The folklore of the Bell Witch is pretty well-known in the south. John Bell, Sr., of Adams, Tennessee was a farmer who lived along the Red River in the early 1800s. Between the years of 1817 and 1821, it is alleged that the area was under attack by a poltergeist that came to be known as the Bell Witch.
This entity, who author Martin Van Buren Ingram said in his book, An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch, was named Kate Batts, was able to speak, touch, move things, change shape, travel great distances quickly, and even supposedly be in more than one place at the same time. Kate focused a lot on John Bell's youngest daughter, Betsy, who was engaged to a man the witch did not approve of.
In the summer of 1817, it all began with John Bell shooting at what he believed was a dog with the head of a rabbit. After firing on the strange creature, it disappeared. This incident seemed to spark the aggressive activity as the Bells began to experience acts of violence against them. Members of the family were hit, pinched, their hair was pulled, and they had pins stuck into them, primarily Betsy.
The story of the Bell Witch spread and people traveled some distances to see old Kate Batts in action. During this time, the specter would carry on conversations with people, making threats, jokes, and even repeating sermons. John Johnston, son of a family friend, asked the witch a very personal question about something his grandmother would say in a certain situation, and the entity repeated it back word for word, even impersonating his grandmother's accent.
A man from England heard the story and came to the farm to debunk it. Once Kate was able to perfectly mimic the voices of his parents, waking him one morning, making him think that his parents had heard his voice as well, so he quickly left and returned home. A while later, the Bells received a letter from the Englishman apologizing for his skepticism because he stated that the being, whatever it was, had visited his farm.
Though "Kate Batts" adored John's wife, Lucy, bringing her fresh fruits, singing her hymns, and referring to her as the "most perfect woman to ever walk the Earth," she apparently despised John. She called him "Old Jack" and would cuss him, hurt him, and make threats to kill him. Eventually, she made good on her threat and poisoned John, then brought her malevolent rambunctiousness to his funeral, making a scene by singing drinking songs. When Betsy broke off her engagement with the man the witch didn't like, the wicked force said she would leave, but vowed to return in 1828. When she did return, the rest of the family ignored her as best they could and she disappeared again.
Through the years, a lot of theories as to where the Bell Witch story actually came from have been made. Some believe it was just a tale to scapegoat bad things that were done by people in that town. Others think maybe a great trickster had been the culprit behind the incidents, manipulating the situation to make others believe there was an angry spirit at work because he sought some sort of vengeance upon John Bell and his family. There are also those who believe the story to be real and that the witch was maybe someone John Bell had murdered. I don't know how much evidence supports any of these explanations. It's very possible this could all just be a sensationalized tale woven to sell a book. If it wasn't and these accounts are accurate, I don't think there was a witch or a vindictive ghost intending ill-will on the Bell Family. I think there was something more devilish and dark at play, because a lot of what this creature supposedly did seems demonic. But who knows? The Bell Witch is a popular folktale either way.
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