The Bell Witch: The Full Account (17 page)

younger brother, Joel, receiving a spanking at the

hands of Kate:

“It happened that Joel and myself were left to

occupy a room alone one night, and were troubled

less than usual in the early part of the night, but

Kate put in good time just before day. It was

quite a cold morning, and rather too early to get

up, but Kate continued pulling the cover off and

jerking my hair, and I got out of bed and dressed

myself.

Joel, however, was much vexed, and said some

ugly things about ‘Old Kate,’ and gathering up the

cover from the floor, he rolled himself up in it for

another nap. Directly, the witch snatched it from

him again. Joel became enraged, pulling at the

cover while Kate seemed to be hawking and

spitting in his face, and he had to turn loose the

cover.

This made Joel raving mad, and he laid flat on his

back, kicking with all his might and calling old

Kate the meanest kind of names. ‘Go away from

here, you nasty old thing!’ he exclaimed. Kate

became furious also, exclaiming, ‘You little rascal,

I'll let you know who you are talking to.’

That moment, Joel felt the blows falling fast and

heavy, and no boy ever received such a spanking

as he got that morning, and he never forgot it. It

was frightful. I could do nothing for his relief. He

yelled frantically with all of his might, arousing

the whole house, nor did his punisher cease

spanking until father entered the door with a

light, finding him almost lifeless. The blows

sounded like the spanking of an open heavy hand,

and certainly there was no one in the room but

Joel and myself; and if there had been, there was

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no way of escaping except by the door which

father entered, and that would have been

impossible unobserved.” 28

Aside from the torment that Kate put the Bell

children through, she sometimes did things that

appeared to be for their own good. On one such

occasion, Richard, Elizabeth, and her friend, Rebecca

Porter, averted a possible tragedy by heeding Kate’s

warning about an approaching storm while

horseback riding.

“Kate” Saves Children from Storm

They went horseback riding all around the

countryside, eventually ending up the bend of the

Red River on the north end of the farm. This very

pretty spot boasted lots of poplar trees, wildflowers,

and other plants. Dark clouds and strong winds

began rolling in soon after they arrived, and limbs

began falling from trees all around them.

Kate had warned them not to go because of a

dangerous storm quickly approaching before they left

the house that morning. The children often heard

Kate say such things, only to find out later that she

merely wanted them to stay inside and not go out

and enjoy themselves. However, this time, the

warning was genuine and certainly in their best

interest.

As the bottom fell out and a cold, drenching rain

began to fall, Kate yelled to the children, “If you don’t

cross the river right now, some of you will be killed!”

Frightened by the weather and the urgency inherent

in Kate’s voice, the children quickly prepared to cross

the river. Because of the roaring thunder, the horses

28 Richard Williams Bell,
Our Family Trouble
, 1846 (Mini-Histories: Nashville, 1985).

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123

spooked and became difficult to control — refusing to

do anything but rare up and walk in the direction

away from the river; the area opposite of where Kate

said was safe.

“You little fools! Hold tight now and say nothing to

the horses!” Kate yelled. The horses suddenly

calmed, turned around, and then carried the

children across the river where they waited until the

storm passed over. Through the mist and fog

brought about by the storm, the children noticed

that the area they had just been in was strewn with

fallen trees, some of which were more than six feet in

diameter.

A Rescue in the Cave

On another occasion, Elizabeth and several of her

friends went to explore the cave by the Red River on

the north end of the farm and, thanks to Kate,

averted a potentially tragic situation.

After entering and making their way some 500 feet

back into the cave, they were forced to get on their

hands and knees to continue through the narrowing

passageway. The boy leading the group was walking

about ten yards in front of the others. He stopped at

one point to peer into a narrow opening in the wall to

see what was on the other side. When he tried to

look around and yell for the others to come with him,

he discovered that his head was stuck in a crevice.

Now very nervous and screaming for help, the boy

accidentally dropped his candle and the cave became

completely dark.

The others became frightened, and the echoes of

the boy’s screams in the darkness made it impossible

for them to know where he was. Suddenly, the cave

mysteriously lit up and Kate’s voice exclaimed, “I’ll

get you out!” The boy felt something grab his feet

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F I T Z H U G H

and pull, which in turn freed his head from the

crevice. This strong and invisible force did not let go

of the boy until it had pulled him all the way back to

the cave’s entrance.

“Kate’s” Adoration for Lucy Bell

Although Kate sometimes helped the children

when they appeared to be in danger, she was

particularly fond of Lucy Bell. She often commented,

“Ol’ Luce is a good woman.” Kate often conversed

with Mrs. Bell about issues of the day and different

goings-on in the Red River community and her home

state of North Carolina.

Mrs. Bell’s Illness

In September of 1819, Lucy Bell experienced a

bout with pleurisy and was confined to her bed for

nearly three weeks. The Bell family and Dr. Hopson

were very concerned about her health because she

had grown weaker than was expected and had

completely lost her appetite. The most concerned

entity of all, however, was Kate.

Kate stayed by Lucy Bell’s side day and night,

saying over and over, “Luce, poor Luce, I am so sorry

you are sick. Don’t you feel better, Luce? What can I

do for you, Luce?” She also sang beautiful hymns to

Mrs. Bell to help lift her Spirits. When she asked for

something, Kate always told her family or the slaves

where to find the item. When Mrs. Bell awoke each

morning, Kate would always ask, “How do you feel

this morning, Luce? Did you rest well through the

night? Don’t you want to hear a song, Luce?” to

which Mrs. Bell often replied, “Yes Kate, sing

something sweet.” Kate knew many hymns, both

traditional and her own creations.

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125

K A T E ’ S S O N G

Come my heart and let us try

For a little season

Every burden to lay by

Come and let us reason.

What is this that casts you down?

Who are those that grieve you?

Speak and let the worst be known,

Speaking may relieve you.

Christ by faith I sometimes see

And he doth relieve me,

But my fears return again,

These are they that grieve me.

Troubled like the restless sea,

Feeble, faint and fearful,

Plagued with every sore disease,

How can I be cheerful? 29

Despite being very ill and weak, Mrs. Bell always

thanked Kate for singing to her, saying, “Thank you

Kate; that was so sweet and beautiful, it makes me

feel better.”

One day at the height of Lucy Bell’s illness, Kate

said to her, “Luce, poor Luce, how do you feel now?

Hold out your hands, Luce, and I will give you

something.” As she held out her hands, hazelnuts

fell from the ceiling. Witnesses were so astonished

that they checked the roof to make sure there was no

opening from where the nuts could have dropped.

29 Dr. Charles Bailey Bell,
The Bell Witch: A Mysterious Spirit
, 1934.

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F I T Z H U G H

After several minutes had passed without Mrs. Bell

eating the hazelnuts, Kate inquired, “Say Luce, why

don’t you eat the hazelnuts?” “I am sorry, Kate, but I

am not strong enough to crack them,” Mrs. Bell

replied. “Well, I will crack some for you!” exclaimed

Kate. The nuts suddenly cracked open on the bed

next to Mrs. Bell, where she ate a good number of

them and thanked Kate for her kindness.

Another similar incident occurred the following

evening when Kate came to inform Mrs. Bell about

the birth of a baby at John Johnston’s house. After

a short conversation, grapes fell from the ceiling and

landed on the bed next to Mrs. Bell, just as the

hazelnuts had the day before. Despite her illness

and poor appetite, Mrs. Bell ate all of the grapes and

went on to fully recover from her illness a short time

later. Kate was once again happy.

One evening several weeks later, the Bells and

some guests were sitting in the family room

discussing Kate’s demonstrations with the grapes

and hazelnuts when, all of the sudden, Kate’s voice

rang out, “Who wants some grapes?” In no time,

fresh grapes began falling from the ceiling and into

Elizabeth’s hands. The grapes were eaten and

enjoyed by all who were present. Kate’s sometimes-

good deeds did not stop here. She also had a

fondness for Martha Bell, wife of John Bell’s eldest

son, Jesse.

Stockings for Martha Bell

Martha Bell was sitting on her front porch late one

afternoon peeling apples when she began hearing a

faint, buzzing sound nearby. Having had a number

of previous encounters with Kate, she easily

recognized the buzzing sounds. “What do you want,

Kate? Speak out so I can understand you,” asked

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127

Martha Bell. “Pots, I have brought you a present to

keep in remembrance of me when you go to your far

away new home. Will you accept it?” “Why certainly,

Kate, I will gladly accept any present you may bring.

What is it?” l

Out of thin air, a neatly wrapped package fell and

landed in her lap. She opened the package and

found a pair of black silk stockings inside. Kate then

proceeded to tell her, “I brought it, Pots; see what a

nice pair of stockings. I want you to keep them for

your burial, to remember me, and never wear them.”

After thanking Kate, Mrs. Bell examined the

stockings and discovered a small strange-looking

spot in one area. Kate then spoke up and declared,

“That is blood! They killed a beef at Kate Batts’ this

morning and the blood splattered on the stocking.”

Martha Bell told her husband about the incident

when he returned from the fields later that

afternoon. Curious about the validity of Kate’s

explanation of the blood, Jesse Bell paid a surprise

visit to the Batts farm to see what he might learn

through casual conversation and observation. Upon

arriving, Mrs. Batts greeted Bell and exclaimed, “I am

very glad you came to visit! I was just thinking of

you and Martha earlier today. We killed a nice beef

this morning and I had intended to bring some to

Martha but didn’t get around to it.” After some

general conversation, Mrs. Batts gave Jesse some of

the meat and sent him on his way.

It would appear that while Kate was very kind to

most women, she treated men in a cruel manner.

This was not always the case, however. She treated

the Johnstons, Reverend Fort, and the Gunns very

kindly – often citing their strong religious convictions

as being the reason why. There was, however, one

man in particular who Kate held a much greater and

different fondness for — William Porter.

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F I T Z H U G H

“Kate” Sleeps with William Porter

Porter was a bachelor who lived on Sturgeon Creek

not far from the Bell and Johnston farms. He was a

good friend of the Bells and spent many nights in

their home watching Kate’s demonstrations and

trying to help shed any light he could on the mystery.

Over time, Kate developed a fondness for Porter and

began to engage him in flirtatious and otherwise

unnecessary conversations.

After building a large fire in his fireplace and

climbing into bed one cold night, Porter began

hearing what sounded like scratching and thumping

at the side of his bed. Then, in a soft voice, Kate said

to him, “Billy, I have come to sleep with you and keep

you warm. It’s a very cold night and I know you

could use the company.” Knowing there was nothing

he could do to change his predicament, Porter