The Bell Witch: The Full Account (12 page)

The outcome of the subsequent meeting was

recorded in the church minutes as, follows:

18
Red River Baptist Church Minutes (1791-1826)
, p. 180.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

83

“The church with the Brethren who were present

unanimously justified Brother Bell in what he did

agreeable to the evidence that came to them.” 19

Unsatisfied with the church’s action, Batts took it

up in a court of law, where in 1817, John Bell was

tried and convicted of “usury.” h Being that Bell was

an elder of the church, the news of his conviction

spread quickly throughout the Red River community,

Port Royal, Springfield, and Drake’s Pond.

Dispute with Josiah Fort

Aside from his dispute with Benjamin Batts and

having the Spirit in his house, John Bell had also

been involved in a theological dispute with Reverend

Sugg Fort’s older brother, Josiah Fort. Very little is

known about this dispute other than it began around

August of 1815 and was the subject of the subject of

church discussion and a private hearing the

following December. 20

The outcome of the hearing is not known; however,

Josiah Fort requested and received a letter of

dismission from Red River Baptist Church at the

church meeting following the hearing. i It is not

known whether Fort’s leaving the congregation had

to do with his dispute with John Bell, the death of

his wife the previous month, or other reasons. 21

Bell had also been involved in a dispute with

another member of the community to whom he had

loaned his best slave, Dean. The man became angry

with Dean and beat him relentlessly, bursting his

head open. This made John Bell furious. The men

settled their differences and Dean carried the scar on

19
Red River Baptist Church Minutes (1791-1826)
, p. 181.

20
Red River Baptist Church Minutes (1791-1826)
, pp. 165-166.

21
Red River Baptist Church Minutes (1791-1826)
, pp. 167-169.

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F I T Z H U G H

his forehead for the remainder of his life, insisting

that it was inflicted by the Spirit while on a ‘possum

hunting trip. 22

John Bell’s Excommunication

After the news of John Bell’s court conviction in

the Benjamin Batts dispute, which took place after

the events listed above, things were not looking good

for him in a number of ways. Because of the

negative publicity given the church as the result of

his being convicted in a court of law, the church

decided to “reconsider” Bell’s usury case — the same

case in which he had already been tried and

unanimously justified by the church. The following

was recorded in the church minutes of the November

15, 1817 church meeting:

“On motion agreed to reconsider the case of

Brother Bell, as decided in July 1816. On motion

agreed to set Brother Bell, as decided, aside for a

hearing, on the matter of taking USURY. He

having been found guilty by the Jury, in the

Circuit Court, for the County of Robertson, as

such we think the cause of Religion or the

Religious cause suffers in his hands.” 23

At a later meeting, a poll was taken to see whether

church members felt the charges against John Bell

were supported. A majority of those present

abstained from voting; however, the majority of those

who did vote said the charges were not supported. 24

At the January 1818 meeting of Red River Baptist

Church, John Bell’s religious fate was decided based

22 M.V. Ingram,
Authenticated History of the Bell Witch
, 1894, p. 219.

23
Red River Baptist Church Minutes (1791-1826)
, p. 189.

24
Red River Baptist Church Minutes (1791-1826)
, p. 190.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

85

on the charges of “covetousness” and “contempt” that

were formally brought against him at the December

meeting.

The charge of “covetousness” carried one

specification, that being Bell’s having been found

guilty of usury in a court of law. The charge of

“contempt” carried three specifications, the first of

which was Bell’s allegedly saying that the church had

received a member who did not walk according to the

apostolic order. The second specification of

contempt stemmed from Bell’s allegedly having said

“harsh contemptuous words” against the church,

and the third specification stemmed from Bell’s

allegedly having threatened to withdraw his

membership from the church.

After reviewing John Bell’s case, the church made

the following decisions, as recorded in the church

minutes:

“Brother Bell was found guilty of the first charge

but gave satisfaction for the second charge & the

specifications. The question was taken whether

Bell's acknowledgements for the 1st charge were

satisfactory? Answer, No. Whereupon the vote

was taken, and he the said John Bell was

excommunicated from our fellowship.” 25

Many believed, and still believe, that the real

reason behind Bell’s excommunication from Red

River Baptist Church was that the Spirit visited and

tormented his family.

John Bell lived at a time in history when there was

much superstition regarding the unexplained, the

Spiritual world, and witchcraft. The widespread

theological turmoil already inherent to the era, when

25
Red River Baptist Church Minutes (1791-1826)
, p. 191.

86 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

coupled with these superstitions, led many to believe

that people, places, and events of a mystical nature

were manifestations of God’s dissatisfaction with the

world, and that the devil was robbing Christian souls

in exchange for the satisfaction of seeing the demise

of Christianity.

It should come as no surprise that someone like

John Bell, known to have an evil Spirit living around

his home, would be excommunicated from any

church in the land at the time. As a side note,

Benjamin Batts himself was excommunicated from

Red River Baptist Church in March of 1825. 26

John Bell’s most prestigious honor, that of being

an elder of Red River Baptist Church, had been

taken away from him. Even a minor reprimand by

the church would have been considered an

embarrassment, but the idea of an elder being barred

from the church was unthinkable.

As Bell’s feelings of embarrassment and depression

were evident in his every word and action, his family

did everything they could to raise his Spirits. Bell

kept to himself for most of the remaining year, only

speaking to visitors and the slaves when he felt he

had to. It was a time for him to think about how he

was going to get his spiritual life back together and

regain the respect he lost. Bell’s demeanor showed

signs of improvement toward the end of the year, and

in January of 1819 he made it a point to participate

in Elizabeth’s thirteenth birthday party and socialize

with her friends and their parents.

The Spirit Attends Elizabeth’s Party

People from all over the community brought lots of

food and gifts to the party. The parents socialized

26
Red River Baptist Church Minutes (1791-1826)
, p. 241.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

87

inside while the children played games outside in the

snow that had fallen the night before. Sitting near

the house was a slide used in the late summer to

haul heavy loads of tobacco from the fields to the

barn. The slide had runners on the bottom and

made for an excellent sleigh during the winter, so the

children decided to take a ride around the farm.

As soon as the children had gotten situated on the

slide, the Spirit yelled, “Hold tight when we get to the

corner!” The slide immediately took off without the

horses attached, circling the house several times

before returning and stopping where the ride first

began.

All of the children were scared, but in amazement

nonetheless. After another ride, this time with the

horses attached to the sleigh, they went inside to

quench their appetites and tell of the amazing ride

around the house on a sleigh pulled by an “invisible

horse.”

As they sat down and prepared to eat, the Spirit

spoke up and announced, “I have something for you!

Look behind you!” Curious, the children turned

around and found lots of wild fruits and berries,

most of which had never been seen in Robertson

County. As they began peeling fruit, the Spirit

remarked, “Those came from the West Indies. I

brought them myself. Now eat and be merry!”

This was one of the few times that the Spirit

treated Elizabeth nicely, which came as a very

pleasant and welcome surprise to Elizabeth. This

was certainly better than having her face slapped,

her hair pulled, and being forced to vomit brass pins.

The Bells enjoyed a quiet afternoon together in the

family room after the party was over. All of the

visitors except Joshua Gardner had left, and it was a

time for them to pray together and thank the

Almighty for allowing others to see fit in socializing

88 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

with John Bell. Up to this point, the Bells had very

little reason to believe that others in the community

would associate with Bell because of his

excommunication from the church a year earlier.

As the afternoon ended and the aroma of dinner

began filling the house, they heard a knock at the

door. Much to their surprise and astonishment, the

visitor was Reverend Sugg Fort. Being viewed as an

outcast in the eyes of the church, John Bell did not

understand why Reverend Fort would be visiting his

home, or how he should act when greeting him at the

door.

Rev. Fort Keeps his Vow to Help

Before Bell had time to fully open the door and

address him, Reverend Fort said, “John, I’ve not been

to see you as of late because I know you’ve been

feeling bad and have needed time to yourself. In

hopes that you would get to feeling better, I held off

as long as the Lord and my conscience would let me;

but John, as your friend I consider this to be very

important and can’t continue to let my feelings about

your Spiritual matter remain silent.

“I want you to know, John, that despite all which

has happened to you in the church, the vow made by

myself and the Gunns to fully support you and your

family throughout these disturbances still holds true,

and our feelings are just as strong now as they were

the day you first told us about them. Everything

happens for a reason, and mortals like us don’t

always understand the Lord’s reasons. His word and

teachings make it incumbent upon us to accept

these things regardless, as they are His will and done

for a reason.

“Please understand that the Gunns and I will

continue to do everything in our power to support

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

89

and comfort you during this most difficult time. Our

love for you and your family has not changed, and we

continue to pray for each of you.”

With a tear in his eye, Bell replied, “Thank you,

Reverend Fort. You do not know how much we

appreciate what you just said. Lucy and I have

always believed that we would never be able to

conquer this evil Spirit without the help of God and

men like you, the Gunns, and James Johnston.

Please come in and make yourself at home. We

would like very much for you to stay and have dinner

with us this evening if you see fit. It should be on

the table in a few minutes.”

John Bell Tortured at Dinner

Reverend Fort graciously accepted the invitation

and they all soon sat down for a hearty dinner.

About halfway through the meal, John Bell felt the

onset of an episode with his tongue and stopped

eating. He continued talking with Reverend Fort as

he waited for the episode to pass, but not more than

a minute later, his chair forcefully flew out from

under him — sending him to the floor where he

began trembling and vomiting.

Reverend Fort and Drewry Bell quickly rushed to

his side, where they remained until the episode had

passed. After Bell began regaining his color, they

helped him back into his chair. Several mysterious,

laughing voices began to fill the room. Coming from

the walls and ceiling, these voices sounded as if they

were making fun of John Bell.

Another disembodied voice began speaking in

reverse, saying, “Bell Jack Ol’, beginning the only is

this. You just wait and see what’s in store for you. I

will kill you and make sure you die the slowest and

most horrible death anyone could ever think of.”

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F I T Z H U G H