The Conjuring: Last Rites draws on the Smurl family’s reports of frightening events in their West Pittston, Pennsylvania home and the Warrens’ 1986 investigation. The family said the events were paranormal, and Ed and Lorraine Warren interpreted them as evidence of a supernatural presence. Those accounts are not proof that a demon—or any other entity—was there. Skeptics disputed the haunting explanation, and the film is an adaptation, not a documentary record.
What happened in the Smurl family home?
Jack and Janet Smurl said disturbing activity took place in their West Pittston home over a period they dated from 1974 to 1989. Their account included reports of paranormal events; the Warrens, who investigated the property in 1986, concluded that a supernatural presence was involved. These are the family’s claims and the investigators’ interpretation, not independently established proof of a haunting. CNA’s account of the case and the film describes the timeline and investigation.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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The Conjuring (Blu-Ray) | $8.02 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Conjuring 7-Film Collection, The (Blu-ray) | $17.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Conjuring, The: Last Rites (Blu-ray) | $14.77 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Conjuring 2 (Blu-ray) | $7.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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The Conjuring Universe 9-Film Collection (Blu-ray) | $36.99 | Buy on Amazon |
The distinction matters: a report that something happened is not the same as evidence establishing what caused it. The available accounts do not settle whether the reported events had a supernatural, ordinary, or other explanation.
Why do people dispute the haunting explanation?
The skeptical view
In 1986, Paul Kurtz, then chairman of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, cautioned against treating the house as haunted by default. As quoted by the News-Times, he said: “There is no explanation for the Smurl house, but I wouldn’t simply assume it is a haunting.” The quotation challenges the conclusion that the cause was paranormal; it does not itself establish an alternative cause.
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What a later occupant reported
Local reporting says a woman who moved into the duplex after the Smurls said she had experienced nothing unusual or frightening. That is one later resident’s account, not a controlled investigation, and it cannot by itself confirm or disprove what the family said they experienced. Keystone Newsroom’s local coverage also reports that the Smurls said the activity stopped and that they moved from the home in 1988.
What the family said about its account
Keystone Newsroom quotes daughter Carin Smurl, recalling a 2016 interview with The Citizens’ Voice, rejecting the suggestion that the family invented its story for fame or money. That statement records the family’s position; it does not independently verify the cause of the experiences.
Rank #2
- The Conjuring Universe: 7 Film Collection
- Product type: PHYSICAL MOVIE
- Brand: WB
How much of Last Rites is true?
The film’s real-world foundation is the Smurl case and the Warrens’ involvement. The events as depicted onscreen belong to a dramatic adaptation, so a scene in the movie should not be treated as historical evidence. The useful way to separate the real case from the film is to ask who is making each claim and what kind of evidence it represents:
- Family account: Jack and Janet Smurl and other family members described events they understood as paranormal.
- Warren interpretation: Ed and Lorraine Warren concluded that a supernatural presence was involved.
- Skeptical response: Paul Kurtz warned against assuming the haunting explanation.
- Later occupant: A subsequent resident reportedly said she experienced nothing unusual.
- Film: A fictionalized screen version inspired by the case, not a documentary record.
Director Michael Chaves spoke with the now-adult Smurl sisters about the case’s impact on them, according to KQED/NPR. Their involvement provides context about the family’s experience of the story, but does not make the film a factual reconstruction.
Rank #3
- Runtime: 137 minutes
How the case reached the screen
The Smurl story had already been published and adapted before Last Rites. Robert Curran’s The Haunted: One Family’s Nightmare was produced with the Smurls and the Warrens, according to the News-Times. Biography.com dates the paperback release to December 1986 and reports a made-for-television adaptation in 1991. The book is a primary account of the family-and-Warren narrative, not independent confirmation of paranormal causation.
James Wan has said the 1991 TV movie The Haunted first introduced him to Ed and Lorraine Warren. In discussing his return to the Smurl case for Last Rites, he called it “full circle.” The film’s connection to an earlier screen version helps explain the creative lineage, not the factual status of the alleged haunting. CNA’s interview with Wan covers that connection.
Rank #4
- Artist: FARMIGA,VERA
- Genre: Horror
- Product Type: Blu-Ray Disc
- Rating: R
- Release Date: 13-SEP-2016
Further reading
Readers interested in the family’s and Warrens’ version of events can look to Robert Curran’s The Haunted: One Family’s Nightmare. Read it as an account of the case rather than a neutral or independently verified finding about what caused the reported events.
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