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The Bell Witch Historical Marker

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	Adams Museum at the Old Bell School
	Bellwood Cemetery, Adams, TN
	Bell Witch Cave Farm
	Monster Mountain
	Death Valley Haunted Woods
	Old Tennessee State Prison
	Tennessee State Capitol
	Nashville Ghost Tours
	The Hermitage Hotel
	Haunted Tavern Tours, Nashville, TN
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Availability:	Open to the Public
Filed Under:	Mysterious Events > The Bell Witch
Added By:	TheCabinet
Added On:	August 10, 2007 - 02:10 AM UTC
Last Modified:	July 21, 2008 - 01:06 PM UTC
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Average Rating:	4 (1 ratings)
Visited By:	1 Users

Address
Adams, Tennessee, United States

Information
The Bell Witch Between the years of 1817 and 1821, a family in Adams, Tennessee experienced a haunting that would become one of the most documented and witnessed paranormal events in America's history. The entity is now known as the infamous Bell Witch after the name of the family that it tormented. The haunting would leave a lasting impression on the small city of Adams and would also become known as the only case in America that a spirit is believed to have caused the death of a human being. The Beginning The haunting would begin with a rather unusual event in 1817. John Bell, who earlier that decade had moved his family to the area from North Carolina, encountered a strange creature in his cornfield. He would describe it as having the head of a rabbit, but the body of a dog. The creature would suddenly disappear after Bell fired several shots at it, leaving him questioning what he saw. That night everyone in the family began to hear strange knocking noises on the walls outside the home. Bell and his sons would rush outside to find the source, only to find nothing out there. The noises increased in ferocity each night and soon the children began to complain of some animal gnawing on their bedposts at night. When their covers and pillows began to be pulled away from their beds and thrown across the room by invisible hands, the family knew that whatever had been outside was now in the house. The Tormenting of Elizabeth Soon the family reportedly began to hear faint whispers or singing that seemingly came from all around them, but it was so quiet that it was impossible to make out any words. The haunting would suddenly take a disturbing turn when the Bell's youngest daughter, Elizabeth ("Betsy") would become the target of the entity's outbursts. The family would witness the audible slaps that struck Betsy and visibly see her hair pulled by an unseen force. Despite having remained silent about the family's troubles to those outside the family, John Bell finally decided to reach out to his neighbor and close friend James Johnston. Johnston and his wife agreed to stay the night in the Bell house and experienced the same phenomenon, confirming the family's worst fears. "Kate" As word started to spread through the community about the strange goings-on at the Bell farm, the disembodied whispers grew in strength and began to converse and taunt the family in great detail. The spirit would claim to be many different things over the course of time, including the spirit of a Native American. There had been a known tribe that had lived on the Bell farm at one point in time and there is plenty of evidence to confirm that being uncovered still to this day. At one point, the entity claimed that it was the spirit whose grave had been recently disturbed by one of Bell's sons, who had uncovered a jawbone and brought it back to the house. However, the one name that it used that stuck was that of "Kate." A woman by the name of Kate Batts also lived in the vicinity of Adams and was overly eccentric and avoided by the other residents. As such, the townspeople made the connection and it stuck. While there are plenty of stories connecting the Bell Witch to Kate Batts and some sort of disagreement that existed between her and John Bell, recent evidence suggests that she had nothing to do with it. In fact, contrary to reports of her claiming that she would get even with John Bell on her deathbed, Kate Batts actually outlived John Bell by many years. The Bell Witch Sensation As word spread across the country about the events happening in Adams, Tennessee, people began to flock to the area and Bell's farm in particular. It is said that there were thousands of people at a time camping on the vicinity of Bell's property, eager to see the strange happenings for themselves. One of the more prevalent stories is that future-President of the United States, then-General Andrew Jackson even came to see the Bell Witch himself. As is recounted on the historical marker at this site, Jackson's coach mysteriously came to a stop as he was approaching the Bell Farm. There are further stories that he was able to continue on and see the disturbances firsthand, but very little evidence to support that he had ever been there. There is no mention of the Bell Witch in any of his journals or letters. Still, the story persists to this day and there is even a quote about the Bell Witch that is reportedly attributed to him - "I'd rather fight the entire British Army than to deal with the Bell Witch." Kate's Motives Throughout the haunting, the entity would remain consistent on two details about the reason why it was there. It was unhappy with the engagement between Betsy and a local boy named Joshua Gardner and demanded that Betsy break off the engagement. The story goes that if Betsy and Joshua would go off together, the entity would follow and curse and taunt them along the way. The other thing that it would constantly declare was that its goal was to kill John Bell. Well into the haunting, Bell suddenly became ill and experienced seizures. It was said that during his weak moments, the entity would scream and slap the helpless John Bell. Despite the poor treatment of Betsy and John, the spirit apparently took a liking to Bell's wife, Lucy. When Lucy became ill, the entity reportedly sat at her side and sang to her and also brought her food to get well. The Death of John Bell On December 19, 1820, John Bell was bed-ridden and gravely ill. He reportedly drank from a vial that was supposed to have been prescribed by the local doctor. By the next morning he was dead. As the family examined the small vial of liquid (there are reports that they even gave a small dose to the family cat, which promptly died), the spirit spoke up and claimed that it had given him the liquid that caused his death. Furthermore, people that attended Bell's funeral reported hearing the spirit laughing and singing at his demise. The entity had never given a reason why she disliked John Bell so intently. The End and Future Visits Betsy Bell reportedly surrendered to the entity's wishes and broke off her engagement with Joshua Gardner on Easter Monday in 1821. Shortly thereafter, the spirit came to Lucy and informed her that its job was complete and that it would be leaving, yet vowed to return again in seven years. In 1828, the spirit reportedly made good on its promise and appeared to Bell's son, John Bell Jr.. The two were said to engage in intellectual debates about religion and politics. John Bell Jr.'s great-grandson, Charles Bailey Bell, would later publish a novel on his family's history titled The Bell Witch - A Mysterious Spirit. In the book, Bell would claim that the entity would make some bold predictions of future events to John Bell Jr., such as The Civil War, The Great Depressions, and World War I and II. However, recent reports cast doubt on whether this really ever took place. Regardless, the spirit would again leave and declare that it would return in 1935. However, there is no evidence that the entity returned at that time. Elizabeth Powell Betsy would later marry her former schoolteacher, Richard Powell in 1824. They moved to a nearby community and attempted to have a normal life. Betsy reportedly would never talk about the incident with people outside her family and was haunted by the memories of it. Her life continued to be a struggle and she would lose four children while they were still young and another to The Civil War. Her husband suffered a stroke in 1837 and she cared for him until his death in 1848. In 1874, she moved to Mississippi to be closer to her daughter and died there in 1888 at the age of 82. The Bell Witch Legacy The haunting of the Bell Family in the 19th Century would become the source of many books (some dedicated to it, some that mention it in passing) over the years. Ironically, despite all of the evidence and witness statements that was collected during the haunting, there has also been several inaccuracies about the case that are being passed along to this day. Even researching the Bell Witch for this article has proven to be a difficult task, separating fact away from fiction. Surprisingly however, there are only three film adaptations of the story to date - Bell Witch: The Movie (2002), The Bell Witch Haunting (2004), and An American Haunting (2006). The latter has been the subject of criticism for the differences between it and the actual legend. Adams Today The story of the Bell Witch is alive and well in Adams, Tennessee. Rather than avoiding the infamous nature of the case, the city appears to have embraced it. The "Welcome to Adams" sign at the edge of town even boasts a witch on a broom. Similarly, the local Adams Museum and Archive features an exhibit on the haunting and sells "Bell Witch" souvenirs. The town of Adams also hosted a Bell Witch Opry every Saturday night, which was a live show of country and bluegrass music. It appears that the Opry is no more or has since been renamed to something else. The Bell Witch Cave Farm that is located on what was a portion of the Bell farm gives tours of the cave on the property and replica house of the old Bell home. Some believe the Bell Witch never left though and point to all the claims of paranormal activity that seem to take place almost everywhere inside the town as evidence.

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Related Sites
The Bell Witch Web Site The Bell Witch Web Site is dedicated to preserving and popularizing the legend of Tennessee's infamous Bell Witch.
Wikipedia: Bell Witch Wikipedia entry for The Bell Witch.

Similar Destinations
Bellwood Cemetery, Adams, TN
Long Branch Cemetery, Water Valley, MS
Bell Witch Cave Farm

See Also on TheCabinet.com
Dark Destinations in the News (10/8/07)
Track of the Day - 8/10/2007
Dark Destinations in the News (9/19/07)
Blog: Long Branch Cemetery, Water Valley, MS (07/20/08)
Blog: Halloween - Presidential Style (10/28/08)
Blog: The Bell Witch and the Death of John Bell (12/20/08)
Blog: The Bell Witch in Mississippi (07/11/09)

Available from Amazon.com
The Bell Witch : The Full Account
Adams: Home Of The Bell Witch Mug
Infamous Bell Witch of Tennessee
The Bell Witch: An American Haunting
The Official Bell Witch Video
The Bell Witch Hounting
An American Haunting (Unrated Edition)

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An historical marker documenting the case of The Bell Witch in Adams, Tennessee - June 2007.
From: TheCabinet

Closer Look at Bell Witch Historical Marker

A closer look at the historical marker for easy reading - June 2007.
From: TheCabinet

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The above content is for informational purposes only. Before making any travel arrangements, it is highly recommended that you contact those in charge of the property to check for updated availability and hours of operation. While we do our best to keep this information updated, we cannot guarantee that it is completely valid and up to date. Any destination marked "Closed to the Public" is marked that for a reason and we discourage any visits or attempts to gain access to that facility. Similarly, take note of any "Travel Advisory" that may be associated with a destination. Finally, treat any location and its local residents with respect. Any vandalism and/or unruly behavior is completely despicable and only ruins the experience for future visitors.

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