The Smurl Haunting And The True Story That Inspired The Conjuring: Last Rites Movie
WNEPThe Smurl family speaking with a reporter about the alleged haunting in their Pennsylvania home.
In August 1973, Jack and Janet Smurl moved into a house in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, with their two children. It was a double-block house, and the other half of the home was occupied by Jack’s parents, John and Mary, and the younger couple later welcomed twins into the mix as well. Not long after moving in, however, they began to notice odd things around the house.
At first, the strange events were minor. Tools mysteriously went missing. Freshly painted walls developed stains. But soon, these events became more concerning, especially when unplugged kitchen appliances purportedly caught fire. Around the same time, they began grappling with numerous personal issues. For instance, Mary suffered from a heart attack, and Jack reportedly struggled to cover the family’s day-to-day costs with his income.
Chillingly, the paranormal activity then seemed to increase.
Janet claimed that she began hearing voices, and she also said that she felt an unseen presence molesting her as she slept. Meanwhile, Jack claimed that he saw shadowy figures, including one that seemed to touch his wife’s leg at night. Disturbingly, Jack even alleged that he had been sexually assaulted by whatever presence was in their home.
Warner Bros. PicturesVera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson famously portrayed Ed and Lorraine Warren throughout The Conjuring franchise. This scene is from The Conjuring: Last Rites movie, based on the true story of the Smurl family.
By January 1986, the Smurls believed this situation was beyond their control, and like many others, they reached out to Ed and Lorraine Warren.
After the Warrens visited the Smurls’ home, they declared it was possessed by a “very powerful” demon. They spent months in the house, collecting audio recordings of strange noises that they linked to demonic activity.
During one visit, Ed Warren allegedly invoked the name of Jesus and commanded the spirit to reveal itself. According to Warren, the room immediately became “icy cold” and was filled with a “foul stench.” Objects purportedly began to move on their own, and a message appeared on a mirror that warned the Warrens to leave the home.
In the end, Ed Warren assessed that the entity was powerful, intangible, and highly dangerous. Of course, not everyone agreed with this assessment.
Some skeptics were already wary of the Warrens by that point, but when the Smurls refused free psychological evaluations, many took it as a sign that something was amiss. Jack Smurl’s medical history — specifically, a surgery to remove water from his brain in 1983 — also hurt their credibility.
It wasn’t the first time the Warrens were accused of being involved in a hoax.
