The house that first came to be known as the "horror house" in the wake of the murders, and then The Amityville Horror house after the 1979 movie, refers to the large, three-story Dutch Colonial home at 112 Ocean Ave. in Amityville, New York.

Filming instead began on location in Toms River, New Jersey in October 1978, followed by interior shoots occurring at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer sound stages in Los Angeles, which were completed just before the Christmas holiday.