Southern Ghost Stories & Legends: The Bell Witch

Final in a Series...

The tormenting spirit of America's best-known poltergeist case.

ADAMS, TENNESSEE, in 1817 was the site of one of the most well-known hauntings in American history – so well known that it eventually caught the attention and then the involvement of a future president of the United States.

Known as The Bell Witch, the strange and often violent poltergeist activity that provoked fear and curiosity in the small farming community has remained unexplained for nearly 200 years, and is the inspiration for many fictional ghost stories, including the recent film, The Blair Witch Project. The facts of The Bell Witch case share little in common with the mythology created for The Blair Witch Project, except they both attracted a great deal of public interest. And because it really happened, The Bell Witch is far scarier.

The Historical Record

One early account of The Bell Witch haunting was written in 1886 by historian Albert Virgil Goodpasture in his History of Tennessee. He wrote, in part:

A remarkable occurrence, which attracted wide-spread interest, was connected with the family of John Bell, who settled near what is now Adams Station about 1804. So great was the excitement that people came from hundreds of miles around to witness the manifestations of what was popularly known as the "Bell Witch." This witch was supposed to be some spiritual being having the voice and attributes of a woman. It was invisible to the eye, yet it would hold conversation and even shake hands with certain individuals. The freaks it performed were wonderful and seemingly designed to annoy the family. It would take the sugar from the bowls, spill the milk, take the quilts from the beds, slap and pinch the children, and then laugh at the discomfiture of its victims. At first it was supposed to be a good spirit, but its subsequent acts, together with the curses with which it supplemented its remarks, proved the contrary. A volume might be written concerning the performance of this wonderful being, as they are now described by contemporaries and their descendants. That all this actually occurred will not be disputed, nor will a rational explanation be attempted.

The Vengeful Ghost

What was the Bell Witch? Like most such stories, certain details vary from version to version. But the prevailing account is that it was the spirit of Kate Batts, a mean old neighbor of John Bell who believed she was cheated by him in a land purchase. On her deathbed, she swore that she would haunt John Bell and his descendents. The story is picked up by the Guidebook for Tennessee, published in 1933 by the Federal Government's Works Project Administration:

Sure enough, tradition says, the Bells were tormented for years by the malicious spirit of Old Kate Batts. John Bell and his favorite daughter Betsy were the principal targets. Toward the other members of the family the witch was either indifferent or, as in the case of Mrs. Bell, friendly. No one ever saw her, but every visitor to the Bell home heard her all too well. Her voice, according to one person who heard it, "spoke at a nerve-racking pitch when displeased, while at other times it sang and spoke in low musical tones." The spirit of Old Kate led John and Betsy Bell a merry chase. She threw furniture and dishes at them. She pulled their noses, yanked their hair, poked needles into them. She yelled all night to keep them from sleeping, and snatched food from their mouths at mealtime.

Andrew Jackson Challenges the Witch

So widely spread was the news about The Bell Witch that people came from hundreds of miles around hoping to hear the spirit's shrill voice or witness a manifestation of its vile temper. When word of the haunting reached Nashville, one of its most famous citizens, General Andrew Jackson, decided to gather a party of friends and journey to Adams to investigate.

The General, who had earned his tough reputation in many conflicts with Native Americans, was determined to confront the phenomenon and either expose it as a hoax or send the spirit away. A chapter in M. V. Ingram’s 1894 book, An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch – considered by many to be the best account of the story – is devoted to Jackson’s visit:

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. Just then, traveling 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, 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. 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. The horses then started unexpectedly of their own accord, and the wagon rolled along as light and smoothly as ever.

Attack on Jackson?

According to some versions of the story, Jackson did indeed encounter The Bell Witch that night:

Betsy Bell screamed all night from the pinching and slapping she received from the Witch, and Jackson's covers were ripped off as quickly as he could put them back on, and he had his entire party of men were slapped, pinched and had their hair pulled by the witch until morning, when Jackson and his men decided to hightail it out of Adams. Jackson was later quoted as saying, "I'd rather fight the British in New Orleans than to have to fight the Bell Witch."

The Death of John Bell

The torment of the Bell house continued for years, culminating in the ghost’s ultimate act of vengeance upon the man she claimed had cheated her: she took responsibility for his death. In October 1820, Bell was struck with an illness while walking to the pigsty of his farm. Some believe that he suffered a stroke, since thereafter he had difficulty speaking and swallowing. In and out of bed for several weeks, his health declined. The Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee, tells this part of the story:

On the morning of December 19, he failed to awake at his regular time. When the family noticed he was sleeping unnaturally, they attempted to arouse him. They discovered Bell was in a stupor and couldn't be completely awakened. John Jr. went to the medicine cupboard to get his father’s medicine and noticed it was gone with a strange vial in its place. No one claimed to have replaced the medicine with the vial. A doctor was summoned to the house. The witch began taunting that she had place the vial in the medicine cabinet and given Bell a dose of it while he slept. Contents of the vial were tested on a cat and discovered to be highly poisonous. John Bell died on December 20. "Kate" was quiet until after the funeral. After the grave was filled, the witch began singing loudly and joyously. This continued until all friends and family left the grave site.

The Bell Witch left the Bell household in 1821, saying that she would return in seven years time. She made good on her promise and "appeared" at the home of John Bell, Jr. where, it is said, she left him with prophecies of future events, including the Civil War, and World Wars I and II. The ghost said it would reappear 107 years later – in 1935 – but if she did, no one in Adams came forward as a witness to it.

Some claim that the spirit still haunts the area. On the property once owned by the Bells is a cave, which has since become known as The Bell Witch Cave, and many locals claim to have seen strange apparitions at the cave and at other spots on the property.

An Explanation?

A few rational explanations of The Bell Witch phenomena have been offered over the years. The haunting, they say, was a hoax perpetrated by Richard Powell, the schoolteacher of Betsy Bell and Joshua Gardner, with whom Betsy was in love. It seems Powell was deeply in love with the young Betsy and would do anything to destroy her relationship with Gardner. Through a variety of pranks, tricks, and with the help of several accomplices, it is theorized that Powell created all of the "effects" of the ghost to scare Gardner away.

Indeed, Gardner was the target of much of the witch's violent taunting, and he eventually did break up with Betsy and left the area. It has never been satisfactorily explained how Powell achieved all these remarkable effects, including paralyzing Andrew Jackson’s wagon. But he did come out the winner. He married Betsy Bell.

Walter

University of Tennessee - Dept of History
See also: Ghosts of Tennessee, The Bell Witch

Southern Ghost Stories and Legends: Ghostly Children Upon San Antonio's Railroad Tracks

A continuing series....

Back in the 1930s a school bus full of children was making its way down the road and towards an intersection when it stalled on the railroad tracks. A speeding train smashed into the bus, killing 10 of the children and the bus driver. Since that dreadful accident many years ago, any car stopped near the railroad tracks will be pushed by unseen hands across the tracks to safety. It is the spirits of the children, they say, who push the cars, uphill, across the tracks to prevent a tragedy and fate like their own. Allegedly, the surrounding streets are named in memory of the children.

The second half of this legend is that if a light powder - like talcum or baby powder - is sprinkled over the car's trunk and rear bumper, tiny fingerprints and handprints will appear - the prints of the ghost children pushing the car. Many who have tried it swear that indeed they can see the evidence of small children's handprints in the powder. Numerous accounts have been reported that cars do in fact inexplicably move on their own and mysterious prints are seen on vehicles. Others allege they have heard the voices and laughter of children while at the site.

Walter

Further Reading: San Antonio Ghost Tracks

Southern Ghost Stories & Legends: Chickamauga Battlefield

Many Civil War battlefields are hotbeds of stories and legends, likely because of the violent deaths of so many people on these sites and the bloody nature of the war itself, and Chickamauga National Park is no exception.

The Cherokee Indians were no strangers to this area, and in fact the very name "Chickamauga" means "River of Death" in Cherokee. The bloody battle of Chickamauga claimed over 37,000 lives, and many of the dead remained unburied for months after the battle, only to be haphazardly buried unceremoniously in trenches all over the site. The bloodshed on these grounds didn't end there, and even in modern times, because of it's accessibility and remoteness, many murders have been committed here, and this is a favorite place to dump the bodies of murder victims.

Ghostly phenomena in Chickamauga runs the gamut of the supernatural spectrum, including sightings of orbs, and vortexes, ghostly figures, glowing eyes, rustling bushes with no apparent cause, odd sounds, gunshots (no hunting is allowed anywhere near this large area), and occasional disembodied voices. Many who have visited the site report a very strong feeling of uneasiness and of being watched. A full figure of a woman in what appears to be a white wedding gown has been reported by several people, and it is assumed that her lover was killed in the bloody battle. Many other apparitions have been seen, including what appears to be a soldier trying to surrender, and a headless horseman. The most bizarre phenomena here involves many reports of a specter with glowing green or green-orange eyes that has long hair like a woman, and fangs. What this might be is anyone's guess, but whatever it is, it may have been roaming the area long before the Civil War, as sketchy reports indicate a sighting by soldiers during a lull in the battle.

Chickamauga is a must see for ghost hunters that find themselves in the northwest Georgia/Chattanooga area. It is a very scenic place during the day, but becomes rather misty at times, making it seem sinister and frightening once darkness falls.

Chickamauga is located in the northwest corner of Georgia, very near both the Alabama and Tennessee borders, and is often reported incorrectly as being in Tennessee. It can be reached directly through Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia via route 27, and is also near both Interstates 24 and 75 from Chattanooga.

Walter

Sources: Weird GA, US National Park Service

Southern Ghost Stories & Legends: The Legend of Crybaby Bridge

A Continuing Series.....

This legend can be found in Franklin County and Columbus, Georgia, Salem, Ohio and Lottsford Vista Road - a country road between Bowie and Upper Marlboro, Maryland. This has become more urban legend than pure legend that has one original locale.

This haunted old bridge near Columbus, Georgia is well-known to the locals. The story is that some children were killed on the bridge, whether intentionally or accidentally, and that at night you can hear their cries and see a woman walking along the edge of the woods. Other reported phenomena include footsteps - sometimes fairly loud ones - coming towards you from the woods, and one website has published an EVP recording in which you can faintly hear a voice in the background. Many also report a distinct feeling of uneasiness in the area, along with mists and cold spots. The setting here is very spooky in and of itself - deep woods in the middle of the night - but the paranormal sights and sounds reported here appear to be quite real, so put this one on your to-do list if you are ever in the Columbus area.

To get to Crybaby Bridge, go north on Whitesville Road until it turns into a dirt road. Continue on to the 3rd bridge, and then stop on the bridge.

Walter

Sources: Weird USA, Weird GA

Southern Ghost Stories & Legends:The Ghost of St. Simons Island Lighthouse

First in a Series.....

There's something about lighthouses that make them popular focus points for many American ghost stories. Perhaps it is the way the interior stairwells often seem dark and foreboding, almost like the dungeons of ancient times, or their often isolated locations also could come into play. The other theory, of course, is that they really are haunted.

The St. Simons Island Lighthouse has stood on the Georgia coast since 1872 when it was constructed by the U.S. government to replace one destroyed during the Civil War. Only eight years later, however, a violent episode occurred here that is reverberated through the years and developed into one of the South’s most well-known ghost stories.

The lighthouse keeper at the time of the 1880 incident was Frederick Osborne. With an assistant, he kept the light operating 24-hours per day, seven days a week. With their families, they shared quarters in the adjacent lighthouse keeper’s house. Osborne lived on the ground floor while his assistant lived on the second. The two floors were connected by a central stairway. Whether the quarters were too close for comfort or whether the two men simply did not get along is not known, but for some reason they began to argue with each other.

The disagreements accelerated on a Sunday morning in March of 1880, only to tragically end with the death of Osborne who was shot to death on the lighthouse grounds. The assistant keeper, however, was later acquitted of the murdering Osborne, an indication that jurors felt he was justified in shooting his boss.

But there are some who say that Osborne’s death came so suddenly that he never stopped his nightly routine of inspecting the lighthouse. The families of later keepers and residents of St. Simons Island in general claim that strange footsteps can be heard echoing from inside the lighthouse at night, as if someone is walking up the spiral staircase to the top.

The St. Simons Island Lighthouse Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The former keeper’s home now provides displays on local history and the lighthouse itself can be climbed. The railed walkway at the top provides a spectacular view of the Golden Isles and the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

Walter

Sources: Weird Georgia, St. Simons Island CVB