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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThe Conjuring: Last Rites is inspired by the Smurl family’s reported haunting in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, and Ed and Lorraine Warren’s involvement in 1986. The family described troubling events and the Warrens endorsed a supernatural explanation, but the available record establishes that these claims were made—not that a demon or other entity caused them. The film is a fictionalized story, not a documentary reconstruction.
What was the Smurl haunting?
In 1986, Jack and Janet Smurl publicly described disturbing experiences in the West Pittston duplex where they lived with their four daughters and Jack’s parents. A contemporaneous UPI report said the family went public after a priest had twice tried unsuccessfully to rid the home of what they described as demons. That report documents the family’s account; it is not independent confirmation of paranormal activity. UPI’s August 21, 1986 report
![The Conjuring: Last Rites [Blu-ray] [2025]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41Bt+v5n7QL._SL160_.jpg)
The story drew media and commercial interest quickly. A later UPI report from October 27 quoted Janet Smurl saying, “We’re not afraid to go to sleep at night,” and noted an announced effort to buy movie rights. The original UPI page is not accessible, so the quotation and rights detail are supported here only by its search-result excerpt. UPI’s October 27, 1986 report
Did Ed and Lorraine Warren investigate the case?
Yes. The Warrens investigated the West Pittston case in 1986 and accepted a haunting interpretation. A local retrospective identifies their involvement, and a later account also describes their role. Their conclusion is part of the case’s history, but the investigators’ belief does not independently verify a supernatural cause. Times Leader’s retrospective on the 1986 investigation
#1 Best Overall
- Runtime: 137 minutes
Was the Smurl haunting real?
The family’s reports and the Warrens’ interpretation are documented as claims and beliefs. The sources available do not establish that a demon—or any supernatural entity—caused the events. Skeptics have questioned the claims, but the accessible material for Kenny Biddle’s 2025 Skeptical Inquirer article does not provide enough detail to attribute a specific disproof or investigative finding to him. No court, regulator, or scientific body determination resolving the claims was identified in the sources reviewed. The most accurate conclusion is that the cause remains unverified. Kenny Biddle’s 2025 retrospective in Skeptical Inquirer
How does the film compare with the reported case?
The Conjuring: Last Rites draws on the Smurl story but uses a fictional version of West Pittston and a dramatic arc for the fictionalized Ed and Lorraine Warren characters. Producer James Wan described giving those characters a series sendoff as a creative priority. The film’s scenes, chronology, and character arcs should therefore be treated as entertainment choices, not verified events. Biography.com’s April 23, 2026 retrospective on the film and case
Rank #2
- Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson
| Question | Reported case | Film |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | The Smurls’ home in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, as described in 1986 reports. | A fictionalized version of West Pittston. |
| Basis for supernatural events | Family testimony and the Warrens’ interpretation; supernatural causation remains unverified. | Dramatized events created for a feature film. |
| How to treat the story | A widely publicized reported haunting, not proof of a haunting. | A fictionalized narrative inspired by the case. |
What happened to the Smurl family afterward?
Biography.com reports that the family moved back to Wilkes-Barre in 1988. The same retrospective says a later resident of the property reported no supernatural occurrences. That later account adds context, but it cannot establish what did or did not happen during the Smurls’ time there.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where can you read more about the case?
Robert Curran’s The Haunted: One Family’s Nightmare, published in December 1986, recounts the Smurl family’s story. It is a case-specific account, not conclusive or independent proof of a haunting. Biography.com’s retrospective identifies the book and its publication date.
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- Runtime: 137 minutes
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- The Conjuring / The Conjuring 2
- The Conjuring / The Conjuring 2
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