Quote from Angela on March 4, 2022, 5:38 pm

• “When dealing with the demonic there is an important point to remember. Disbelief and doubt are the shrouds under which the Devil is able to carry out its work. I say ‘its’ and not ‘his’ because there are many devils. 

Whilst the existence of evil remains hidden behind a veil of human logic and reason, its actions persists without intervention. Only through faith can we understand, and ultimately conquer, the Devil. 

Cloaked in skepticism and doubt, the Devil will freely roam our plain of existence carrying out its objective, seeking to destroy the faithful, and in doing so destroy faith altogether.  Perhaps then, the intense faith of the Smurl family is what made them targets of attacks, and perhaps it was their faith which pulled them through it all’.

(excerpt from the book ‘The Haunted - One Familys Nightmare’) written by Robert Curran, in  conjunction with the Warrens and the Smurls, documenting the demonic attack suffered by the Smurl family during during the 1980s.

To enjoy your own copy of The Haunted, please reference the purchase link at the end of this article.

The Smurls were the perfect all American family. They lived in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, and during the 1970s/1980s they fell under severe demonic attack. Many have asked what did they do in order to be horrifically targeted by such malevolent entities?

Well the answer is that they did nothing wrong at all. Ed Warren states that such people are known as ‘the Chosen ones’ and that God wants to demonstrate His power and prevalence over evil, by overcoming it.

We do know that Satan does not bother with those who cannot affect his plans or those who lack faith. Those are easy targets, but those WITH a strong faith are a danger to him. The Smurls were devout Roman Catholics with unmovable faith and that right there may have been the trigger, the attraction to the Smurls. They prayed a lot, had rosary beads, went to mass. Satan likes to destroy faith because he hates God.

Let’s take a look at just a few things the Smurl family encountered during this period.

Jack and Janet Smurl stated that ‘each day brought new terrors’.

The unexplained phenomenon first began in 1973, occurrences such as doors opening and closing, whisperings, things moving unaided and mysterious bite marks on their flesh. 

The Warrens claim that when people begin seeing and hearing such things, this will often indicate the beginning of a haunting, and usually gravitates towards those with some level of telepathy. This is just the beginning, those spirits will eventually come through much stronger.

This is referred to as the infestation period of a demonic attack. These forces don’t attack immediately, they circle you like a shark attack, and only when they are sure of their prey will they attack. And whilst emerging, they enjoy instilling fear, an energy they will later feed on in order to manifest.

Succubus Attack

A succubus is a demonic entity who appears as a female and will attack males in a sexual manner. An incubus will attack females in the same way. Ed Warren says they are horrendous, rape like, attacks.

Jack told of the most terrifying night of his life when a succubus attacked him. The entity mounted Jack, dominantly, and began jerking back and forth. The harder he tried to free himself, the stronger the force against him became. ‘Her skin was so white, but parts were covered in scales, long white scraggly hair, inside her mouth was green and she had vampire like teeth’.

Ed Warren explains that this is not a SHE but it is a demon and has never walked the earth.

Jack explains in the book (The Haunted) just how badly all this affected his life “to be honest i even hate to think about it”.

Janet Smurl was choked multiple times by an invisible force.

The oppression stage often presents itself next, where the devil attempts to enter your mind, your thoughts. Many become depressed, suffer mental health issues.

The Warrens, who were fervent Roman Catholics, state ‘this is why it is so vital you have your faith to cling to’. Sadly, the church did not want to get involved to do with demons. The Smurls had attended mass every week, for many years. However, Lorraine Warren quotes ‘i encouraged them not to lose their faith and not once did they waver’.

Arrangements were made by the Smurls for a Roman Catholic Priest from Connecticut, named Father McKenna, to come to the home and perform an exorcism. Some months later the activity returned. Father McKenna repeated the exorcisms and house blessings. The strong hold that these demons had on the Smurl family is known as one of the strongest ever known, spanning a whole decade.

Terrified, and not knowing how to make these things stop, they sought outside help.

In 1986 a local Professor advised they contact Ed and Lorraine Warren.

In order to help the Smurls, the Warrens requested guidance from the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinal Ratzinger, at the Vatican, was the only man willing to honorably step in and assist. The Warrens said that God works in wonderful ways. The Catholic Church in Rome intervened, Ratzinger sent an exorcist to the home.

The exorcism was performed and the Smurls never encountered any evil forces again.

Did the Warrens aiding a suffering family somehow anger devils? Of course it did.

Satan hates when people reveal his lies, his tactics, because when people know these things they can prepare, plan and retaliate. The Warrens believe that evil forces detest prayers, rosary beads, worship hymns and the name Jesus being proclaimed out loud.

And these are exactly the things that the Warrens set about to do in order to drawer out evil and send it back to whence it came from.

The Warrens were not about fame, they were about helping folks. In actual fact, it is thought that revealing evil can come with great consequence. As they travelled to the Smurl residence, their car was hit, head on, and Ed lost control of the car. They later discovered the exact spot their car was hit was right outside the Professors house. 

The most powerful lines of defence against evil are faith, knowledge and wisdom.

And if there are any doubts that true evil exists, it would serve well to banish those doubts.

Quaerite Veritatem (Latin: Seek truth)

Why did people chose the Warrens when dealing with matters of a paranormal nature?

Here are words from some of those who were helped by the Warrens:

 “all other avenues of seeking help will prove nothing but fantastical rewrites of documentations. The Warrens are a divine match, and when they entered a room people described a unique atmosphere and that they had a real humble sincere presence. Ed is a certified demonologist and Lorraine a medium psychic. The hand of God himself surely played a role in these two coming together so that they could help others’.

Please feel free to visit our Boise City Ghost Hunters Live Chat room for anyone interested in further discussion on any of our topics, or to put forward any questions you may have.