Latest news with #WestPittston
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Inside chilling TRUE story that inspired The Conjuring: Last Rites as first trailer for fourth film hits web
The fourth and final installment of the beloved Conjuring movies is coming in September... and horror fans will be thrilled to know it is based off a chilling true story. Warner Bros. unveiled the first look at the movie, called The Conjuring: Last Rites, on Thursday, and boy, does it look like it's going to be a wild ride. The horror flick is set to showcase another famous case that paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren - played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga - took on during their decades-long career. In the trailer, Ed and Lorraine explain that they have decided to put an end to their ghost hunting and retire - but when a desperate couple claiming that a demon is terrorizing their family comes begging for help, they agree to help out one last time. It turns out, the film was inspired by the harrowing Smurl haunting, which wreaked havoc on a small town in Pennsylvania in late 1970s and early 1980s. Jack and Janet Smurl moved into a stunning duplex home in the charming town of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, in 1973 with their two young daughters. But soon after arriving, the couple claimed that strange things started happening. They alleged that they started hearing loud bangs and smelling weird odors around the house. They claimed that things continuously worsened as time went on: their possessions began moving on their own, and things soon turned violent. They alleged that a force threw their dog against a wall and pushed one of their daughters down the stairs. Jack even claimed that he was sexually assaulted by the entity - which they believed to be a demon. 'A light fixture fell from the ceiling, cutting one of the daughters on impact. The family dog was thrown against the wall,' read a description of the events on the website of Ed and Lorraine's organization, which is now run by their daughter and son-in-law. 'Janet said she was picked up by an invisible presence, dangling some six feet in the air, and then tossed across the room. 'Jack claimed a succubus (female demon) entered the living room and raped him while a baseball game played on the TV. 'Even neighbors reported hearing screams from the house while the family was out.' In 1986, the couple called the Warrens in for help. They also went public with their story, which earned them immense media attention. According to reports, Ed told newspapers at the time that he witnessed furniture moving and saw 'dark shadows' during his visits to the house. The Smurl's alleged that the 'demon' threw their dog against a wall and pushed one of their daughters down the stairs. The family is seen in The Conjuring: Last Rites Ed and Lorraine's website states that after their investigation, they ultimately 'concluded that the Smurls shared their home with four spirits.' Stills from The Conjuring trailer are seen He also claimed that he felt a sudden drop in temperature and that the 'demon' left a message on the mirror that said 'get out.' Ed and Lorraine's website states that after their investigation, they ultimately 'concluded that the Smurls shared their home with four spirits: a harmless elderly woman, a young and possibly violent girl, a man who suffered and died in the home, and a demon that used the other three spirits to destroy the Smurl family.' Together, the Smurls and the Warrens teamed up to write a book about their experiences in the home, entitled The Haunted, which was later turned into a movie of the same name. In the end, the Smurls moved out of the home and a woman named Debra Owens bought it, and she claimed she 'never encountered anything supernatural while living there.' In The Conjuring: Last Rites, Janet and Jack will be played by Rebecca Calder and Elliot Cowan respectively. The film is set to hit theaters on September 5, 2025.
Geek Tyrant
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
THE CONJURING: LAST RITES Trailer Sends the Warrens into One Final Nightmare — GeekTyrant
Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for The Conjouring: Last Rites . This is the final film in The Conjouring franchise that will feature Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga and as Ed and Lorraine Warren, and it looks like it will tell a terrifying story! The Conjuring: Last Rites 'delivers another thrilling chapter of the iconic Conjuring cinematic universe, based on real events. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reunite for one last case as renowned, real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in a powerful and spine-chilling addition to the global box office-breaking franchise.' Set in 1986, five years after The Devil Made Me Do It , the Warrens are semi-retired, older, wearier, and grappling with Ed's worsening heart condition. This time around, the Warrens are drawn into one last case: the infamous Smurl family haunting. The Smurls, Janet and Jack (played by Rebecca Calder and Elliot Cowan), were reportedly plagued by a malevolent force that tormented their family, and the case became a national sensation. 'Janet and Jack Smurl moved their family into a duplex on Chase Street in West Pittston, Pa., in the 1970s. In the years that followed, the Smurls, including their young daughters and Jack's parents, claimed to experience supernatural occurrences ranging from strange odors and voices all the way to ghostly molestations.' The Smurls appeared on TV programs such as Larry King Live and Entertainment Tonight and 'made it one of the more publicized cases of supernatural activity, but it also gave skeptics ammunition to say they sold out for the public spotlight. The story became the subject of the book The Haunted: One Family's Nightmare (1986) and a 1991 made-for-TV movie starring Sally Kirkland.' Farmiga and Wilson star alongside Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy, who portray Ed and Lorraine's daughter Judy Warren and her boyfriend, Tony Spera, as well as Steve Coulter returning as Father Gordon, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Beau Gadsdon, John Brotherton and Shannon Kook. Franchise veteran Michael Chaves directs from a screenplay by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, who came up with the story with James Wan. The movie will haunt theaters on September 5th.
