Initially, the episodes were benign. Tools went missing then reappeared; old wall stains seeped through fresh coats of paint. Then the kitchen appliances caught fire even though they were unplugged, and awful odors overwhelmed the house, only to disperse moments later. At first, the home seemed to be a good move for the family. Jack was promoted at work, the kids were excelling in school, the in-laws were happy.  But that didn’t last long.  Soon, the Smurls were struggling to make ends meet. Mary, Jack’s mother, suffered a heart attack. The ghostly visits, meanwhile, intensified. Mary and Janet claimed to have perceived voices that sounded like one another: Janet thought she heard her mother-in-law calling her name, while Mary thought she heard Janet and Jack in the throes of an argument laden with expletives. Ominous black masses formed and floated through the home. Janet said she was visited in the dead of night by a malevolent force that molested her in her sleep. Then Jack started experiencing the horror in his home. Lying in bed with Janet, he heard someone whispering, a young woman it seemed. When he turned to face his wife, he watched the shadowy figure run up her leg. After that night, life in the Smurl house grew darker.