The real Pa. story that inspired ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’

“The Conjuring: Last Rites” was inspired by a real story out of West Pittston, Pa. Here’s everything you need to know about the Smurl Haunting. 

“The Conjuring” Universe has grown in popularity since the first movie was released in 2013. Each installment of the horror franchise is inspired by a real-life haunting investigated by famous demonologists/paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Warrens were a married couple from Connecticut who began ghost hunting in the 1950s. They went on to establish the New England Society for Psychic Research and closely examined over 10,000 cases throughout their careers.

The latest—and final—film in the collection, “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” was released on Sept. 5. People with little interest in the genre will likely feel inclined to pass on seeing it at a local cinema. For those in Pennsylvania, though, the film may actually hold your interest for a more personal reason, regardless of how you feel about horror as a whole. Though heavily dramatized, as all previous installments were, “Last Rites” is based on the real story of the Smurl family, who lived in West Pittston.

The Smurls lived a relatively quiet life in their Pa. suburb, until one day, everything started to change for the worse. The family claimed that a demon had been inhabiting their home since the early 1970s, but that the evil entity had begun ramping up its reign of terror in 1985. They attempted to shoulder the burden of paranormal activity on their own before contacting the Roman Catholic Church and then the Warrens in 1986 to investigate.

The events that transpired went on to become known as “The Smurl Haunting.”

Strange things were afoot in West Pittston 

In 1973, Jack and Janet Smurl, along with their daughters, Carin, Shannon, Heather, and Dawn Smurl, moved into a duplex located on Chase Street in West Pittston. Jack’s parents occupied the other half of the dwelling. Shortly after the Smurls moved in, strange things reportedly began to occur. Objects would go missing and show up in random places. Electrical malfunctions became common, as did bad odors and loud, unexplained noises.

Eventually, things worsened, and the family’s 75-pound German shepherd was mysteriously thrown into a wall. One of the daughters claimed she had been pushed down the stairs, though she was alone on the stairs at the time of the incident. Jack reported that he had been physically and sexually assaulted by an entity that the family believed to be a female demon known as a succubus. Then, on April 9, 1985, a ceiling light in the kitchen unexpectedly crashed onto the table while Janet and Shannon were helping Heather prepare for her confirmation. The incident “gouged Shannon in the forehead,” and left the Smurls shaken.

When considering the unexplained crash, along with the other odd and sometimes violent occurrences the family had experienced, they decided it was time to seek help from a local Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church attempted to help the Smurl family before the Warrens got involved 

During an appearance on “Larry King Live,” Janet Smurl said that following the kitchen ceiling light incident that harmed her daughter, Shannon Smurl, “We went to our local priest and said, ‘Father, there’s something very strange going on here.’” The priest went to bless the West Pittston home, but he reportedly delivered an alarming message to the Smurls when he did: “There’s no one here who can help you.”

Officials from the Roman Catholic Church spoke with the Lakeland Ledger in 1986 and said they were taking the matter seriously, despite their uncertainty as to whether an actual demonic spirit was plaguing the Smurl home. Scranton’s diocese’s chancellor at the time, Rev. Gerald F. Mullally, told the outlet, “We believe what the family is telling us. It’s the explanation for what they are experiencing that we are not sure of.”

Mullally added that an unnamed priest who was experienced in parapsychology and demonology would be dispatched to the duplex on Chase Street. It’s unclear as to whether this priest was the one who told the Smurls that no one could help them or if he was successful in whatever attempts he may have made to alleviate the issue. After the Catholic Church seemingly failed to identify the problem—or remove the malevolent spirit—Jack and Janet decided to reach out to famed demonologists/paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.

Ed and Lorraine Warren visited the Smurls in January 1986

Ed and Lorraine Warren had grown in notoriety following their investigation of the Amityville, New York home where Ronald DeFeo Jr. reportedly murdered his family in 1974. That tragedy became the basis for the book and film adaptations of “The Amityville Horror” in 1977 and 1979, respectively. The Warrens’ investigation of the Amityville murders, and the subsequent haunting of the Lutz family, inspired “The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case” in 2016.

Jack and Janet Smurl contacted the Warrens via phone to explain their predicament, and the Warrens agreed to investigate the Pa. home. Ed claimed that the demonic spirit threw him roughly 10 feet after he and Lorraine attempted to vanquish it with holy water, crosses, and prayer. The couple even had a local police officer standing by for assistance.

Speaking with the Lakeland Ledger about his experience inside the Smurl house, Ed said, “There was a foul stench—I would describe it as rotting flesh. Objects on the bureau started to move and then in front of the bureau, gossamer threads—a mucous-like, smoky-type substance—whirled and materialized on the mirror, spelling out filthy obscenities, telling me in no uncertain terms to get out of the house.”

During a press conference, Lorraine told reporters, “You cannot even imagine what has gone on in this home.” (You can see a clip of Ed and Lorraine speaking outside of the West Pittston home here.) The Warrens believed it was not just one, but actually four separate spirits terrorizing the Smurls: One demon and three humans. Following pressure from the public, brought on by the presence of the Warrens, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who went on to become Pope Benedict XVI) sent an exorcist to assist with the Smurl Haunting. Two previous exorcisms had failed, but this one apparently worked to clear the home of all harmful entities.

The Smurls didn’t report any further paranormal activity following the final exorcism, and they eventually moved to a home in Wilkes-Barre in 1988. The home on Chase Street where the alleged horrors happened is still standing. A woman named Debra Owens moved into the duplex after the Smurls moved out, and she said during an interview with the Times Leader in the 1980s that she hadn’t experienced anything unusual or frightening. A man who occupied the other side of the home, where Jack’s parents had lived, said he hadn’t seen or felt anything strange either.

There have not been any other known incidents at the West Pittston home since the Smurl family lived there.

What happened to the Smurl family?

By all accounts, the Smurl family has gone on to live peaceful, private lives following the supernatural events of the 1970s and 1980s. Jack Smurl worked for Topps Chewing Gum for 30 years and was an active participant in his local church. He died in 2017. Janet Smurl reportedly lives in Laporte. The couple’s daughter, Heather, teaches in Wilkes-Barre, where her sister Dawn lives. Carin is a social worker, and Shannon works in the health field.

During a 2016 interview with The Citizens’ Voice, Carin maintained that what the family experienced in West Pittston was real. “That we did it for fame or money is the most ridiculous statement ever. We were a normal family with normal lives that went through a tragedy and prevailed by staying strong and faithful,” she said. Carin added, “It’s everyone else that blew it up into a nightmare. We battled the demons inside and the public outside. They made it worse.”

She stated that it was actually her experience trying to navigate the difficulty of public scrutiny that inspired her to become a part-time paranormal investigator herself. “The reason I have been involved in paranormal investigating is so no one has to go through what we did,” she told the outlet. “In me they get judge-free, discreet, legitimate, honest, professional help and counseling. No one going through tragedy should be treated like we were.”

Regardless of what may or may not have happened inside the walls of that Chase Street duplex, the Smurl Haunting has gone on to become one of the Warrens’ most highly publicized cases. As Carin noted during her interview with the Citizens’ Voice, though, her family has never made any money from books or movies that used their experience as inspiration. The same can be said of “The Conjuring: Last Rites.”

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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