Katharina Buczek
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.”
