While the Lutz family was driven from their Amityville home by paranormal forces, the new owners of Demon House are trying to bring in as many scares as possible.





Demon House operates Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights throughout the Halloween season. New owners Chris and Veronica Pirt are seeking to amp up the scares and make this the scariest year ever for the Monongahela attraction.







“I have been the makeup artist here for 11 years, and when it went up for sale my wife and I jumped at the opportunity and took it,” said Chris Pirt.









“I've been doing make-up since I was a child breaking into my mother's make-up kit and stealing it to do gore effects on all my friends around the neighborhood. To further that I went to Tom Savini's School for Special Make-Up Effects. I've been an artist all around all my life. I was a tattoo artist for 12 years. I went into the effects industry and taught at the Savini School for six of the past years. I love special effects and Halloween, so it went hand in hand.





“My wife is an effects artist as well. We bought it together, and she does just as much as I do, and loves it just as much as I do.”







The couple have been working since March to remodel the inside of the historic mansion, and craft a haunted house that takes the scares far beyond the prior iteration of Demon House.







“We're claiming this to be our scariest year ever because this haunted house used to be more of a theater production. We put the scare back in the Demon House itself.”







“It's a 19 room mansion, and we gave the entire inside an overhaul. Being that the mansion was erected in 1840, we came into some serious carpenter issues, we'll put it that way. They didn't even have molding on the walls. They concreted everything; they sculpted everything out of plaster and concrete.







“We had to have contractors come in and literally divide our new haunted house into different bits and pieces because we didn't have the capabilities of a proper construction. Every time we sunk a nail into the wall, I'm like, 'Ugh, it's two-hundred-year-old house.' It's a beautiful mansion; it's really a sight to see.”









While Demon House has a crew of about 60 during the haunt, the previous five months of construction have been handled by Chris and Veronica Pirt, Veronica's brother and a crew member who is also an actress.





“When we bought the house, (the previous owners) were planning on just selling it as a house, so they completely gutted it, and there was nothing haunted left in there. We changed it back. Thousands and thousands of 2x4s and pieces of plywood went in. Day in and day out that's all I've done in the past five months is construction on this place.”







In addition to the haunt, the grounds are filled with other atmospheric activities, including games, campfires, and an outdoor movie theater. Concessions are also available, and all proceeds from the sale of hot beverages will be donated to Children's Hospital.







“We don't have a queue line. When people come up our driveway, we don't make them wait in line at the ticket booth. They pay to get in, and they're free to roam the grounds and do whatever they want, play games and watch movies until they group number is called.”







After months of hard work, the Pirts are eager to invite the public into their haunted house.







“We're bringing the scare back. We intend on bringing the name Demon House back to be Pittsburgh's scariest haunted house.”