Jack and Janet Smurl were devout Catholics who moved into the double-block house with their young daughters. For the first few years, the disturbances were minor—the kind of things many people dismiss as the "quirks" of an old house. They reported hearing tools clinking, smelling unexplained foul odors (often described as rotting meat), and noticing stains that would reappear on walls despite being cleaned or painted over.
Looking back at the case today, the Smurl haunting serves as a Rorschach test for the observer. For skeptics, it is a textbook case of mass hysteria or a desperate cry for help from a struggling family. For believers, it is one of the most terrifying and well-documented cases of demonic oppression in modern history.
The Smurls reported that the "entity" in their home began to manifest physically. Heavy furniture, including a television set, was reportedly lifted and thrown. Janet claimed she was pulled off her bed, and Jack reported being physically assaulted by an invisible force.
By the mid-1980s, however, the activity escalated from nuisance to terror. The Escalation of Violence
What made the Smurls’ case linger wasn’t just the alleged violence of the haunting. It was their refusal to become caricatures. Jack, a former Marine, spoke with plainspoken sincerity. Janet, a mother of five, described their fear without theatricality. They didn’t seek fame; they sought relief—and later, simply to be believed.
By 1986, the story broke into the mainstream media. The Smurls appeared on national television, and their story was eventually adapted into the 1991 made-for-TV movie The Haunted .
: Jack and Janet lived on one side with their four daughters (Dawn, Heather, and later twin daughters Sharon and Carin). Jack’s parents, John and Mary, occupied the other side of the double-block home. The Paranormal Phenomena
The Warrens arrived in 1986 and quickly declared the home the site of a powerful "inhuman spirit"—a demon. They conducted rituals and blessings, but the tension in the home remained thick.
skeptical arguments raised by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry? AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses Copy Creating a public link... You can now share this thread with others Good response Bad response 12 sites Smurl haunting - Wikipedia The Smurls' claims gained wide press attention and were investigated by demonologists who encouraged the family to believe that de... Wikipedia The Smurl Haunting: True Crime or Mass Hysteria? - Medium Nov 12, 2025 —
In the annals of American paranormal history, few cases bridge the gap between quiet domestic life and Hollywood spectacle quite like the Smurl family haunting. Before the streaming documentaries and the ghost-hunting reality shows of the 21st century, there was Jack and Janet Smurl—a blue-collar couple from West Pittston, Pennsylvania, whose claims of a demonic infestation captivated the nation in the mid-1980s.
But in the mid-1980s, their home became the setting for one of the most documented and debated haunting cases in American history. The Smurls reported a cascade of phenomena: foul odors, disembodied voices, shadowy figures, physical assaults, and the apparition of a dark, menacing entity they called “the old man.” Their ordeal drew in clergy, paranormal investigators, journalists, and eventually the filmmakers behind The Haunting in Connecticut (which, though loosely based on their story, changed key details).
For Jack (who passed away in 2006) and Janet (who has largely retreated from public life), their legacy is a reminder that hauntings aren’t just about ghosts. They’re about the people who live through the long, unglamorous nights afterward—and still manage to say the rosary, fix the furnace, and raise their children.