Jack And Janet Smurl May 2026

Here’s a short piece written for : For Jack and Janet Smurl

That takes a different kind of courage.

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). jack and janet smurl

Some names become tied to places. For Jack and Janet Smurl, that place was 246 Chase Street in West Pittston, Pennsylvania—a modest duplex where they raised their family and ran a small business repairing appliances. They were ordinary people: hardworking, unassuming, deeply rooted in their Catholic faith and their community. Here’s a short piece written for : For

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. Some names become tied to places

Whether you accept the supernatural elements or lean toward more skeptical explanations (sleep paralysis, suggestion, household contamination, or stress-induced hallucinations), the Smurls’ story remains a compelling human document: a couple tested beyond normal limits, clinging to faith, family, and each other in the dark.

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.