Awesome or Off-Putting is a weekly delve into cryptozoology, ufology, aliens, medical marvels, scientific wonders, secret societies, government conspiracies, cults, ghosts, EVPs, myths, ancient artifacts, religion, strange facts or just the plain unexplainable.
This week: Ghosts/The Unexplainable
In Tennessee from 1817 – 1821, there was a family named Bell who experienced paranormal activity like few before them, and few since. The poltergeist-ish entity came to be known as The Bell Witch, named for the family she bothered. Many outside the family claim to be witnesses to the Witch, including future US President Andrew Jackson. War Savvy Jackson's even been attributed with saying:
“I’d rather fight the entire British Army than to deal with the Bell Witch.”
The Bell Witch haunted the Bell family for about four years, her primary stint as a ghastly spectre ended with the death of family patriarch John Bell. The haunting began almost word-for-word (you know what we mean) the same as Gef the Mongoose, a separate poltergeist story we brought you a few months back. In fact, the haunting started when John Bell encountered a strange furry animal in a cornfield. The creature was described as having the body of a dog, but the head of a rabbit. Bell shot at it, and the animal ran off never to be seen again.
Then came the weird sounds around the Bell house. The noises started outside with banging and gnawing. The sounds eventually moved indoors and manifested themselves as a voice, but it sounded 'guttural, and as if it were choking'. Again, this description sounds an awful lot like Gef the Mongoose. Physical interaction began between the ghost and the Bell family – interaction like a slapping of the children, the pulling of their hair, or the complete removal of bed sheets – even when several men tried preventing this removal.
The thing wasn't malicious in every human encounter. According to paranormal author and philosopher Paul Eno on a Coast to Coast appearance, the Witch could be heard all over town doing such things as giving agricultural advice, and attending church. The apparition is said to have been able to quote every single Sunday sermon word-for-word.
In 1894 a writer named Martin Van Buren Ingram published a thorough book on the Bell Witch – it's come to be known as The Red Book due to its colour. Ingram filled the Red Book's pages with interviews of local folk who had stories of the Witch – it's from these stories, apparently, that we get the story of Andrew Jackson's Bell Witch encounter:
"So Gen. Jackson's party came from Nashville with a wagon loaded with a tent, provisions, etc., bent on a good time and much fun investigating the Witch. The men were riding on horseback and were following along in the rear of the wagon as they approached near the place, discussing the matter and planning how they were going to do up the Witch, if it made an exhibition of such pranks as they had heard of. Just then, within a short distance of the house, travelling over a smooth level piece of road, the wagon halted and stuck fast. The driver popped his whip, whooped and shouted to the team, and the horses pulled with all of their might, but could not move the wagon an inch. It was dead stuck as if welded to the earth. Gen. Jackson commanded all men to dismount and put their shoulders to the wheels and give the wagon a push. The order was promptly obeyed. The driver laid on the lash and the horses and men did their best, making repeated efforts, but all in vain; it was no go. The wheels were then taken off, one at a time, and examined and found to be all right, revolving easily on the axles. Another trial was made to get away, the driver whipping up the team while the men pushed at the wheels, and still it was no go. All stood off looking at the wagon in serious meditation, for they were "stuck." Gen. Jackson after a few moments thought, realizing that they were in a fix, threw up his hands exclaiming, "By the eternal, boys, it is the Witch."
Then came the sound of a sharp metallic voice from the bushes, saying, "All right General, let the wagon move on, I will see you again to-night." The men in bewildered astonishment looked in every direction to see if they could discover from whence came the strange voice, but could find no explanation to the mystery. Gen. Jackson exclaimed again, "By the eternal, boys, this is worse than fighting the British." The horses then started unexpectedly of their own accord, and the wagon rolled along as light and smoothly as ever."
That quote is long, but it goes on even longer. A link to the rest of it is below. Now the Witch never took well to John Bell – in fact she'd often speak of her intent to kill him. Bell died in 1820, and an open vial was found next to his body. The remaining contents of the vial were fed to a cat which died almost instantly upon consumption. As the cat died the Witch's voice clearly exclaimed:
"I gave Ol' John a big dose of that last night, and that fixed him."
With that, the Witch disappeared, but not before promising a return eight years later. The poltergeist did return as promised, and stayed for three weeks during which time she predicted the American Civil war, the two World Wars, and more. During this 1828 visit the Witch made another promise that she's appear again in 107 years. Some claim that she did, and that she is still there today.
Read More:
Eric Layne says
The following information was missing from the above article:
During her second haunting, the Bell Witch accurately predicted the likes of Einstein and Hitler, saying a “simpleton of wondrous scientific know-how” would help stop a “moustachioed man bent on world domination.”
During her third and current haunting, the witch was seen near a convenient store digging through a trash receptacle. When a passerby stopped to inquire, the witch mumbled something about “…find those goddamn winning PowerBall lottery numbers…”
On a side note: the Bell Witch likes cheddar cheese.