The Alleged Smurl Family Haunting pt 1
Morbid
08/07/23
•60m
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On August 19, 1986, a curious news item appeared in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader regarding the home of West Pittston, PA family Jack and Janet Smurl. The couple claimed, for more than eighteen months their home had been a battleground of spiritual warfare that included everything from ghosts wandering the halls and tormenting the family dog to demons attacking the children and even sexually assaulting the adults in the house.The article in the Times Leader began a weeks-long fascination with the family and their ordeal, drawing reporters from all over Pennsylvania and the surrounding states, and eventually attracting the attention of self-proclaimed demonologist and psychic medium Ed and Lorraine Warren. At first, the Smurls' claims of demonic infestation were taken seriously by the church, many members of the press, and countless of the Smurls neighbors. As time wore on, however, the inability of both the Smurls and the Warren’s to produce any evidence of their supposed haunting led many to believe the claims were just a hoax perpetrated by the family for attention and fame.
Thank you to David White for research assistance
References
Citizen's Voice. 2017. John James Smurl obituary. June 23. Accessed July 5, 2023. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/citizensvoice/name/john-smurl-obituary?id=15953106.
—. 1986. "Ghosdt briefing turns into shouting match." The Citizen's Voice, August 26: 5.
—. 1986. "Haunted family nregotiating movie deal." The Citizen's Voice, September 6: 2.
Collins, Jim. 1986. "West Pittston Mystery: Is basis murder or mishmash." Scranton Times, August 22: 3.
—. 1986. "If you like sideshows, there's one close to home." Times-Tribune, August 31: 23.
—. 1986. "Screen exorcist Jason Miller visits site of demonic doings." Times-Tribune, August 22: 3.
Corbett, Steve. 1986. "Family: Home is under siege by evil spirits." Times Leader, August 19: 1.
Curran, Robert. 1988. The Haunted: One Family's Nightmare. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.
—. 1986. "Brain surgery revelation casts demon dwelling doubts." The Scrantonia, August 24: 15.
—. 1986. "Smurls credit prayers of many with cleansing house of demons." The Tribune, October 27: 3.
DeAndrea, Francis. 1986. "Different kind of scare job." Times-Tribune, August 30: 3.
Kurtz, Paul. 1987. "A case study of the West Pittston 'haunted' house." The Skeptical Inquirer 11 (Winter): 137-146.
Lancaster New Era. 1986. "Scientists, priest skeptical about 'demons' in house." Lancaster New Era, August 23: 1.
Morning Call. 1986. "Demons: Exorcisms fail to end family's nightmare." The Morning Call, August 22: 3.
Porter, Jill. 1986. "A demon by any other name." Philadelphia Daily News, August 29: 2.
Rotstein, Gary. 1986. "Bedeviled: Town is divided over 'haunted' family." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 25: 1.
Shurmaitis, Dawn. 1986. "Demonologist says family is 'under attack'." Times Leader, August 19: 12.
Singleton, David. 1986. "Publicity has cost haunted family." Danville News, August 23: 1.
Trosky, Pat. 1986. "Are ghosts haunting West Pittston family?" Citizen's Voice, August 20: 3.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Previous Episode
The Murders of Jennifer Corbin and Dolly Hearn- Part 2
August 3, 2023
•44m
The more Gwinnett County detectives dug into Bart Corbin’s life and history, the more convinced they were that the forty-year-old dentist wasn’t just responsible for the death of his wife, but also for the death of his girlfriend nearly a decade and a half earlier. For two years Corbin denied any involvement in the deaths, insisting both women had killed themselves. Then, just days before his trial was to begin, he shocked everyone by pleading guilty to both murders in exchange for two life sentences with the possibility of parole after fifteen years.
Thank you so much to David White for research assistance :)
References
Atlanta Journal Constitution. 2006. "Timeline of events in Barton Corbin's case." The Atlanta Journal Constitution, September 17.
Bentley, Rosalind. 2004. "Corbin arrest is 'hard'." The Atlanta Journal-Constituion , December 23.
Bentley, Rosalind, and Lateef Mungin. 2006. "Barton Corbin case: How they nailed him." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 17.
Bentley, Rosalind, Lateef Mungin, and Beth Warren. 2006. "Guilty guilty: Corbin pleads." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 16.
Bruner, Tasgola Karla. 2004. "The Corbin case: Med-school girlfriend was fearful." Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 16.
—. 2004. "Parallels revive case of Augusta tragedy." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 13.
—. 2004. "Similarities in 'suicides' are haunting ." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 16.
Bruner, Tasgola Karla, and John Ghirardini. 2004. "Dentist main 'focus'." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 13.
Glatt, John. 2007. The Doctor's Wife: A True Story of Marriage, Deception and Two Grusom Deaths.New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.
Hansen, Jane. 2006. "Dolly's truth: To her family, her death in 1990 was never a mystery." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 15.
Mungin, Lateef. 2004. "Dacula man sought after wife's shooting." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 8.
—. 2004. "Death called homicide, not suicide." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 8.
—. 2004. "Dentist's kin to testify before grand jury today." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 15.
Rankin, Bill, and Bill Topry. 2005. "Corbin faces double danger." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 9.
Stafford, Rob. 2006. Death and the Dentist. October 18. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna15253153.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Next Episode
The Alleged Smurl Family Haunting pt 2
August 10, 2023
•66m
On August 19, 1986, a curious news item appeared in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader regarding the home of West Pittston, PA family Jack and Janet Smurl. The couple claimed, for more than eighteen months their home had been a battleground of spiritual warfare that included everything from ghosts wandering the halls and tormenting the family dog to demons attacking the children and even sexually assaulting the adults in the house.The article in the Times Leader began a weeks-long fascination with the family and their ordeal, drawing reporters from all over Pennsylvania and the surrounding states, and eventually attracting the attention of self-proclaimed demonologist and psychic medium Ed and Lorraine Warren. At first, the Smurls' claims of demonic infestation were taken seriously by the church, many members of the press, and countless of the Smurls neighbors. As time wore on, however, the inability of both the Smurls and the Warren’s to produce any evidence of their supposed haunting led many to believe the claims were just a hoax perpetrated by the family for attention and fame.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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