The Bell Witch
From Wikipedia
The Bell Witch haunting is the name given to a series of disturbing and allegedly inexplicable, real events associated with the family of Adams Station, Tennessee (Robertson County) settler John Bell, between 1817 and 1821.
Many of the events associated with and phenomena attributed to the Bell Witch were allegedly witnessed and documented by hundreds of people (among them future President of the United States Andrew Jackson) and the episode represents one of the most famous instances of a haunting in history. It is thought to have been an influence on the fictional film The Blair Witch Project.
The Bell Witch is believed by some to be the spirit of Kate Batts, an old neighbor of John Bell who believed she was cheated by him in a land purchase. She swore on her deathbed to get even and after she died, the haunting began. Modern researchers have found, however, that Mrs. Batts actually outlived Mr. Bell.
The "witch" reportedly manifested herself as an invisible presence that conversed, sang and physically interacted with the Bell family and other witnesses - sometimes with a high degree of physical violence.
She tormented some of the family, especially John and his youngest daughter Betsy, while being indifferent to others and even kind to Mrs. Bell.
The Bell Witch is said to have stopped Betsy from marrying a neighbor boy named Joshua Gardner, but for reasons unknown, allowed her to marry her schoolteacher Richard Powell. This leads some to claim that perhaps the haunting events were a hoax perpetrated by Powell.
The death of John Bell, on December 20, 1820, is claimed to have been caused by the Bell Witch. She is said to have declared that she replaced his medicine with poison and gave him a dose of it as he slept. At his funeral, the witch is said to have sung loudly and joyously.
Some claim that the Bell Witch still haunts the area on the property once owned by the Bells. On that land is a cave, which has since become known as the Bell Witch Cave, and some people claim that paranormal activity takes place in it.
[edit]
Published accounts
The earliest written account is in the Goodspeed History of Tennessee published in 1886. No author is given, although Albert Virgil Goodpasture (1855-1942) is a suspected author. Page 833 reads:
A remarkable occurrence, which attracted wide-spread interest, was connected with the family of John Bell, who settled near what is now Adams Station about 1804. So great was the excitement that people came from hundreds of miles around to witness the manifestations of what was popularly known as the "Bell Witch." This witch was supposed to be some spiritual being having the voice and attributes of a woman. It was invisible to the eye, yet it would hold conversation and even shake hands with certain individuals. The freaks if performed were wonderful and seemingly designed to annoy the family. It would take the sugar from the bowls, spill the milk, take the quilts from the beds, slap and pinch the children, and then laugh at the discomfiture of its victims. At first it was supposed to be a good spirit, but its subsequent acts, together with the curses with which it supplemented its remarks, proved the contrary. A volume might be written concerning the performance of this wonderful being, as they are now described by contemporaries and their descendants. That all this actually occurred will not be disputed, nor will a rational explanation be attempted. It is merely introduced as an example of superstition, strong in the minds of all but a few in those times, and yet not wholly extinct.
The most famous account is the Red Book, the 1894 An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch of Tennessee by Martin Van Buren Ingram (said to be based on the earlier Richard William Bell's Diary: Our Family Trouble) who lists the following people as witnesses:
* General Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the US
* Joel Thomas Bell, son of John Bell, Jr.
* Rev. Joshua Featheton
* Dr. J.T. Mathews
* Mr. E. Newton
* R.H. Pickering
* J. Gunn
* D. T. Porter
* J.I Holman
* Wm Wall
* W.H. Gardner
The Black Book was written much later, and published in 1934 by Dr. Charles Bailey Bell great-grandson of John Bell.