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Category: History/Horror
Description: What if a mysterious spirit invaded your home, terrorized your children, carried on long conversations with family members, friends and visitors, and materialized objects into being in front of witnesses? What if it knew everything that went on in every one of your neighbors' homes, and could accurately describe events occurring many miles away? What if it told you it would not leave until you were dead? The events chronicled in this book happened to John Bell, his family, and his entire community over a period of three terrifying years. The so-called "Bell Witch" is the most disturbing, most investigated, and best documented phenomenon of its type in the history of North America.
eBook Publisher: Crow Street Press, Crow Street Press
Books By Dames Release Date: June 2003

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Reading time: 405-568 min.
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Excerpt from Editor's Preface

There has never been, in the history of North America, a supernatural phenomenon to equal the Bell Witch. There has never been a haunting more thoroughly researched, investigated, and documented. There has very likely never been an agency of this sort--whatever your explanation for its existence--as powerful, or as capable of causing suffering and affecting the lives of everyone in the community to which it appeared. The truth of the matters covered in this book can never be proven; the nature of these sorts of phenomena defies scientific proof; indeed it defies rational explanantion. But the Bell family, their friends and associates, and many other witnesses, have given testimony repeatedly concerning these events, and the reality of the occurences has never been disproven, though many staked their reputations on so doing.

Modern-day readers may be tempted to amuse themselves with the credulity of these nineteenth century witnesses, their seeming eagerness to believe the phenomena which the Bells and others experienced to be the work of some mysterious supernatural agency. But it must be remembered that the Bell family tried for many months to find any rational explanation for what was happening to them before they told any outsider of their affliction; that persons among their friends expended tremendous energy over a period of years trying to uncover the source of the Bells' continuing misery; that investigators of various stripes from around the world came to the Bell home, stayed for days or weeks, attempting and subsequently failing to prove the "Bell Witch" to be the work of skilled ventriloquists or magicians, or trickery of any kind. Time after time, investigators began their researches certain they would be able to uncover the truth behind the "witch," only to end up by concluding that whatever this manifestation was, it was beyond human comprehension.

Many sincere individuals testify in these pages as to the character and veracity of the witnesses, but these days we are not inclined to take glowing character references as proof. Perhaps the most important clue to the collective honesty of the people who speak to us in these pages is that no-one among the family members or other witnesses to the words and actions of the Bells' mysterious visitor ever changed his or her story, or breathed any hint of hoax, or even exaggeration, even after being interviewed decades later. Oral anectdotes corroborate, to a startling degree of detail, written eyewitness accounts which were not then known to be in existence. Observers separated by decades independently substantiate one another in a way that can only be attributed either to people telling the truth as they experienced it, or to a hoax of truly magnificent proportions involving all the prominent citizens of Robertson County, Tennessee in the 1820s, along with their wives and children and servants, and continuing without discovery over the better part of a century, until all involved were dead. To me this latter explanation somehow strains credulity more than the former.

What we have here is not the sort of spirit-horn tooting, table-tipping manifestation that has been discredited for generations, or vague accounts of strange noises and cold sensations in darkened rooms. The "witch"--in the presence of multiple witnesses--carried on long conversations, corrected ministers on their recollection of the Bible, told of events happening in the neighborhood, in the next county, or much farther away, all of which were later confirmed to be true. Also in the presence of multiple witnesses it affected material objects, caused physical harm to Bell family members and servants, revealed facts to rooms full of listeners that no-one in the Bell family could possibly have known, and--in broad daylight--materialized items out of thin air.

I am not inclined to give much weight to reports of hauntings and other supernatural events, as it happens. I am more skeptical about matters of this sort than most people I know. But after reading the three books I have combined into this volume I can only say that something very strange happened in west-central Tennessee in the years between 1817 and 1828, and the hundreds of people who witnessed it were in no doubt that what they saw, heard, and felt was absolutely real. Their testimony is in the pages that follow. Read and decide for yourself.

* * * * Excerpts from "Our Family Trouble"--The Story of the Bell Witch as Detailed by Richard Williams Bell (from The Authenticated History of the Bell Witch one of three books inlcuded in A Haunting in Tennessee

The phenomena continued to develop force, and visitors persisted in urging the witch to talk, and tell what was wanted, and finally it commenced whistling when spoken to, in a low broken sound, as if trying to speak in a whistling voice, and in this way it progressed, developing until the whistling sound was changed to a weak faltering whisper uttering indistinct words. The voice, however, gradually gained strength in articulating, and soon the utterances became distinct in a low whisper, so as to be understood in the absence of any other noise. I do not remember the first intelligent utterance, which, however, was of no significance, but the voice soon developed sufficient strength to be distinctly heard by every one in the room.

This new development added to the sensation already created. The news spread, and people came in larger numbers, and the great anxiety concerning the mystery prompted many questions in the effort to induce the witch to disclose its own identity and purpose. Finally, in answer to the question "Who are you and what do you want?" the reply came "I am a spirit; I was once very happy but have been disturbed." This was uttered in a very feeble voice, but sufficiently distinct to be understood by all present, and this was all the information that could be elicited for the time.

* * * *

The next utterance of any note that I remember, occurred on a Sunday night, when the voice appeared stronger, and the witch talking more freely, in fact speaking voluntarily, and appeared to be exercised over a matter that was being discussed by the family. Brother John Bell had for some time contemplated a trip to North Carolina to look after father's share of an estate that was being wound up, and was to start next morning (Monday) on horseback, and this was the matter that interested the family and was being discussed, the long tiresome journey, his probable long absence, the situation of affairs, concerning which father was giving him instructions. Several neighbors were present, taking an interest, volunteering some good natured advice to John, when the witch put in, remonstrating against the trip, dissuading John from going, predicting bad luck, telling him that he would have a hard trip for nothing, that the estate had not been wound up and could not be for some time, and be would get no money, but return empty handed. As a further argument to dissuade John, the witch told him that an elegant young lady from Virginia was then on her way to visit friends in Robertson county, who would please him, and he could win her if he would stay; that she was wealthy, possessing forty Negroes and considerable money. John laughed at the revelation as supremely ridiculous, and left on the following morning as contemplated, and was absent six months or more, returning empty handed as predicted. Very soon after his departure, the young lady in question arrived, and left before his return, and John never met her.

* * * *

The witch continued, to develop the power of articulation, talking freely, and those who engaged in conversation with the invisible persevered in plying questions to draw out an explanation of the mystery, and again the question was pressed, inquiring "Who are you and what do you want?" and the witch replied, stating the second time "I am a spirit who was once very happy, but have been disturbed and made unhappy? Then followed the question "How were you disturbed, and what makes you unhappy?" The reply to this question was "I am the spirit of a person who was buried in the woods near by, and the grave has been disturbed, my bones disinterred and scattered, and one of my teeth was lost under this house, and I am here looking for that tooth."

This statement revived the memory of a circumstance that occurred some three or four years previously, and had been entirely forgotten. The farm hands while engaged in clearing a plot of land, discovered a small mound of graves, which father supposed to be an Indian burying ground, and worked around it without obliterating the marks. Several days later Corban Hall, a young man of the neighborhood, came to our place, and was told by Drew the circumstance of finding the Indian graves. Hall thought the graves probably contained some relics which Indians commonly buried with their dead, and proposed to open one and see, to which Drew agreed, and they proceeded to disinter the bones. Finding nothing else, Hall brought the jawbone to the house, and while sitting in the passage he threw it against the opposite wall, and the jarring knocked out a loose tooth, which dropped through a crack in the floor.

Father passed through the hall in the meanwhile, and reprimanded the boys severely for their action, and made one of the Negro men take the jawbone back, replacing all the disinterred bones, and filling in the grave. This was evidently the circumstance referred to by the "spirit," so long forgotten, and to be reminded of the fact so mysteriously was very perplexing, and troubled father no little. He examined the floor just where the bone dropped when it struck the wall, as the boys had left it, and there was the crack referred to, and he was pestered, and decided to take up a portion of the floor and see if the tooth could be found. The dirt underneath was raked up, sifted and thoroughly examined, but the tooth was not found. The witch then laughed at father, declaring that it was all a joke to fool "Old Jack."

* * * *

Every Sabbath service that occurred within the bounds was reported at night, the text, hymn, etc., and the preacher also criticized, and everything of peculiar note was described. The company was treated one night to a repetition of one of Rev. James Gunn's best sermons, preached in the vicinity, the witch personating Mr. Gunn, lining the hymn, quoting his text and prayer, and preaching so much like Mr. Gunn, that it appeared the minister himself was present.

A number of persons were present who attended the meeting that day, and recognized the declamation as the same sermon. Shortly after this, Rev. James Gunn preached on Sunday at Bethel Methodist Church, six miles southeast, and Rev. Sugg Fort filled his appointment at Drake's Pond Baptist Church, seven miles northwest, thirteen miles apart, both preaching at the same hour, eleven o'clock. It so happened that both ministers came to visit our family that evening, finding quite a crowd of people gathered in, as was the case every day during the excitement. Directly after supper the witch commenced talking as usual, directing the conversation to Brother Gunn, discussing some points in his sermon that day. Mr. Gunn asked the witch how it knew what he had preached about? The answer was "I was present and heard you." This statement being questioned, the "vociferator" began, quoted the text and repeated the sermon verbatim, and the closing prayer, all of which the preacher said was correct. Some one suggested that Brother Fort had the advantage of the witch this time, that having attended Brother Gunn's service, it could tell nothing about Brother Fort's discourse at Drake's Pond. "Yes I can," was the prompt reply. How do you know? was the inquiry. "I was there and heard him." Then assimilating Rev. Fort's style, it proceeded to quote his text and repeated his sermon, greatly delighting the company. There was no one present who had heard either sermon, but both ministers admitted that their sermons had been accurately reproduced, and no one could doubt the fact, or were more greatly surprised than themselves.

* * * *