By Sharon Oliver
Contributing Writer
LEE – Although there were no books written or movies made to give a chilling account of their alleged harrowing experience, Lui and wife Dale Passetto made headlines just like the Lutz family of the Amityville Horror fame. Unlike the Defeos (murdered occupants of the Amityville home), the Passettos were fortunate enough to live to tell their story including during an appearance on the “Geraldo Rivera” TV show.
Ed and Lorriane Warren, the notorious couple behind the inspiration for films such as “Amityville Horror,” “The Haunting in Connecticut” and “The Conjuring” franchises, sought to bring attention to the paper factory worker, his wife and their unwelcomed malevolent force.
Grandparents’ house in small town
The Passettos had been living in the house Lui’s grandparents built in the small town of Lee in Berkshire County for two years without incident. By 1981, from March to September, the young parents of two children made claims of encountering supernatural visitations that desperately required an exorcism. According to the couple, it all began on March 19, 1981, when Dale saw an apparition of a young boy dressed in white who spoke kindly and did not appear to fear her.
Lui further stated when he walked into the room, his wife was in a state of shock, holding a crucifix in one hand and a bottle of holy water in the other. After a stuffed animal changed into an animated nightmare in one of the kids’ bedroom, the Passettos decided it was time to leave.
Enter Ed and Lorraine Warren, who deemed the home demonically active and contacted an exorcist who Ed said performed the exorcism but became violently ill. Soon afterwards, a pair of Roman Catholic priests were called in to perform the religious practice, but some accounts suggest they merely blessed the house. The Warrens, who were self-proclaimed demonologists, founded the New England Society for Psychic Research and were the subject of controversy throughout the years.
Locals remember
At the time, memories of the 1975 hit movie “The Exorcist” were probably still fresh on the minds of many and locals were likely to never forget those rumored ghostly days in Lee. Heather Ann recalled on Facebook:
“I remember this case very well. I went with grandparents, met the family and while I was in the house got very sick and had a horrible headache. Gram had me leave the house and sit outside while they continued the investigation. Once outside my symptoms subsided. There was undoubtedly something evil in that house!”
Incidents continued
Believing their home was now free and clear of frightening entities, the Passettos moved back into the house only to discover the ghost of the young boy had now taken on the shape of a towering hunchback creature that growled and snarled vulgar things, calling itself “The Minister of God.”
While there were no more stories of stuffed animals giving chase this time, there were eye-popping tales of day and night terrors. This included refrigerators being ripped from the walls, bookcases toppling, a crucifix getting yanked from the hand of their son and Dale clinging to her elevated bed with claw-like scratches on her stomach, back and face.
Dale described the creature as “a little taller than my husband. It was black. It looked like it was hooded. And it was sort of hunched over and it had very, very large feet, tremendous feet.” Matthew Schmalz, director of religious studies at Holy Cross College says the church often equates demons with souls in purgatory, adding that cases of possession are very rare.
The family left their two-story wood-frame home and the state for good in 2004. Their experience reportedly influenced the blockbuster films “Poltergeist” and “The Conjuring.”
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