The terrifying legend of the Bell Witch is a well known haunting found famously in southern folklore throughout history.
There are legends in history that could be based on true stories, Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and had them crucified but not before granting them mercy by having their throats cut.
The story itself is based on true historical facts involving even the future President of the United States.
A Haunting
The legend of the Bell Witch centers around one family, the Bell family. The head of the household, John Bell Sr. was a successful farmer in northern-central Tennessee.
Bell lived with his family along the Red River, red for blood of course jk, a river which spans 100 miles through north Tennessee and is a major tributary to the Cumberland River.
This area they lived in was near Adams, Tennessee a small city in Robertson County with less 700 inhabitants to-date.
The beginning of the haunting is said to have come in the form of a black dog who appeared to Bell Sr. one day in his fields.
He shouted or shot at the black dog , depending on who you ask, and it disappeared. The haunting took a more mischievous turn from there, moving to physical abuse by the spirit to the family members.
The family was subjected to strange knockings, the sound of chains along the floor, pinching, beatings, scratching, and gnawing by the unseen force disturbing their home.
Kate Batts
If one had to give a name to the entity that haunted the Bell family, especially John Bell Sr, beyond the nickname “Bell Witch”, that name would be Kate Batts.
Why Kate Batts? According to the legend of the Bell Witch Batts was a neighbor to the Bell farmhouse and involved in some land dealings that left her spurned and bitter. She vowed to haunt Bell Sr. and his family upon her death.
Sure enough she did die but it was 27 years after Bell Sr. so in reality it could not have been Kate Batts.
Andrew Jackson
After his victory in New Orleans Revolutionary War general Andrew Jackson moved in 1803 and built a home in Gallatin, Tennessee, a cotton plantation to house his slaves and his family.
The tale of the Bell Witch in northern central Tennessee reached many across the state and even the South.
It eventually reached Revolutionary War hero Andrew Jackson. In 1819 Jackson visited the Bell Home near Adams, Tennessee.
Upon their arrival the general’s wagon stopped in its tracks.The wagon wheels simply would not move, not until Jackson acknowledged the witch as the legend says, “boys, this is the witch”.
To their surprise the words of Jackson seemed to illicit a response from a female voice emanating from an ethereal source which could not be seen.
“Ok general let the wagon move,” the witch said to the general and his men.
Betsy Bell
If there was one who suffered more than that of John Bell Sr. it was his daughter, Betsy. The dark entity appeared to single her out for physical and mental torment.
She was slapped, scratched, disturbed, and tossed around by the dark force whom the family believed to be the spirit haunting their farmhouse.
It is said that the spirit took particular contempt at Betsy’s engagement to Joshua Gardner.
John’s Death
Around the time of the beginning of the hauntings Bell Sr. came down with a devastating illness believed to have been caused by the witch.
Bell Sr. died December 20, 1820. It is said that the haunting ended that day and even that the spirit interrupted his funeral with drinking songs in a sordid laugh.
Local Tales
Missing Scissors
Residents around the location of the cave namely those within 10 miles of it share stories of first hand experiences related to the Bell Witch.
One tale recounts the occurrence of strange appearances of ordinary things in the home by one Adams resident.
This woman had an irritating problem at home and one that would lead anyone to believe something supernatural was to blame.
She could never find any scissors in her home. She would buy more pairs of scissors only to have them disappear in short order.
One day she found all of them, dozens of pairs of scissors, in one drawer in the kitchen.
While that may seem innocuous enough and not the calling card of a malevolent spirit the next story does.
Haunted Manger Scene
The next story involves more suspicious activities than missing scissors and shook the residence so much that they finally moved away from Adams, TN.
One woman in Adams who lived near the cave, along the Red River just as the Bell family had, was part of a regular Christian family.
They put up Christmas lights one year as December 25 approached and even installed a small manger scene display in their kitchen.
To their shock and horror one day they heard a shuffling in the kitchen and rushed to see what caused the commotion.
Nothing was out of the ordinary and there was no sign of an intruder.
What they did find was even stranger. The manger scene which was made up of the baby Jesus, Mary, Josephy, camels, and the 3 wise men had been suspiciously rearranged.
The wise men were all pointing their fingers and visual gaze away from the baby Jesus.
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