The Bell Witch Legend

Again, we are touching upon the subject of witches. This one seems to be the true basis behind the movie, "The Blair Witch Project" (1999), which is a fake documentary about three teens that go in search of the Blair Witch and her "haunted cave" in Blair, Maryland. Needless to say, in the movie, the kids got more than they had bargained for.

This time, we are traveling to the Red River, which is located over by Adams, Tennessee. And this story is also the ground-base story for the movies "An American Haunting" (2006) and "The Bell Witch Haunting" (2004).

In the year 1817, John William Bell, Sr. had reported that he had come in to contact with an animal that was not of "normal nature", so to speak. This had happened in a cornfield on his farm in Robertson County. The animal that the older Bell had described was as follows..

It had the body of a dog and the head of a rabbit. Mr. Bell had claimed to have shot at it.

Later on after this strange creature happened upon the Bell's land, the family had started to hear strange rapping and gnawing outside of their home. At one point, these noises moved to within the home.

Eventually, the youngest daughter of the Bell family, Betsy, had started to claim that she was assaulted by something unseen.

As time went on, other things supposedly took place within the confines of the Bell Family's abode. Including poltergeist activity. Things like spirits moving various objects, their (the ghosts) speaking with and having conversations with the family and guest alike.

John Bell, Sr. had died on December 20, 1820, after suffering for a while after being inflicted by facial seizures, which rendered him unable to speak. Laying beside him, was a vial filled with a liquid that no one knew its contents. This liquid was fed to the family's cat by force, killing it.

In the latter 1800's, the Bell Family's home was torn down. The cave is said to be haunted by the witch that supposedly haunted, taunted and tormented Betsy Bell for years. Those walking through it's hollow passages have reported different sounds coming from within the cave's depths, such as laughter and footsteps. Also, there were reports of eyes watching it's visitors and just plain "creeped out" feelings.

Who is this Bell Witch, though?? She is reported to be (thanks to folklore) the spirit of a woman named Kate Batts. She was supposedly a tyrannical, mean-spirited old lady, and the Bell Family's neighbor. Miss Batts came to believe that John Bell, Sr. had cheated the old lady out of some land when he made his purchase.

As she had laid on her deathbed, she cursed Bell and swore that she would haunt him, his family, and the future generations of the Bell's descendants.

Is any of the legend true? Maybe so. Does Kate Batts still haunt the cave where the Bell Family's home once stood? It's possible indeed. I guess the only way to find out is to take a trip to Adams, Tennessee and find out for yourself.

Reference links to read more about The Bell Witch are as followed...

The Bell Witch Cave

Bell Witch History

Skeptic?

The Bell Witch Haunting

Bell Witch the Movie