This video originally published on March 5, 2025 on the Nightmare Files channel, which even features music by Karl Casey, discusses the Smurl Haunting, the true story behind The Conjuring: Last Rites, the 2025 American horror film that is expected to conclude the first phase of the Conjuring franchise. Note that there are no spoilers here.
Note that this article does not attempt to exhaust the subject, nor does it attempt to provide a final verdict on the alleged demonic infestation that attacked the Smurl family in their Pennsylvania home between 1974 and 1989, causing great anguish to everyone who lived there. According to Ed and Lorraine Warren, the real-life ones, this was the most difficult case they ever faced.
The Beginning
Jack and Janet Smurl were living in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, when Hurricane Agnes destroyed their home in 1972. In October 1973, they moved into an old duplex at 328 Chase Street in the neighboring town of West Pittston, taking their daughters Dawn and Heather with them. Jack’s parents, John and Mary Smurl, moved in across the duplex.
The house was about 80 years old and the oldest in the neighborhood, and the family quickly integrated into the local community, attending church and making friends. For over a year, everything seemed peaceful, but then small phenomena began: furniture moving by itself, radios turning on without being plugged in, strange stains appearing on the walls—stains that persisted even after being covered.
Despite the discomfort, the Smurls viewed the events as harmless and continued with minor renovations to the house.
Heather’s Confirmation and the Beginning of Terror
On April 29, 1985, the day of Heather’s Confirmation, events reached a new level. As the family prepared, the kitchen light fixture began to shake violently until it came loose and fell onto the counter, nearly hitting one of the daughters.
It’s said that soon after the girl received the sacrament, more aggressive phenomena began to occur: unexplained banging on the walls, obscene voices imitating family members, unbearable odors, and claw marks appearing on newly renovated surfaces. From that moment on, life in the house became a true nightmare.
Apparitions and Physical Attacks
Janet reported seeing a dark, human-shaped mist moving through the rooms, while the children reported hearing wings flapping at night and seeing figures hovering over their beds. Objects moved on their own, the family dog seemed to be mysteriously transported from one room to another, and doors were found open even after being locked.
The attacks intensified: Shannon and Karen were thrown from their bunk beds, Janet was levitated from her bed several times and inappropriately touched by the entity, even with Jack by her side. He himself reported being sexually assaulted by a female apparition, an experience that left a deep impression on him and one he hated to revisit.
Ed Warren explained that it was a case of infestation involving a succubus, whose goal was to insult God and destroy the family’s harmony.
The Warrens’ Arrival
Desperate, Janet attended a lecture by Ed and Lorraine Warren and asked for help. In January 1986, the couple visited the house and identified four entities: a harmless elderly woman, a possibly violent young woman, a deceased man in the house, and a demon that seemed to control the others.
Ed experimented with liturgical chants and holy water—the room became cold, objects trembled, and the noise suddenly ceased. But it was only a temporary relief.
The Warrens recommended an exorcism, but the local diocese refused to help, demanding proof before any official rite. The feeling of abandonment by the Church worsened the family’s suffering.
Exorcisms and Media Exposure
Dominican exorcist Father Robert McKenna was called in and performed exorcism rites in the property, including around the perimeter of the house. But after a brief period of peace, the phenomena returned with a vengeance.
Tired of the Church’s reluctance, the Smurls decided to tell their story to the media, publishing the book The Haunted, which became the name of the first film adaptation of the case as well, in partnership with the Warrens and appearing on television programs. The exposure brought more stress and criticism, but it also attracted prayer groups that began interceding for the family.
Outcome
In 1987, exhausted and under constant harassment from the press, the Smurls moved back to Wilkes-Barre. However, to their dismay, the manifestations continued.
The turning point came when a seminarian in Rome read the family’s book and sent a letter to then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI), denouncing the local clergy, which was apparently negligent at the time. Shortly thereafter, Rome intervened and sent an authorized exorcist.
This time, the ritual was successful: the demon was finally expelled, and the family reported no further manifestations.
Legend or Reality?
As with other cases investigated by the Warrens, the Smurl family poltergeist divides opinion. Critics believe it was a hoax or mass hysteria, while others consider it one of the best-documented cases of demonic haunting in recent history.
Whatever the truth, the case continues to interest paranormal scholars and inspired the plot not only of The Conjuring: The Last Ritual, but also the two-hour made-for-TV movie titled The Haunted, released by 20th Century Fox in 1991. Written by Curran, the Warrens, and the Smurls, it starred Jeffrey DeMunn as Jack Smurl and Sally Kirkland as Janet Smurl.
So, that’s it.
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