In Goodspeed Brothers' 1886 History of Tennessee, the witch had "the voice and attributes of a woman. But the spirit was said to take animal form, appearing as a dog, rabbit, and bird. "One of the distinguishing characteristics of this witch, as it was called, was that it never but once assumed human form," said an account from 1904 publishing in The Chattanooga News. "On her deathbed, she swore she would come back and 'hant John Bell and all his kith and kin to their graves,'" said a 1976 article from the Johnson City Press.Īnother version of the legend claims the spirit was the ghost of an unpleasant overseer from North Carolina, who was allegedly murdered by John Bell.
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Regardless, Bell crossed Batts at some point, and she vowed revenge. Another version says she was a jilted lover of Bell's but, as he was reportedly a strict Baptist, this seems unlikely. after she said he cheated her in a land deal. The most common legend claims that the eccentric woman placed a curse on John Bell Sr. Batts was seen as odd and suspicious by the residents of Adams, according to an article in the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle, but no further explanation was given. Kate Batts was a neighbor of the Bells', who is reported to have been one of Lucy Bell's nieces, according to the Robertson County Times. described the Bell Witch as "the spirit," but other people called her "Kate."Īccording to the 1890 book "An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch" by Martin Van Buren Ingram, the spirit was named as "Old Kate Batts' Witch." Ingram wrote in his book, which relied on accounts from Richard Williams Bell, that the spirit responded to that name. Betsy was beaten, pinched, had her hair pulled and stuck with invisible pins until she called off her engagement to Joshua Gardner in 1821. During the haunting, John Bell suffered from a swollen face and tongue, alternately paralyzed and twitching facial muscles, and increasing weakness until he was poisoned by the Bell Witch in 1820. "They were energetic farmers, members of the Baptist church and highly respected," a 1930 article from The Knoxville Journal said.ĭespite the prominence of the family, the witch seemed to have two objectives: to torment and kill John Bell Sr. Over the next decade, John Bell (pictured above) tamed the frontier to become a successful farmer and prominent man in the community. The family, which consisted of John Bell Sr., his wife Lucy and their children, settled on the Red River near the rural community of Adams' Station (now Adams) in northwestern Middle Tennessee. The Bell family moved into Tennessee from North Carolina over the winter of 1804-1805. In this Halloween edition of Middle Tennessee Mysteries, we are going to take a look at Tennessee's biggest mystery of them all. The tale is so true it has a historical marker and The Bell Witch Cave in Adams, Tennessee, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The only difference is our ghost was a true story. People from other parts of the country grew up taunting Bloody Mary, chanting her name in hopes of conjuring her in a mirror. She was conjured to frighten us not just on Halloween but throughout the rest of the year too. "The Bell Witch will get you" is a phrase most native Middle Tennesseans heard as children. The mystery surrounding the Bells and their witch soon transformed the campfire story into the Volunteer State's favorite urban legend. "Whether it was witchery, such as afflicted people in past centuries and the darker ages, whether some gifted fiend of hellish nature, practicing sorcery for selfish enjoyment, or some more modern science akin to that of mesmerism, or some hobgoblin native to the wilds of the country, or a disembodied soul shut out from heaven, or an evil spirit like those Paul drove out of the man into the swine, setting them mad or a demon let loose from hell, I am unable to decide nor has any one yet divined its nature or cause for appearing, and I trust this description of the monster in all forms and shapes, and of many tongues, will lead experts who may come with a wiser generation, to a correct conclusion and satisfactory explanation." Richard Williams Bell wrote in his manuscript:
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ANDREW BIRD BELL WITCH FULL
The full story was talked about in whispers in Robertson County until a book based on the writings of John Bell's grandson Richard Williams Bell was published in 1890. The tale about one family's haunting and the possible murder of its patriarch by the malevolent spirit in 1820. One of the most prominent legends is that of the Bell Witch. Tennessee has long been a mysterious land, fulled with legends of ghosts and goblins dating back to close to its founding.