Demonic Attacks and Media Frenzy: The True Story Behind The Conjuring: Last Rites

In 2025, the upcoming film The Conjuring: Last Rites is set to close the first era of the popular horror franchise. This time, the focus is on one of the most disturbing cases investigated by renowned paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren: the haunting of the Smurl family in Pennsylvania in the 1980s.

The Smurl family's ordeal began in 1985, when they started experiencing strange occurrences in their home, including disappearing tools, electrical problems, and a foul smell of sulfur and rot. Over the next year and a half, the activity only grew more violent, with a hanging light crashing onto one of the children, their German shepherd being thrown against a wall, and their daughters being pushed down the stairs. The family even claimed that a demonic shadow sexually assaulted the father, Jack Smurl.

Desperate for help, the Smurls turned to the Catholic Church, but the priests' blessings did nothing to stop the paranormal activity. That's when the Warrens stepped in, vowing to take on this as their final case. The Warrens believed the Smurls were "The Chosen," targeted by four entities, including the spirit of an old woman, a violent young girl, a man who had died in the home, and a demon controlling the others.

Despite the Warrens' efforts, the haunting could not be fully resolved, and the Smurl family's ordeal became a national media sensation. The case remains one of the most widely discussed paranormal events, with skeptics still debating whether it was real or simply a result of stress, health issues, or family tensions.