Smurl haunting

Last updated

The Smurl Haunting refers to claims made by Jack and Janet Smurl of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, U.S., who alleged that a demon inhabited their home between 1974 and 1989. [1] [2] The Smurls' claims gained wide press attention and were investigated by demonologists who encouraged the family's supernatural beliefs, and clergy, psychologists, and scientific skeptics who offered more parsimonious explanations. The Smurls' version of their story was the subject of a 1986 paperback titled The Haunted and a 1991 made-for-TV movie of the same name released by 20th Century Fox. [3]

Contents

History

The Smurls moved into a double-block house on Chase Street in West Pittston, Pennsylvania in August 1973. [4] They claimed that the premises were disturbed by a demon that caused loud noises and bad odors, threw their dog into a wall, shook their mattress, pushed one of their daughters down a flight of stairs, and physically and sexually assaulted family members on several occasions. [5] [6]

In 1986, the family brought in a pair of demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. According to Ed Warren, the demon that inhabited the Smurls home was "very powerful" and it shook mirrors and furniture after they tried to persuade it to leave by playing religious music and praying. Warren claimed he felt a drop in temperature and saw a "dark mass" form in the home, and the demon once left a message on a mirror telling him to "get out". After months of investigation, Warren alleged that he had a number of audiotapes containing knocking and rapping caused by the demon. [7] [5]

Professor Paul Kurtz of State University of New York at Buffalo and then-chairman of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal said the Warrens weren't objective, independent, or impartial investigators and characterized the Smurls' claims as "a hoax, a charade, a ghost story." Kurtz said that the family's claims were possibly due to delusions, hallucinations or brain impairment, and advised that they submit themselves to psychiatric and psychological examinations. Jack Smurl told a newspaper reporter he had "surgery to remove water from his brain in 1983 because he had been experiencing short-term memory loss due to a case of meningitis in his youth." Allentown psychologist Robert Gordon commented that "people often look at demonology to explain many tensions that they experience as individuals and within their families". [7]

Spokespeople for the Roman Catholic Church, Diocese of Scranton said they were unsure what might be causing the disturbances. St. Bonaventure University theology professor Alphonsus Trabold, OFM, said there might be other "less demonic" explanations. The home was blessed by several priests who said they saw "no harmful activity while on the property." Janet Smurl claimed an unidentified priest performed three "unsuccessful" exorcisms, and that the demon avoided the rites by "moving between the double-block home" and following the family to other locations. In 1986, a priest from the local diocese spent two nights at the Smurl home and said "nothing unusual happened" during his stay there. [7] [5]

In 1986, the Smurls told the press they were tired of the constant media bombardment; however within a few months, they had authored (along with Ed and Lorraine Warren and Scranton newspaper writer Robert Curran) a paperback book version of their story called The Haunted published by St. Martin's Press. [8] The book was criticized by reviewers such as Wilkes-Barre Times Leader staff writer Joseph Marusak who wrote, "Robert Curran forsakes the principles of his trade to give readers a one-sided account of what did or didn't occur over several years in Jack and Janet Smurl's former home". Reviewer Mary Beth Gehrman wrote that the book was poorly written, adding that "it is hard to conceive of a supposedly sophisticated objective and (as far as I know, at least until now) credible reporter like Curran taking their story seriously given the complete lack of any empirical or physical evidence to support it." [7] [9]

That same year, the pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in West Pittston, Rev. Joseph Adonizio, said the Smurls felt that after intense prayers, "things are back to normal." In 1987, Janet Smurl told reporters that they still heard knocking and saw shadows. After the Smurl family moved to Wilkes-Barre, Debra Owens moved into the former Smurl home in 1988 and told reporters she "never encountered anything supernatural while living there." [7] [10]

In 1991, a two-hour made-for-TV movie titled The Haunted was released by 20th Century Fox, written by Curran, the Warrens, and the Smurls, and starring Jeffrey DeMunn as Jack Smurl and Sally Kirkland as Janet Smurl. [7] [5] [11]

Related Research Articles

John Zaffis is a paranormal researcher born and based in Connecticut, United States. He starred in the SyFy paranormal reality TV show, Haunted Collector, and runs the Paranormal and Demonology Research Society of New England, which he founded in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enfield poltergeist</span> Claim of supernatural activity

The Enfield poltergeist was a claim of supernatural activity at 284 Green Street, a council house in Brimsdown, Enfield, London, England, between 1977 and 1979. The alleged poltergeist activity centred on sisters Janet, aged 11, and Margaret Hodgson, aged 13.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed and Lorraine Warren</span> American paranormal investigators

Edward Warren Miney and Lorraine Rita Warren were American paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of alleged hauntings. Edward was a self-taught and self-professed demonologist, author, and lecturer. Lorraine professed to be clairvoyant and a light trance medium who worked closely with her husband.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert McKenna</span>

Robert Fidelis McKenna was an American sedeprivationist bishop who used to be a Catholic priest of the Dominican order. He was known for his traditionalist Catholic positions and was an advocate of sedeprivationism. McKenna was one of the leaders of the Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement (ORCM). He was also known from the Fox TV-movie The Haunted, which is about the Smurl haunting where McKenna conducted two exorcisms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Nickell</span> Skeptic and paranormal investigator (born 1944)

Joe Nickell is an American skeptic and investigator of the paranormal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost hunting</span> Investigating reportedly haunted locations for ghosts

Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity.

<i>A Haunting</i> American TV series or program

A Haunting is an American paranormal drama anthology television series that depicts eyewitness accounts of alleged possession, exorcism, and ghostly encounters. The program features narrations, interviews, and dramatic re-enactments based on various accounts of alleged paranormal experiences at reportedly haunted and mostly residential locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Pittston</span> Region in Pennsylvania, United States

Greater Pittston is a 65.35 sq mi (169.3 km2) region in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in reference to the area in and around Pittston. As of 2010, the total population of Greater Pittston is 48,020. This region includes Avoca, Dupont, Duryea, Exeter Boro, Exeter Township, Hughestown, Jenkins Township, Laflin, Pittston Township, West Pittston, West Wyoming, Wyoming, and Yatesville. It is a subregion of Wyoming Valley.

The Amityville haunting is a modern folk story based on the true crimes of Ronald DeFeo Jr. On November 13, 1974, DeFeo shot and killed six members of his family at 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, on the south shore of Long Island. He was convicted of second-degree murder in November 1975. In December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz and their three children moved into the house. After 28 days, the Lutzes left the house, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena while living there. The house became the subject of numerous investigations by paranormal researchers, journalists, and skeptics, including Ed and Lorraine Warren. These events served as the historical basis for Jay Anson's 1977 novel The Amityville Horror, which was followed by a number of sequels and was adapted into a film of the same name in 1979. Since then, many films have been produced that draw explicitly, to a greater or lesser extent, from these historical and literary sources. As Amityville is a real town and the stories of DeFeo and the Lutzes are historical, there can be no proprietary relationship to the underlying story elements associated with the Amityville haunting. As a result of this, there has been no restriction on the exploitation of the story by film producers, which is the reason that most of these films share no continuity, were produced by different companies, and tell widely varying stories.

<i>The Haunting in Connecticut</i> 2009 film

The Haunting in Connecticut is a 2009 supernatural horror film directed by Peter Cornwell and starring Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner, Martin Donovan, Amanda Crew, and Elias Koteas. The film is alleged to be about Carmen Snedeker and her family, though Ray Garton, author of In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting (1992), has publicly distanced himself from the accuracy of the events he depicted in the book. The film's story follows the fictional Campbells as they move into a house to mitigate the strains of travel on their cancer-stricken son, Matt. The family soon becomes haunted by violent and traumatic events from supernatural forces occupying the house.

The trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, also known as the "devil made me do it" case, is the first known court case in the United States in which the defense sought to prove innocence based upon the claim of demonic possession and denial of personal responsibility for the crime. On November 24, 1981, in Brookfield, Connecticut, Arne Cheyenne Johnson was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for the killing of his landlord, Alan Bono.

In the late 1940s, in the United States, priests of the Roman Catholic Church performed a series of exorcisms on an anonymous boy, documented under the pseudonym "Roland Doe" or "Robbie Mannheim". The 14-year-old boy was alleged to be a victim of demonic possession, and the events were recorded by the attending priest, Raymond J. Bishop. Subsequent supernatural claims surrounding the events were used as elements in William Peter Blatty's 1971 novel The Exorcist. In December 2021, The Skeptical Inquirer reported the purported true identity of Roland Doe/Robbie Mannheim as Ronald Edwin Hunkeler.

<i>The Haunted</i> (1991 film) 1991 television film

The Haunted is a 1991 American made-for-television haunted house film directed by Robert Mandel and starring Sally Kirkland, who received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance. The film depicts the events surrounding the Smurl haunting.

<i>The Conjuring</i> 2013 American supernatural horror film

The Conjuring is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. It is the inaugural film in The Conjuring Universe franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting. Their purportedly real-life reports inspired The Amityville Horror story and film franchise. The Warrens come to the assistance of the Perron family, who experienced increasingly disturbing events in their newly occupied farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971.

Ralph Sarchie is a retired NYPD sergeant and traditionalist Catholic demonologist. He has written a book, Beware the Night, which details many of his paranormal investigations; his accounts were later the basis of the film Deliver Us from Evil. Sarchie, in 2016, was featured in the film Hostage to the Devil, which detailed the life of Malachi Martin.

<i>The Conjuring 2</i> 2016 American supernatural horror film

The Conjuring 2 is a 2016 American supernatural horror film, directed by James Wan. The screenplay is by Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes, Wan, and David Leslie Johnson. It is the sequel to 2013's The Conjuring, the second installment in The Conjuring series, and the third installment in The Conjuring Universe franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren from the first film. The film follows the Warrens as they travel to England to assist the Hodgson family, who are experiencing poltergeist activity at their Enfield council house in 1977 which later became referred to as the Enfield poltergeist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annabelle (doll)</span> Haunted doll and fictional character

Annabelle is an allegedly-haunted Raggedy Ann doll, housed in the now closed occult museum of the paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Annabelle was moved there after supposed hauntings in 1970. A character based on the doll is one of the antagonists that appear in The Conjuring Universe.

A haunted doll is a handmade or manufactured doll or stuffed animal that is claimed to be cursed or possessed in some way.

The Ammons haunting case, also known as the 200 Demons House or Demon House, is an alleged haunting and demonic possession which occurred in Gary, Indiana, in the United States in 2011. Latoya Ammons, her mother, Rosa Campbell, and her three children claimed paranormal activity occurred in the residence. The story was publicized in January 2014 and received national attention.

<i>The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It</i> 2021 American supernatural horror film

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves, with a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick from a story by Johnson-McGoldrick and James Wan. The film serves as a sequel to The Conjuring (2013) and The Conjuring 2 (2016), and as the seventh installment in The Conjuring Universe. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren, with Ruairi O'Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Julian Hilliard also starring. Wan and Peter Safran return to produce the film, which is based on the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, a murder trial that took place in 1981 Connecticut, in addition to The Devil in Connecticut, a book about the trial written by Gerald Brittle.

References

  1. ↑ Richardson, Jancy (5 March 2015). "Annabelle's Real - But The True Story of The Conjuring is Far More Terrifying". Movie Pilot. Archived from the original on 7 March 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  2. ↑ O'Boyle, Bill (2013-07-20). "Film's 'ghost hunters' also probed Smurl case in '86 - Times Leader". Times Leader. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  3. ↑ Ed Warren; Lorraine Warren; Robert Curran; Jack Smurl; Janet Smurl (4 October 2014). The Haunted: One Family's Nightmare. Graymalkin Media. pp. 169–. ISBN   978-1-63168-019-9.
  4. ↑ Scinto, Sarah. "Jack Smurl, famous for haunting story, dies at age 75", Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice, June 24, 2017
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Scientists wary about 'haunted' Pa. residence". Lakeland Ledger. Aug 22, 1986.
  6. ↑ James Paton. The Book of Ghosts, UFO's and the Unexplained. James Paton. pp. 15–. GGKEY:TUHK23W0TQH.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Delazio, Sheena (March 3, 2008). "A look back: Smurl family makes claims in 1985-86 about West Pittston residence". The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, PA 1. Archived from the original on 2008-03-05. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  8. ↑ Michael W. Cuneo (15 October 2002). American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in the Land of Plenty. Crown/Archetype. pp. 260–. ISBN   978-0-7679-1141-2.
  9. ↑ Tom Ogden (1999). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ghosts and Hauntings. Alpha Books. pp. 57–. ISBN   978-0-02-863659-7.
  10. ↑ Dennis William Hauck (2002). Haunted Places: The National Directory: Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings, and Other Supernatural Locations . Penguin. pp.  370–. ISBN   978-0-14-200234-6.
  11. ↑ "The Haunted (TV 1991)". Internet Movie DataBase. Retrieved 16 August 2011.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.