The Bell Witch: The Full Account (14 page)

of multiple, disembodied voices coming from the

walls the ceiling, the wind, and the trees. There were

also occasions on which the Spirit hopped onto

peoples’ horses and rode with them. One such

occasion was when Billy Wall, from nearby

Montgomery County, decided to visit the Bells and

see what all the “Spirit talk” was about.

The Spirit Rides a Horse

Wall mounted his large horse and set out on his

journey, but only to be stopped a mile short of the

Bell home by a voice he heard coming from the

bushes beside the road. “Hello Ol’ Billy Wall, are you

going to see the witch?” the voice asked. “Yeah,

that’s where I’m going; why?” Wall responded. “I am

going there too, and I believe I will ride behind you

on that fat horse,” exclaimed the voice. “Alright, then

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come on out of the bushes and hop up,” Wall said.

Nothing came out of the bushes, but Wall suddenly

felt his horse begin to squat and jerk, and then make

strange sounds as if it was in pain.

Reaching both hands behind his back, he felt

nothing behind him. He could still hear the voice,

which by that time sounded as if it had gotten on the

horse and was right behind him. The voice again

spoke, “Why Billy, this sure is a fine horse; you

ought to be proud of him just like that nice head of

hair you have.” “What? Who are you and why can’t I

see you? I never saw you move. You’re still

supposed to be over there in the bushes!” Wall

exclaimed.

The voice then began laughing and telling Wall

that he looked like a statesman because his hair was

standing up so high. The horse finally moved and

Wall reached the Bell farm a short time later, where

upon arriving the voice said, “Mr. Wall, hitch your

horse to the rack and go in; I will be in pretty soon

and will entertain you.” Shortly after Wall hitched

his horse and entered the Bell home, the noises

commenced as promised.

Although a disembodied voice seemed to be the

Spirit’s favorite form in which to manifest, it also

took great pleasure in assuming the form of a rabbit

hopping through the grass, across the road, and

other places where people were.

The Playful Rabbit

Richard Williams Bell, Joshua Gardner, Alex

Gooch, Elizabeth Bell, and Theny Thorn one day

decided to go for a stroll through the countryside and

see if their dogs could jump any rabbits. The dogs

jumped a rabbit and began chasing it shortly after

they were let loose in the dell. The children ran

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alongside the rabbit in hopes of cornering it so the

dogs could catch it more easily. Something was

different about this rabbit, however.

The rabbit seemed wilder than any they had seen,

running in circles and going up and down
a hill

several times. Instead of quickly hopping into a

thicket as most rabbits would, this rabbit remained

in the wide-open field as if it was trying to play

“games” with the children.

The children and their dogs became exhausted and

gave up after several minutes of chasing the rabbit.

They saw the rabbit stand still and stare at them,

then slowly hop into a nearby thicket as they sat on

the ground catching their breath. That evening, the

Spirit made much adieu about the rabbit chase,

exclaiming, “Josh can sure run like a dog. I almost

had to dodge between his legs. The rabbit you were

chasing was really I!” k

When the Spirit took the form of an animal other

than a rabbit, it was most often the form of a dog or

bird. On one such occasion, a dog began talking to

Dean and later appeared to him with two heads.

The Spirit Appears as a Dog

Dean was one of the Bell family’s slaves who came

from North Carolina along his mother, Chloe, and in

the winter of 1803-1804. Dean was known for his

skill with the axe and maul, and was considered the

best log splitter in Robertson County. Small in

physical stature, he was very muscular, hardworking

and honest — and as such was John Bell’s most

valued slave. Dean’s wife, Kate, worked at Alex

Gunn’s farm, nearby.

After most days ended, Dean went to the Gunn

farm and visited with his wife. While on his way to

the Gunn farm one evening, he saw a black dog jump

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out of the bushes and into his path. The dog

followed him all the way to the Gunn farm, and then

disappeared. The dog continued this pattern of

behavior for several nights in a row, meeting Dean at

the same place in the path and following him all the

way to the Gunn farm before disappearing.

Dean grew suspicious and told his wife about the

mysterious dog. Together, they decided that the dog

must have been the “old witch” that had caused so

many problems for the Bells. His wife made him a

magic “witch ball” out of her hair and several

ingredients believed to scare away evil Spirits.

The next evening, Dean came down the path

whistling happily and carrying his “witch ball” in his

pocket. He was no longer worried about the

mysterious dog. As he approached the place in the

path where the dog had appeared the last several

evenings, the voice of an old lady asked, “Dean, what

makes you whistle?” “Because I’m going to see my

wife,” he replied. “Dean, what’s that you have in

your pocket?” the voice inquired. “Nothing,” replied

Dean. The voice exclaimed in an angry tone, “Dean,

you know that is a lie. You have your wife’s hair and

some yarn wrapped up in a ball to pester me. I’ll

show you, Mister Smarty, you can’t bother me with

that.” He was terrified.

As Dean knelt down and began to pray, the voice

said, “Lord Jesus, Dean, what a fool you are; don’t

you know you can’t pray like Ol’ Sugar Mouth? Get

up from there!” “What, in the name of the Lord, are

you going to do to me?” asked Dean. “Unless you

give me that ball, I am going to turn you into a horse

and ride you across the river to the stillhouse!” His

hands trembling in fear, Dean pulled the “witch ball”

out of his pocket and accidentally dropped it. As

soon as the “witch ball” hit the ground, it caught fire

and emitted smoke so strong that it almost took his

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breath away. Just as he caught his breath, he heard

a crackling noise behind him and looked around to

see what it was.

Dean saw what had become a familiar sight — the

mysterious black dog. It came from the bushes

where he heard the old lady’s voice a minute earlier,

just as it had before; only this time its mouth was

open and it was walking slowly towards him. As the

dog came within a few feet, Dean swung his axe and

split its head in two. After rolling over and kicking

for several minutes, the dog jumped into the air and

fell to the ground beside the burning “witch ball.”

The ball shot up into the air and was never seen

again.

After sitting on the ground for several minutes

catching his breath, Dean looked up and saw the dog

he thought was dead slowly get up and walk back

into the bushes. Only this time, it had two heads

instead of one.

Not long after Dean split the dog's head in two and

lost his “witch ball,” his wife make him another one.

“Now listen here…as long as you keep this ball in

your pocket, nothing is going to bother you. But if

you don’t, you might as well consider yourself a

goner,” she warned. Heeding his wife’s warning,

Dean carried the new “witch ball” with him

everywhere he went.

One evening while going to see his wife, Dean once

again encountered the mysterious dog — still with

two heads. It walked from behind a tree and into the

path directly in front of him. With its mouths wide

open, the dog gazed at Dean for several minutes with

its fiery, red eyes. He finally got up enough nerve to

try to communicate with the dog, asking, “In the

name of the Lord, what’s that?” “Dean, you can’t

pass here unless you give me that ball in your

pocket,” replied the dog, which was still using with

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the voice of an old lady. “What’s your name?” asked

Dean. “My name is Blackdog; you know me, you

rascal, because you once split my head open with

your axe,” answered the dog. “I don’ t have a ball;

you took it the other time!” Dean exclaimed. “You’re

a liar, Dean. I know you have gone and gotten

another ball!”

“If you won’t let me pass, I can go back,” Dean

yelled as he slowly walked backwards until the dog

was out of sight. Thinking he could make a getaway,

he turned around to run. He saw the two-headed

dog again upon turning around, standing in front of

him and blocking his escape. “What do you want?”

he asked; to which the dog replied, “Unless you give

me that ball, I’m going to turn you into a mule and

ride you across the river to the stillhouse!” “I’m not

going to give you my ball, and I’ll split your head

open all the way to the tail if you don’t get out of my

way!” yelled Dean. “Say your prayers, Dean!”

exclaimed the dog.

The Spirit Turns Dean Into a Mule

Trembling and beginning to lose his strength,

Dean began feeling sick and accidentally dropped his

axe. “Alright, Dean. Get down on your hands and

knees and find that axe of yours, right now!” the dog

insisted. Dean got down on his hands and knees

and began feeling all around for his axe, which he

soon realized was missing altogether. When he tried

to get back up, he realized that he was stuck on his

hands and knees and could no longer move.

From behind Dean, the voice of a small child

exclaimed, “He’s too high behind to tote double,”

followed by the old lady’s voice saying, “That’s

alright; level him down.” Something suddenly jerked

on Dean’s “tail,” causing him to give a hard, one-

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legged kick that resulted in the sound of something

falling to the ground directly behind him. The small

child’s voice spoke again, “There, bad luck. He

spoiled the job. He’s nothing but a darned mule.”

“Well, you can’t make anything out of a slave but a

mule, no how,” replied the old lady’s voice.

The two voices then began arguing about who

would ride on the front and who would ride on the

back. The small child’s voice exclaimed, “I have to

ride in the front — the mule hasn’t got a mane for

straps and a bridle to hold to, and my arms aren’t

long enough to reach his ears!” The argument

ended, and the two entities climbed onto Dean’s

back. The entity riding in the back gave Dean a swift

kick to his side and yelled happily, “Now, let’s ride

him to hell for breakfast!” The entity riding in the

front, which possessed the small child’s voice,

grabbed and jerked Dean’s ears, making him lean his

head forward and begin kicking. After giving a few

hard kicks, he no longer felt the weight of the

invisible entities on his back.

Almost instantly, he heard what sounded like two

bodies land on the ground next to him. Now able to

move, Dean rose and brushed the leaves off his

pants, and then left hurriedly — never to take this

path again.

The Spirit Appears as a Rabbit and a Bird

On another occasion, the Spirit manifested itself in

the form of both a rabbit and a bird to Alex Porter,

who lived near the Bell farm and was the husband of

the Bells’ oldest daughter, Esther. At the time of the

apparitions, Porter did not realize that the bird and

rabbit were manifestations of the Spirit. The Spirit

told him of this late one night as he returned home

from a visit with John and Lucy Bell.

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Realizing that the Bells got very little sleep and

were growing more weary by the day, Porter asked

the Spirit to follow him home so the Bells could get

some much-needed rest. The Spirit declined, stating,

“Alex, you will kill me if I visit your house.” “No I

won’t,” replied Porter. After he had gone a fair

distance down the road, the Spirit said to Porter,

“Oh, but I know you. I have been to your house.”

“Not true,” replied Porter.

“Do you remember that bird you thought sung so

sweet the other morning?” asked the Spirit. “Yes, I

do remember; what about it?” “Well, that was me!

And Alex, didn’t you see the biggest and poorest old

rabbit that you ever saw in your life as you went to

see Ol’ Jack Bell this evening?” “Yes,” replied Porter.

“Well, that was also me!” the Spirit gleefully

exclaimed.

Porter had almost reached his farm by this time.