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Bell Witch: An Unusual Case

MrRING

MrRING

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I just got through reading Troy Taylor's Season of the Witch about the Bell Witch haunting, which is supposed to be based on the first-hand accounts availible by one of the Bell sons and another close relative.

Assuming the book isn't a con job, there were many strange phenomenon experienced by the Bell family, that seems outside of any other case I've heard of.

1) Poltergeist activity - pulling blankets, scrapes and growls and lip smacking sounds, slaps, objects disappearing and reappearing. This followed the main objects of hatred (Betsey and John Bell Sr) and could happen in more than one location in a given time, again witnessed by multiple parties.

2) Materialization of objects in front of people - largely fruits and vegtables that would appear out of mid-air, but also some exotic fruit from the West Indies. Also, a poison appeared that ultimately led to the death of the family patriarch.

3) Vocalization - the Bell Witch, after being prompted by people in the community to talk, slowly developed a voice. Claimed to be many things, a spirit, the ghost of an Indian, the "witch" of a family enemy Katey Batts (who was not dead). It also developed four personalities that had diffeent voices for a while before retreating into the Katey personna.

4) Knowledge of what happened over great distances - it most notably was able to preach word for word two surmons by two preachers that happened at the same time , as was backed up by the very two preachers who were their visiting thei families.

5) Materialization - appeared at a dog-thing, a bird thing, and a girl in a green dress before the main haunting. Also, during the period of 4 different personalities, it appeared as a woman with a family that appeared in a field and was shot at, only to disappear and the spirit claimed that one was injured by a bullet. Also, it took a fancy to one fellow who felt it climb into bed with him. It also shook people's hands.

6) It made a mockery of every person who tried to prove it a fraud. People where coming to the home from all over to disprove the witch, but they never could.

I have a theory about what it might have been, assuming I just read an accurate accounting, and that there wasn't fraud in the case, but I thought I'd open the floor to others who might have an opinion about the case first.

THIS IS A GOOD OVERVIEW OF THE LEGEND

AN INDY FILM BASED ON THE BELL WITCH
 
Have you ever read The Mothman Prophecies, Mr. RING? Based on your overview (don't have time to read the links) the phenomena surrounding both stories are strikingly similar, particularly the absurd and contradictory statements that were made by the "non-person" and some of the seemingly pointless things it did (materialize fruit and stuff). In MP there is mention of poltergiest activity iirc.
 
Sounds like a very cool book, Mr. R.I.N.G. I've mentioned this in at least a couple of other threads as the haunting that terrifies me the most. Without having read either the book or any primary source material, it has pased through my mind that Betsy was the victim of prolonged sexual abuse from her father. (can't libel the dead, right?). I'll certainly have to get a copy of the title.
 
Bannik: I hadn't considered a link to Mothman, but they have quite a few similarities as you mentioned. They ay be connected. The other kind of thing, considering the fact that it took form (forms) and since it only developed a voice after many attempts to make it talk, I wondered if it might link in with "fairy" phenomenon (with fairies, they notice you the more you notice them, and they seem to have forms made of air according to Dr. Robert Kirk's book...

Lopaka: the book talks about the sexual abuse charge, which was introduced to the world by a fellow by the name of Dr. Maxwell Telling in the 1940's. But Taylor dismisses it in the case simply bacause the only evidence was this doctor's theory - it was never reported as being in evidence by anybody in case; Telling just felt like she was the right age for abuse to cause poltergeist activity. Plus, since the activity was occuring even when Betsy was away, it's harder to tie in with other polts.

I DO wonder what would happen in other poltergeist activity if a person repeatedly tried to talk to it - would it be able to verbalise?
 
Mr. R.I.N.G. said:
I DO wonder what would happen in other poltergeist activity if a person repeatedly tried to talk to it - would it be able to verbalise?
Click to expand...

I really wouldn't recommend trying that one out. The whole idea scares me to death! Isn't it bad enough that there is an entity around that can physically cause harm if it feels like it, without being able to subject you to verbal abuse too?!
 
Mr. R.I.N.G. said:
Bannik: I hadn't considered a link to Mothman, but they have quite a few similarities as you mentioned. They ay be connected. The other kind of thing, considering the fact that it took form (forms) and since it only developed a voice after many attempts to make it talk, I wondered if it might link in with "fairy" phenomenon (with fairies, they notice you the more you notice them, and they seem to have forms made of air according to Dr. Robert Kirk's book...
Click to expand...

I for one am convinced that many phenomena such as ghosts, faeries, poltergiests, aliens et. are all related in some way - the manefestation of some kind of entity/entities that our reality slightly overlaps. In his book Poltergiest!, Colin Wilson seems to go with the conclusion tht polts are elementals, and essentially just play around for fun. They're naughty, but never dangerous. The Bell Witch case is unusual in that it seems someone actually died at the 'hands' of the ghost.

Also, with regards to the taking on of personalities, they seem to be compulsive liars, and often get angry when caught out...
 
John Keel noted the inter-connectedness of various phenomena in several books. Valee also noted it in "Passport to Magonia." Both are worth reading, although their work seems to have fallen out of favor these days.

For some reason, the Bell Witch reminds me of Geoff the Talking Mongoose from the Isle of Man. Some similarities there, iirc.
 
According to the book, a tv show called Adventures Beyond tried to film in the Bell Witch Cave recently (mid 1990's?) and they got some kind of video anomily that looked a like a doorway with faces in it...

Searching online, I found a webpage for them but it seems to be only half-working AND NO INFO ON THE BELL WITCH. But the Bell Witch episode is AVAILIBLE HERE.

Has anybody seen this series and can say what it is they caught on tape?
 
I am fairly new to these forums but have lurked for some time. Just wondering if anyone else has read The Bell Witch by Edwin Price. I live in pretty close proximity to the area where the Bell Witch story supposedly takes place. Charles Edwin Price, a local writer who is considered one of the foremost experts on this case as well as many other Appalachian tales and pieces of folklore, takes this particular story very seriously. He is a well-respected and known as a serious collector of oral history.
He owns his own printing press in Jonesboro, TN and often speaks at local colleges and arts gatherings. He is also generally a very nice guy, as my friend and I sought out his house when we were in high school, knocked on the door and asked him to autograph several of his books which my friend had bought for his girlfriend as Christmas gifts. He was very gracious, and extremly knowledgeable about the Bell Witch.
 
I read a couple local books on the Bell Witch when I was in Tenn. The most interesting was the old pamphlet written by one of Bell's sons (or nephews). That is probably the source for all the other books. The only copy that I know of is at Austin Peay St. University's libraryin Clarksville Tn. I don't know if it's ever been reprinted.
I would second the notion that the Bell Witch and Gef the mongoose stories have a few similarities.
 
This has always struck me as similar to the haunting of Calvados Castle and the poltergeist activity which took place, erm, somewhere in N England I think - in which part of the activity focussed on a woman called Esther Cox, and resulted in the slogan "Esther Cox, you are mine to kill" being daubed on one of the inner walls of the house.

In the synopsis on the link Mr RING gives above, it mentions a photo of a girl sitting by the cave which is developed to reveal a man standing behind her. However, I can't find that photo on the site. Anyone have a link?

Matt
 
Sorry if this is a dumb question (maybe it is answered in one of the links that I didn't look at - scanned a few but not all) what makes everyone think this is one entity and not many?
 
every one has multiple personalitys...........there is the personality that deals with the check out chick,the personality that deals with the postal peeps,the personality that deals with the servo attendant etc etc.
 
Throw said:
This has always struck me as similar to the haunting of Calvados Castle and the poltergeist activity which took place, erm, somewhere in N England I think - in which part of the activity focussed on a woman called Esther Cox, and resulted in the slogan "Esther Cox, you are mine to kill" being daubed on one of the inner walls of the house.

In the synopsis on the link Mr RING gives above, it mentions a photo of a girl sitting by the cave which is developed to reveal a man standing behind her. However, I can't find that photo on the site. Anyone have a link?

Matt
Click to expand...

The Esther Cox story is associated with Amhurst in Canada:

Story here.

Calvados castle ghosts are
here.
 
Something I found interesting the other day (and I don't have a link handy, and I've had a couple of drinks, so I might or might not get ambitious later) when reading about the Bell Witch, was that Andrew Jackson and a bunch of people he brought were witnesses to the Bell Witch haunting. She allegedly stopped his carriage midroad and refused to let it go until Gen. Jackson acknowledged her verbally. He later saw her abusing the Bell family first hand, according to the account I read, and said he'd rather fight the entire British military than tangle with the witch.
 
Putting Together The Poltergeist Puzzle

My investigation into unexplained events from past centuries let me discover tantalizing accounts that transcended the familiar scope of experience and proved that any popular consensus in relation to what constitutes reality may well be illusory. It was impossible to know for certain that these various anecdotes had happened precisely as described yet the more research that I did, the more I was able to distinguish a range of tantalizing parallels. It seemed I was collecting pieces of a puzzle without any idea of how they might all fit together.

Perhaps, the best known account of a talking poltergeist case is known as ’the Bell Witch’ . . . this article may be read in the entirety at: http://paranormalnews.com/article.asp?ArticleID=1060

Regarding this article online, some of the paragraphs run together and the blocking of the quoted materials was lost but I think you'll find it comprehensible.

MRB
 
Re: Putting Together The Poltergeist Puzzle

Please return my message back to the general fortena section where it was intended. This is hardly freedom of speech to have someone who hasn't read your article tell you what you can do with it.
 
With respect, I can't see how it is denying freedom of speech: we have a defined policy of keeping all threads on the same subject in one place, and merging wherever possible - and poltergeists, being a specific category of phemonenon, aren't general forteana. They come under the category of ghosts.

I have read your article, and I know it covers Gef the talking mongoose and another, newer case. However, as you yourself indicated that the Bell Witch was the primary subject of the article I placed it within that thread.

If you wish to post your link to the Gef thread, you can find it
here.
 
January 4: Reese Witherspoon vs. the Bell Witch!

This news slipped past us a couple of weeks ago, but Variety reports that Reese Witherspoon will star in the latest production to center on the real-life Tennessee legend of the Bell Witch, which has already inspired Courtney Solomon’s AN AMERICAN HAUNTING (see item here) and the indie pics BELL WITCH: THE MOVIE and THE BELL WITCH HAUNTING. The Witherspoon project, based on a Don Winston script called OUR FAMILY TROUBLES (the title will change), casts the actress as a first-time mother who becomes targeted by supernatural forces. She returns to her Tennessee home in an effort to maintain her sanity, and there becomes convinced that the Bell Witch, a malevolent spirit who terrorized a family and killed a man in the 1800s, is after her son. Witherspoon and Jennifer Simpson will produce the film through their Type A Films company, with Universal distributing; the actress and Type A are continuing to develop another genre project, THE RECKONING, scripted by Ted (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) Tally from Jeff Long’s novel (see item here). —Michael Gingold
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www.fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=5345
 
The original first hand account is now online to read for those interested!

http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/the_red_book.htm
The "Red Book"

The most complete version of the Bell Witch story is contained in a book written by Martin Van Buren Ingram entitled: An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch. This book was first published in 1894 and is the earliest and still the best account of the legend. The original 1894 edition appeared in a white cover; this original edition is extremely rare and is quite valuable. Even the Tennessee State Archives has lost its copy (undoubtedly stolen) of the 1894 edition.

In 1961 a reprint was issued with a red cover. In Robertson County, Tennessee this red-covered book is commonly referred to as the "Red Book" as opposed to the black-covered "Black Book" that was written many years later (first published in 1934) by Dr. Charles Bailey Bell, a great-grandson of John Bell. At this web site the terms "Red Book" and "Black Book" are used throughout, to indicate either the M. V. Ingram or the Charles Bailey Bell book, respectively.

Red Book Availability

The last reprint of the Red Book, of which I am aware, was made in 1971. Accordingly, a copy of the Ingram book is now very difficult to obtain. Even many of the Middle Tennessee libraries no longer have copies because of thefts - mainly by school children!

Electronic Version of the Red Book

The Ingram book is now in the public domain. Accordingly, for the convenience of serious students of Bell Witch folklore, I have appended an electronic, hyper-linked version of Ingram's book to this web site.

Red Book Prose

The Red Book was produced during the early 1890's and was written in the style of the period. Also, even though Ingram was a journalist, his prose was apparently never reviewed by an editor before publication and contains many spelling errors and some obvious grammatical errors. The sentences run on forever and are filled with commas. Also, paragraphs often run on for several pages! As a result, the book is very difficult for people living in our "instant communication" era to understand, especially for persons used to 15-second video/sound bites. However, other than correcting the spelling, fixing some of the most glaring grammatical mistakes, and cleaning up some of the language (offensive by today's standards) that Ingram used to describe the speech of African-Americans, the book is reproduced at this site exactly as written by Ingram.
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Many thanks for posting that Mr RING - it's a flavoursome account and nothing beats the original sources!

In eliminating one offensive N-word, the editor substitutes another! Better to have prefaced it with a warning and transcribed exactly - especially as the racialist attitude is pervasive. Never mind - this is great stuff - I just wish there was a short-cut way to download it complete.

:D
 
An American Nightmare: Big Budget Bell Witch Film

The trailer looks good, but it doesn't look like the Bell Witch haunting is going to be represented as reported. And it's done by the guy who directed the Dungeons and Dragons film.

http://www.anamericanhauntingonline.com/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429573/
Based on true events validated by the State of Tennessee of the only case in US History where a spirit or entity caused the death of a man. With over 20 books written on the subject, and a town that still lives in fear of the return of the unseen spirit, the story of "An American Haunting" is terrifying. Between the years 1818-1820, the Bell Family of Red River, Tennessee was visited by an unknown presence that haunted the family and eventually ended up causing the death of one its members. Starting with small sounds around the farm, and the siting of a a strange BLACK WOLF with piercing yellow eyes, the sounds escalated into full brutal contact with the certain family members, causing psychological and physical torment. The attacks grew in strength, with the spirit slapping, pulling, dragging, and beating the Bell's youngest daughter. The Bells searched for rational explanations and ways to rid their house of this entity, but to no avail as the spirit began to communicate with them through sounds, and eventually multiple voices that sounded like the wind. The cause of its actions could always be felt, but no being could being seen, and no explanation found- only the promise that one day it would kill one of the family members. Fearing that the haunting was caused by a local woman -branded a witch- who had put a curse upon the family as a result of a land dispute, the Bells tried desperately to find ways of getting rid of the woman's curse, yet the attacks and disturbances only escalated. It was not until a manuscript of the local schoolteacher -who lived on the property during the disturbance- was found in 1998 that the horrifying and shocking answer to what caused this haunting would finally be unveiled.
Click to expand...
 
I found the film very disappointing, (I went to see it last night), but would be interested to hear the opinion of those who have seen the film and read one or several books on the case what they thought of the film.
 
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