Bell Witch

Adams, Tennessee, close to the banks of the Red River in Robertson County where John Bell and his family made their home during frontier days. The place is popular with ghost hunters and paranormal experts alike, due to this being the location of the mysterious and infamous Bell Witch haunting.  

The haunting began in 1817, a decade after Bell and his family had settled into their home, until shortly after his death in 1820. The witch despised John and his daughter Betsy, and targeted them specifically with her ability to shapeshift, and her physical and mental torments. 

The strange events began to plague the family when John Bell, walking in a field close to his home, saw a strange, doglike creature, unlike anything he’d seen before. He fired his gun at the animal, but even though John was sure he’d hit his target, it ran away unharmed. Soon after, his son also saw a strange looking creature, this time resembling an oversized turkey. But this time, as soon as the son had prepared his gun to shoot at the bird, it was already flying away. 

Neither father nor son questioned this, assuming that this new land they were living on was bound to have animals and nature that they weren’t used to, and carried on as though it was nothing. But it was only the beginning. 

The haunted events quickly moved into the Bell family home. Strange sounds plagued them day and night; slight whispers, knocking noises and rat-like gnawing sounds on the doors and windows, and chains being dragged across the floor. The family repeatedly searched the house to find the origin of the disturbances, but found nothing. Night after night, the sounds kept them awake in fear. It wasn’t long before the menacing taunts manifested into a single voice, followed by physical violence against the family- Mostly John and Betsy Bell.

The witch didn’t like Betsy Bell, often tormenting her by striking her, pinching her, pulling her hair, and sticking her with invisible pins. The abuse happened so frequently that the Bells’ would often send Betsy away to a friend's house to spend the night, but the haunting followed her wherever she went. The most notable event was the spirits interference of Betsy’s relationship with her sweetheart Joshua Gardner. It would chant “Please Betsy please, don’t marry Joshua Gardener” for months on end, until Betsy ended her relationship with Joshua out of fear. 

John Bell suffered the worst torment. The spirit would tease him, curse him, swear at him and call him “Old John Bell.” After the haunting began, John’s physical health began to decline, and continued until his death in 1820. Allegedly, a half empty vial of cherry coloured liquid was found next to the bed, and the spirit claimed in glee that it was responsible for ending his life, celebrating his death with drinking songs at his funeral. 

Interestingly, the spirit was especially nice to John’s wife, Lucy, assuring her that though the spirit would hurt her family, it would never hurt her. They would have regular, pleasant conversations, and the spirit would later care for the Bell family matriarch when she fell ill with pleurisy and was bedridden. 

Soon after John’s death, the hauntings became less frequent, until they stopped completely, as suddenly as they had started. 

The Bell Witch legend has influenced popular culture significantly, through books, movies, music and television. It’s not hard to understand why, when the events themselves are shrouded in much mystery. 

The spirit never gave any real motivation for the hauntings, only conflicting and contradictory tales, or jokes to further torment the Bell family. There is no recorded reason as to why these events began, only suggestions based on documents available and Martin V. Ingrams book, Authenticated History of the Bell Witch, which has been the primary source of information for some time, though some historians have criticised the book as folklore study, fraud or fiction. There is also some debate over whether these incidents had occurred in the first place, and have been twisted over time into urban legend status. 

Fact or fiction, the Bell Witch hauntings are as relevant today as they were in frontier times. It’s a classic tale of masculinity in crisis; The strong, hard working man who has built his home and raised a successful family, loses control over his life and his family, hurting them in the process and being powerless to help them. For more information on the Bell Witch legend, read more about her on Atlas Obscura.