The Story Of The Bell Witch, The Freaky Spirit That Haunted This Tennessee Family For 3 Years In The 1800s
In the early 1800s, the Bell family of Robertson County, Tennessee, lived on a farm and led a relatively normal existence. Then, in 1817, an extraordinary force changed their lives forever.
That year, an evil spirit dubbed the Bell Witch appeared to haunt rural farmer John Bell. And though her antics started out as harmless, she would later become extremely violent and even claim John’s life.
The Bell Witch Makes Her Appearance
One afternoon in 1817, John Bell was working in his Red River, Tennessee, corn field when he spotted a strange-looking creature. He said it resembled a dog with the head of a rabbit. But, after he shot at it, it disappeared– so he did not give the creature another thought.
Later that evening, though, John and his family sat down for dinner and began hearing bizarre knocking sounds coming from outside their home. Nonetheless, after John’s sons ran outside to inspect the noise, they found nothing.
These two unexplainable occurrences kicked off the Bell Witch’s relentless presence in the Bell family’s home. And over the following weeks, John and his wife, Lucy, and their children would continue to hear unfathomable noises and see apparitions.
First, one of John’s sons reported spotting a bird of “extraordinary size.” Then, his daughter, Betsy, freakily saw a little girl wearing a green dress swinging from their oak tree.
Plus, as time passed, these random sightings and noises became much more common and even turned violent.
The Bell family would hear incessant knocking, choking noises, dogs fighting, and the sound of chains being dragged all throughout their home.
kharchenkoirina – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purpose only, not the actual person
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Sleep With One Eye Open
Then, at one point, the Bell Witch began to torment the children in their own bedrooms. The spirit first began by ripping the sheets off of their beds. Afterward, she escalated to scratching them and pulling their hair during the night.
And the Bell Witch always targeted Betsy the most. The daughter had to endure pinching, slapping and was sometimes even stuck with pins. Betsy would even wake up with large red hand prints and welts covering her body.
But, the spirit claimed she would not stop terrorizing the Bell family until Betsy broke up with her boyfriend, Joshua Gardner, and until John himself was dead.
John eventually confided in a friend, James Johnston, about the bizarre experiences occurring within the four walls of his home. James was intrigued by the tales and reportedly even stayed at the Bell farm for a few nights. And after James’ stay, the haunting of the Bell Witch was confirmed to be true.
News Of The Bell Witch Spreads
There are a few theories regarding who exactly the Bell Witch was. One states that the Bell family built their farm upon a Native American burial ground and disturbed a spirit.
Another points to a conversation the Bell family allegedly had with the spirit. Apparently, when they asked the spirit her name, she said she was the witch of Kate Batts– a peculiar old neighbor.
The spirit’s identity never being confirmed did not matter, though– because once the community learned of the Bell family’s curse, news of the witch began to spread like wildfire.
Soon, the Bell family farm began attracting people from throughout the southern U.S. who wanted to experience the Bell Witch and all of her antics for themselves.
And one of the people who supposedly made the trek to Tennessee was even future United States President Andrew Jackson.
Andrew Jackson’s Bell Witch Encounter
In 1819, then-General Andrew Jackson heard many tales about the Bell Witch through the grapevine before finally deciding to inspect the Bell family home himself.
But, as soon as he and his buddies arrived on the farm’s property, one of their wagon’s wheels immediately became completely stuck. And despite how hard they pushed, the wheels simply would not turn.
Jackson declared this as his first encounter with the spirit but still continued on with the goal of sleeping at the farm. His men, on the other hand, would later come to beg for mercy.
That evening, while Jackson and his crew were sitting around, one of the men began flaunting his reputation as a “witch tamer.” The man also claimed to have a silver bullet that could kill any malevolent spirit.
As soon as those words left his mouth, though, the man supposedly jumped up and began wailing. He was being pinpricked and beaten by the Bell Witch.
And according to legend, the spirit even spoke outright to tell the men that another “fraud” would be revealed the next day. After that, everyone begged Jackson to leave– but he refused to retreat without at least staying one evening.
What exactly happened after that incident has remained unclear in history. But, one thing is for sure– Jackson sped out of town first thing the following morning.
Some villagers even quoted Jackson as saying, “I would rather fight the British at New Orleans than fight the Bell Witch.”
John Bell Dies At The Hands Of The Bell Witch
Since she first made her appearance in 1817, the Bell Witch continued haunting the Bell family until 1820. The spirit eventually began answering to the name “Kate” and, even though she particularly terrorized John and Betsy, seemed to especially like John’s wife, Lucy.
The Bell Witch even reportedly brought Lucy fresh fruit while ill and always complimented her appearance.
Nonetheless, John’s body underwent a serious toll as the hauntings continued. He began to experience strange facial muscle twitches that eventually progressed to tingling sensations, migraines, fatigue, and even seizures.
Then, by December of 1820, John even slipped into an unexpected coma. And on December 20, he died in his home.
The Bell family later found a never-before-seen vial of dark liquid in their kitchen cupboard. No one knew where it came from or how it ever got inside their home.
But, after John Bell Jr. decided to test the liquid by placing a drop on his cat’s tongue, the cat dropped dead on the spot. And afterward, the Bell Witch’s voice reportedly echoed throughout the house.
“I gave ol’ Jack a big dose of that last night, which fixed him!” the spirit reportedly claimed.
Then, John Jr. said he threw the vial into the fireplace, which burst into a blue flame.
The Bell Witch Disappears
After John died, the spirit was able to give her full attention to Betsy. So whenever Betsy spent time with her then-fiancé, Joshua, the spirit was not far behind.
In fact, the Bell Witch would pull Betsy’s hair and beat her in front of Joshua. She would also reportedly scream curses and threats at the couple.
But, by March of 1921, Betsy just could not stand it anymore. She finally called off her engagement with Joshua– which made the Bell Witch disappear once and for all.
Before she left, though, the spirit apparently visited Lucy one last time. The Bell Witch claimed she would be back in seven years, and in 1828, John Jr. confirmed that she make a reappearance.
The spirit reportedly stayed at his home for three days and discussed events of the past, present, and future.
And at the end of that visit, the Bell Witch claimed to return in exactly one hundred and seven years. However, there are no records of her appearance in 1935.
Nonetheless, some of John Bell’s descendants have claimed to be haunted by the Bell Witch, too. They have cited seeing strange-looking black dogs and eerily giggling girls running through their homes– much like the original tale.
Theories Of The Bell Witch
Despite the haunting of Bell Witch being dubbed “America’s greatest ghost story,” many have also tried to explain the bizarre years-long terrors the Bell family endured.
One theory involves Betsy’s school teacher, Richard Powell– who was eleven years older than her but apparently also madly in love with her. The teacher was also known to be skilled in ventriloquism, horticulture, and the occult.
So, some have proposed that he may have played out this elaborate scheme in order to encourage Betsy to break up with Joshua. This theory is also supported by the fact that after Betsy did break off her engagement, she later married Richard.
But, a more modern and perhaps plausible theory involves medical illness. In fact, an Austin Peay State University chemistry professor named Dr. Meagan Mann explained how the Bell family’s experiences sounded a lot like heavy metal poisoning.
“John Bell’s son talked about all of these strange medical symptoms he was having, and a lot of them sounded very neurological to me, as someone who knows a bit about things like biochemistry and toxicology,” she began in an interview with the Tennessean.
“If you look at the neurological symptoms, those are oftentimes caused by heavy metal poisoning.”
In fact, arsenic was a very commonly-used poison during the early 1800s. Long-term exposure to arsenic would also explain John’s muscle twitches and inability to swallow.
In turn, some have come to believe that a community member slowly poisoned John over three years. Then, in December of 1820, they finally finished the job using the vial.
Plus, arsenic burns blue– which would corroborate John Jr.’s tale that the vial erupted in a blue flame after being tossed into the fire.
Forever A Mystery
All theories aside, no one will ever truly know the truth of the Bell Witch legend. And perhaps that is why the Bell Witch has remained a fixture in American horror culture for centuries.
The tale has gone on to inspire countless books, including “Little Sister Death” by William Gay, as well as numerous movies– one of the most notable being “An American Haunting” starring Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland.
And now, daring lovers of all things spooky can even tour the original John Bell cabin and supposed Bell Witch cave.
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