In this review of The Conjuring: Last Rites, Kenny Biddle examines the film's claim to be "inspired" by the Smurl family haunting and finds that it bears virtually no resemblance to the documented case. Drawing on interviews, contemporary reporting, and the book The Haunted, he details how Ed and Lorraine Warren promoted sensational claims while offering no physical evidence and blocking scientific scrutiny. Biddle argues that the film abandons the historical record in favor of fictional mythology, turning a dubious real-life case into a self-serving supernatural spectacle.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2026/02/the-uninspired-conjuring-last-rites/

About the Author:

Kenny Biddle is the Chief Investigator of Paranormal Claims for CSI. A former ghost hunter turned skeptic, he now examines various extraordinary claims, photographic & video anomalies, and "ghost hunting" gadgets to uncover the real-world explanations behind them. He is a CSI Fellow, columnist, producer, speaker, host of the CFI video series "Ghosts in the Machine," and host of The Skeptical Help Bar livestream.

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