The Bell Witch story is one I grew up hearing, even though I was all the way on the other side of Tennessee in Memphis. It is Tennessee’s and perhaps America’s best known ghost story. Some say that the popular movie Blair Witch Project was based in part on the Bell Witch tale.
John Bell moved his family to Robertson County, Tennessee in the early 1800s. He bought land and a large log home for his family and they quickly settled into the community, making friends and living a good life. Trouble began in 1817, when John Bell saw a strange creature on his property. Having the head of a rabbit and the body of a dog, Bell shot at the animal several times, but missed. He thought nothing more of it and went home. That night, the family heard a strange sound, as if someone were beating something on the side of the house. They hurried outside, but saw nothing. Then things moved inside the house, with the children complaining of sounds like rats gnawing on their bedposts, having their covers pulled above their heads, and pillows tossed about the room. And they heard the whisperings of a old woman. It was after Bell’s oldest daughter experienced something physically slapping her that Bell began to talk about the problems with neighbor James Johnston. When he and his wife stayed in the home, they too experienced the same frightening phenomenon. The story began to spread throughout Tennessee, even reaching General Andrew Jackson who himself came for a terrifying visit.
Bell and his family continued to be taunted by the spirit through the years. He died a mysterious death in 1820. Afterwards, the family found a vial of liquid Bell had been drinking the night before his death. After giving it to the cat, it promptly died and the spirit spoke, saying, “I gave Ol’ Jack a big dose of that last night, and that fixed him.” The spirit was also heard laughing at Jack’s burial.
The spirit has haunted the Bell family on and off for almost 200 years. Today, in Adams, Tennessee where the farm once stood, people claim to hear voices of adults and children and visitors seem to have a problem taking a clear picture in that area. It is said that one of John Bell’s descendant’s was out hunting one day and shot a rabbit near some brush. When he went to find the rabbit, he instead found the tombstone of ancestor Joel Egbert Bell, but never found the rabbit. A picture was taken in the mid 1990’s near a cave entrance of a girl on a rock. When the film was developed, beside her was an image of a man. Experts said it was not a double exposure. Many have reported seeing lights at night, gliding and dancing in the fields of where the farm once stood.
No one seems to know who the Bell Witch spirit was or why it haunted the Bell family. Some call it Kate, believing it was an eccentric woman named Kate Batts that was causing the disturbances, but she was believed to have outlived John Bell. Regardless, many people believe that the spirit can still be found there today.
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