom door ahead on the left (kind of like the one in the photo with the lion picture next to it) and yes the door next it would've been the youngest daughter. Allison's room. However before the steps to the third floor start there would be another door to Marc and John's room. There isn't a third door to the left in the photo before the stairs start up again. Even if the photo were from the third floor, yes that could be Dawn's room and the third floor bathroom she shared with Butch, but then the stairs wouldn't continue up to nowhere. That is someone else's house and someone else's living child snuck into the photo. The Lutz's were a hoax, the real house isn't haunted (it's actually gorgeous and I wish I owned it because I'd put those adorable original windows back in.)
The real horror story is what happened to an actual family in 1974, and whatever it is that makes the true story is so shrouded in secrecy.

Originally posted by superduperman
To fake this image you could take a negative of a regular picture of the kid looking out of the door, cut out small bits of card to place over the eyes so they dont get any light...

I have personally had a chilling experience with a "ghost" at the Naracoorte Hotel, South Australia around 1999-2000. The female entity had fiery red hair and eyes exactly the same as in this pic. I know I have nothing more to offer than my word, but please rest assured, entities with these eyes do indeed exist.

you should see the room i used to sleep in, it is a room of pure evil. No one I mean no one has the balls to sleep in there.

I'm new here, but I have read this thread from beginning to end. While I was doing a little research of my own and I came across this.

It’s believed that the hoax rumor began with a man who called himself Dr. Steven Kaplan, although he held no doctorate degree from any university. This fact was exposed on several occasions, yet that never stopped Mr. Kaplan from making these claims. He was the self-proclaimed president of the Parapsychology Society of Long Island and some other related societies, presumably founded by himself. As far as the Warrens can tell, he hated them because Mr. Lutz, the owner of the Amityville Horror home called Mr. Kaplan prior to calling the Warrens, and asked him to investigate the situation. Mr. Kaplan came to the home to “investigate” with 6 witches and the Channel 7 news team, and Mr. Lutz threw Mr. Kaplan off the property---and then called the Warrens. This started a 20 year vendetta of Mr. Kaplan against the Warrens.

Seems to me that the Lutz' had called this Kaplan guy, who brought everyone and thier mother. Lutz' threw him out and called the Warrens. It is believed that the Kaplan guy started the hoax rumor to make the Warrens and Lutz look bad.

Hey Guys, just stumbled upon this thread today and thinks it great.

I too have been fascinated by this photo of the little kid for quite some time. And whether it be a fake, staged, or real, I don't know or even mind either way - like you guys, I just want to know which!

In regards to the duplicate of the kid's face in the dark area of the doorway above and to the left of the actual kid's head, I too can see it, but if you look carefully you'll notice that that face is not at as much an angle as the actual kid's head. Plus the mouth is slightly different. Not to say that this disqualifies the image from being a fake but if it is a real image (staged or not staged) makes it all the more freaky.

Man that kid really FREAKS me out!

I've read this entire thread and am surprised that my theory about the photo has yet to surface.

I think that the photo is real, and it is a photo of John DeFeo, the youngest son. I think it's important to remember that many DeFeo items were left in the home when it was bought by the Lutz family. The furniture and a few non personal items were not claimed by the Brigante family, the parents and siblings of Louise DeFeo. It's not that much of a stretch to think that maybe a camera with film it was possibly overlooked when the Brigantes were gathering personal effects, or possibly just a roll of film.

I think this was just a snapshot taken of John shortly before the murders by a family member with a roll of infrared film. (My husband plays around with infrared film all the time, and I have several pictures taken of my children in infrared just for the hell of it.) I think the Lutzes found it, developed it, was delighted to find a picture that could back up their ridiculous story, and handed over to the Warrens, who then doctored the boy's eyes and made up a tale of intrigue to further bolster the tales of hauntings.

I really think that's exactly what happened.

This movie is about to start in a few minutes. Josh Brolin stars in at as George. I visited a haunted house in Florence last year and I saw dripping dark goo spread across a white wall next to the back door. No one knows how it got there!! Everyone isn't able to see ghost plasma but that doesn't mean its a conspiracy.

Anyway this is one of my favorite subjects.

It was all about the money it was a Hoax

* Jim and Barbara Cromarty, subsequent owners of the house, experienced nothing out of the ordinary. Curiosity seekers irritated them and invaded their privacy because of the book’s notoriety. The couple sued Prentice-Hall and Jay Anson and received an out of court settlement.
* Father Ralph Pecararo, “Mancuso,” in the book, sued Prentice-Hall and the Lutzes for distorting his involvement in the “haunting” and invasion of privacy. He settled out of court.
* Parapsychologist Anita Gregory sued for libel and won.
* Weber sued for his share of the profits from the book and original movie. The presiding judge said evidence showed that the Lutzes were acting in a way consistent with having a book published. This was another out of court settlement.
* The Lutzes sued Weber on the basis that this was not a hoax, but was reality. They lost.

I am pretty sure the The Amityville House is still there. I typed in the original address (112 Ocean Avenue) on www.yellowpages.com. It took me to the avenue. But, I am pretty sure that the house, if you turn on hybrid mode, the house is to the left. It's probably about a centimeter up from the yellow arrow. Well it looks like the house. You can even see the boat house. I recognized it right away.