LOCATION--------The original Bell farmhouse was built in Robertson County, Tennessee, near the Kentucky state line and the Red River. Today, the house is gone, but the Tennessee Historical Commission has placed a marker along U.S. Highway 41 identifying the edge of the Bell property. A gravel road leads from the highway to the former site of the home, where a mounment in memory of the Bell family has been erected. A cave on the property, also believed to be haunted, can be found overlooking the Red River.
NUMBER OF GHOSTLY RESIDENTS-------At least one, and possibly as many as four.
IDENTITIES OF GHOSTLY RESIDENTS--------The Bell Witch, also known as Kate or Kate Batts. Other ghosts may include John, Betsy, and Richard Bell.
TYPE OF ACTIVITY-------Classic poltergeist activity of every kind, including invisible attacks, and a disturbing disembodied voice. More recent phenomena have included ghost lights and at least one apparition.
DEMEANOR OF GHOSTLY RESIDENTS-------Incredibly vengeful and potentially dangerous. The central ghost, the Bell Witch, attack specific individuals with a terrible fury. The other ghosts are probably harmless.
THE STORY-------The Bell haunting is one of the most important cases in the field of supernaturalism, because it is perhaps the most thoroughly documented example of poltergeist activity and one of the few recorded instances in which a poltergeist has actually committed murder. The ghostly happenings effected the entire Bell family--John, Lucy, and their nine children--and were witnessed by many family friends and other outsiders, including President Andrew Jackson.
The hauntings began in 1817 after John Bell noticed a strange doglike creature lurking in his cornfields. When he fired upon the animal, it simply vanished before Bell's eyes. Soon, however, the Bell household was plagued by an invisible stranger who rapped and scraped against the walls of the house, as if trying to gain access. Eventually the spirit did find it's way into the home, where it gnawed on bedposts, kicked the ceiling, knocked over furniture, and pulled unseen chains across the floor. Within, a year after the spook's arrived, the Bell house was constantly under siege by a din of unexplained noises.
Eventually, the poltergeist escalated to committing unpredictable and sudden acts of violence, such as striking visitors directly in the face. Several of the Bell's nine children reported that as they tried to sleep at night, the spirit slapped them or pulled their hair. Furthermore, whenever the Bell brood left for school, they found themselves in a hail of rocks and sticks. The poltergeist especially enjoyed tormenting twelve-year old Betsy Bell, who experienced convulsion and fainting spells as the hauntings grew more intense. She also began hearing a disembodied voice, which seemed to grow closer each day.
Finally, the poltergeist announced itself to the entire family, introducing itself as simply "the Witch" and promising to plague poor John Bell forever. Almost immediately, it began carry out this oath. John experienced a long succession of beatings, at least one of which left his jaw and tongue too swollen for speech. The Witch voice's filled the house for all hours, screaming, quoting Scripture, or threatening to murder John.
Throughout the hauntings, the ghost was never conclusively identified, although the family eventually began calling her Kate. It was suspected that the spirit was the tormented soul of Kate Batts, a native of Halifax, North Carolina. Although Kate was surly and disagreeable, Bell had fallen in love with her while living in Halifax. He even proposed marriage, but for unknown reasons the wedding never occurred. In the late 1770s, Kate's lifeless body was found alongside a well near her home. Her mysterious death was never adequately explained, but John Bell recovered fairly quickly from the loss and married Lucy soon after Kate's funeral. The newlyweds promptly relocated to Tennessee, where their troubles with the poltergeist began. It is possible, although unlikely, that Kate was murdered by Bell after he realized the he could not possibly spend the rest of his life with the moody woman. If this theory is true, Kate returned from the grave in search of vengeance. However, it is more probable that Kate died of natural causes but became even more cantankerous after death. Thus, she left obliged to deprive Bell of any happiness simply out of pure malice.
Regardless of her true identity or motives, news of the Bell Witch spread and witnesses from all over the country began to visit the home. Many experienced the bizarre happenings and were often punched or kicked by the Witch. In desperation, John Bell implored his family minister, James Johnson, to perform an exorcism on the house. Johnson agreed, but the ritual seemed to have little effect and Kate continued to plague the home. Unable to admit defeat, Johnson encouraged the parishioners to stand vigil within the Bell home and document any ghostly encounters. The God-fearing folk agreed, but their presence did little to deter the Witch. During the following weeks, Kate's activities only intensified until few of Johnson's flock would dare to step foot inside the house. Even President Andrew Jackson arrived on the scene to confront the spirit, but he too fled after dishes and large pieces of furniture were hurled at him.
Slowly, John Bell began to unravel. He suffered from uncontrollable twitching and was bedridden for months at a time. Meanwhile, his wife Lucy was pelted by fruit and nuts that hailed down from the empty air, and three of his sons endured nightly attacks. When Betsy turned fifteen and became engaged to a neighbor, the Witch whispered to her endlessly until she was forced to call off the marriage.
The Ball Witch campaign against John Bell became even more murderous when the spirit switched his tonic with poison. This assassination attempt was thwarted, but on December 19, 1820, John was found in a mysterious stupor from which he could not be roused. The attending doctor heard the Witch announce the Bell would soon be dead, and in fact he passed away the very next day. At the funeral, the sadistic Witch's lilting voice was heard singing "Row me up some brandy, O."
About a month after John's death, the Witch mysteriously disappeared, but not to before swearing to return in seven years. In 1828, the spirit did visit the house again, when only Lucy and her two sons, remained in the home. It made a halfhearted attempt to torment the trio for about two weeks, the announced it's departure. However, it again made an oath to reappear once every 107 years. This arbitrary number seems ill suited to the ghost, for it was reported in 1852 and 1861. In 1935, when it should have actually revealed itself again, no one caught sight of the spirit, although several Bell descendants did suffer tragic deaths.
Today, the Bell House is no more--it was burned to the ground by frightened neighbors long ago--but the site is still overrun by ghostly activity. Where the house once stood, visitors sometimes spot floating ghost lights or hear eerie screams and the sounds of chains rattling. The 1980s brought a series of encounters with a raven-hair woman, who silently floats over sections of the property before disappearing into the mist. The portion of U.S. Highway 41 nearest the Bell House site is said to be haunted by a young female ghost who suddenly appears in front of panicked motorists and passes through their cars. The ominous Bell Witch Cave, which overlooks Red River from the cliff on the Bell property, is also rumored to possess a strange aura and play home to at least one active spirit, perhaps Kate herself.
Like the Bell Witch, the current ghosts have not been identified. It is highly likely that the malevolent presence known as Kate is still lurking in the site. John Bell, deprived of a long and happy life by his tormentor, has probably found his way back home as well. One of the specters could also be Betsy Bell, who died in Mississippi at eighty-six, but seemed to suffer the most from her family's ghostly visitor. Richard Bell was profoundly disturbed by the hauntings and his father untimely death, as revealed in his book Our Family Troubles, and he too may visit the site from time to time in ghostly form.
Finding the Bell House is relatively easy. Simply take U.S. Highway 41 north from Nashville until you reach the Adams. As you near the Kentucky state line, you will encounter a road marker near a gravel road, which signals the start of the Bell property. Follow the gravel road to a mounment commemorating the Bell family, and you will find yourself standing at the very site where John Bell was tormented. Spooky tours of the Bell Witch Cave can also be arranged.
Once you have reached the property, you can attempt contact with the Bell Witch by calling for it's attention, either verbally or through a Quija board or similar device. You might attract and befriend the spirit by loudly condemning John Bell as an evil, hateful man (although this will do little to endear you to locals). In addition, if the spirit's promise holds true, it will reappear in 2042, and those ghost hunters who have yet to join their quarry would do well to visit the site numerous times that year. Addressing any other Bells, especially by reminiscing about the life and great deeds of John Bell, may also prove useful when exploring the property. As with many other ghosts should be made at night and be accompanied by the burning of candles or incense.
If a ghost does appear, be on guard. The Bell Witch has shown considerable contempt for human life and possesses powers that far exceed those of normal poltergeists. It you engender this spirit's wrath. you could be forced to endure a most horrible haunting.
This story is not mine. I found in a book called The Field Guide To North American Hauntings. It can be checked out at all librarys. I read it and though it would be interesting to post it. Hope you enjoyed it! :o)! |
