The Bell Witch: The Full Account (23 page)

to wish to exist in your presence. I have repeatedly

told you that I don’t believe what you say of the good

that will come of my father’s demise, and as often

told you...”

Kate interrupted, saying, “I am leaving you for the

night. Just think over the things I have told you and

be assured that I am willing to give you all the

information I may possess. Let me know of the

things you believe might result in some good.”

“Kate” Makes Predictions

Kate returned the next evening as John Jr. was

reading some maps and literature that pertained to

the Battle of New Orleans, a battle in which he had

fought alongside his brother, Jesse, and was very

familiar with. Immediately upon recognizing what

Bell was reading, Kate remarked, “There will be

another battle at New Orleans, which will be part of a

bloody and intense war, the outcome of which will be

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

169

the Negroes’ freedom. The city will be captured and

held by one of your fellow Tennesseans; he is an

officer in the United States Navy right now, but he

will be on the other side.”

Kate continued, “This fight at New Orleans will

determine you to go into the army against the north,

but you will not realize your decision. You will

depart from this world just after that battle at the

city in which you have felt so interested.” “I just

might depart shortly if there is any prospect of your

remaining here long,” replied Bell.

Kate continued visiting John Jr. each night,

engaging him in discussions about wars, civilizations

and Christianity. These long and thought-provoking

discussions amounted to a series of conferences

regarding the past, the present, and the future.

In addition to predicting the Civil War, Kate spoke

of another war that would be of major significance to

Americans. This war would take place at a time

when the United States had established itself as a

strong, global power, and because of this, would be

heavily involved in the war along with several other

major countries.

The world would lose millions of men in what some

people would call “the war to end all wars.” This

phrase, which Kate coined while making a prediction

in 1828, ended up being the phrase used by many to

describe World War I.

Kate also predicted what many believe to have

been World War II. During one of their discussions,

Kate said to John Bell, Jr., “There will be threats and

signs of another great upheaval which, if it comes,

will be far more devastating and fearful in character

than the one the world thought too terrible for the

mind to grasp.”

170 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

“Kate” Bids Farewell

One evening after several months of these long

discussions, Kate told John Jr. that she would make

her final appearance the following evening. John Jr.

then confided in his best friend, Frank Miles, that

Kate had returned some months earlier and that they

had discussed a great number of topics. He invited

Miles to his home to witness Kate’s final appearance.

At precisely eight o’clock that evening, Kate

appeared to John Jr. and Frank Miles saying, “To

you two, who are inseparable friends, I say that

whether the world ever hears of what I have told

John or not, as bad as you both think I have been, I

hope it will be recognized that what I have said to

John is for the best, and the world will so live. I

shall be there; you two will know what I am doing;

the world may not recognize Spirits, whether good or

demon; both will be here; it will have many of each.

“Again, John, your descendants will not be worried

by me, but I promise you now if it is for their good,

and I am allowed, for once I will be helpful to them

and their country. I am bidding you and Frank a

last farewell. I will be here again in another seven

years, to which one hundred will be added.”

Some 34 years later, on April 25, 1862, New

Orleans was captured by the Union Army under the

leadership of Captain David Farragut of Knoxville,

Tennessee, who had been a junior officer in the

United States Navy at the time Kate predicted the

capture of New Orleans. The Union Army took

control of New Orleans on May 1, 1862 — nearly a

month after Bell died of pneumonia on April 8, 1862.

Kate apparently missed this prediction.

Life after “Kate’s” Departure

In the final years of his life, John Bell, Jr. spent

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

171

three days describing in meticulous detail his private

conversations with Kate as his son, Dr. Joel Thomas

Bell, listened attentively and took notes. The

younger Bell later passed this information to his son,

Dr. Charles Bailey Bell, who included much of it in

his book, “T
he Bell Witch: A Mysterious Spirit,”

published in 1934.

Lucy Bell remained in the old Bell home up until

her death in January of 1837, after which it was

used to store grain and other farming materials until

about 1843. The house was then razed, and its

stones and logs were used to construct other houses

and
farm buildings in the area. T
he families of

Esther Porter and Jesse Bell had moved to Panola

County, Mississippi by that time, also. Both families

had discussed leaving Robertson County Tennessee

to escape Kate; however, it was not until the 1837-

1842 period that they moved — years after Kate’s

departure. 41

In 1846, Richard Williams Bell, the second

youngest child of John and Lucy Bell, wrote a

comprehensive eyewitness account of Kate’s

disturbances. Known as “Our Family Trouble,” Bell’s

manuscript was incorporated into a number of later

publications and was published under its own name

in 1985. 42

In 1848, tragedy struck Elizabeth “Betsy” Powell

when her husband, Professor Richard Powell, died

after a slow decline in his health that followed a

massive stroke he suffered in 1837. Powell’s family

suffered significant financial hardships because of

his no longer being able to make a living.

In 1849, only one year after her husband’s death,

Elizabeth learned that a publication known as
The

41 Time frame arrived at by examining real estate, tax, and census records.

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

172 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

Saturday Evening Post
, which was circulated only in

Pennsylvania at the time
,
had published a lengthy

article about her family’s experiences with Kate, or

the “Bell Witch” as the Spirit was often called. Much

to her chagrin, the entire article suggested that she

was the culprit behind Kate’s disturbances. She

contacted an attorney and threatened legal action in

the form of a libel suit if the publication did not

retract the comments made in the article. In

response
, The Saturday Evening Post
issued a public

apology and retracted the comments made regarding

Elizabeth’s alleged involvement with the

disturbances.

What was once a thriving plantation and the

apparent center of Kate’s disturbances, was divided

into several tracts and became the property of not

one, but many owners. The land was farmed just as

it had been by John Bell some two decades earlier;

however, there was no longer a maligned Spirit

constantly torturing those who lived there and their

visitors.

Did “Kate” Really Leave?

A quick look at the land records of Robertson

County will substantiate the former; however, there

is no evidence of any kind that suggests Kate
really

left the place after she bade farewell to John Bell, Jr.

and Frank Miles on that summer night in 1828. To

the contrary, many people claimed to have

encountered mysterious apparitions and other

phenomena on and around the old Bell farm long

after Kate’s alleged departure.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

173

Reader’s Notes:

174 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The Trouble Never Ended

J OEL BELL INHERITED A PORTION of the old

Bell farm that bordered the Red River on its

north side and roughly followed present-day

Keysburg Road on its western side. The land also

contained the cave from which Kate once rescued a

young boy whose head became stuck in a crevice.

On the hill directly above the cave, Joel Bell built a

house using logs salvaged from the original Bell

home when it was razed. At the time, this hill was

known as Brown’s Ford Bluff. o

On a winter day in 1852, Dr. Henry Sugg visited

this house to tend to a sick child, presumably one of

Joel Bell’s children. With the air having been so cold

outside, the doctor sat close to the fire to warm his

hands when he arrived. While discussing the child’s

symptoms with Joel Bell, Dr. Sugg heard what

sounded like glass breaking and corks popping off

the vials in his medicine bag.

“Mr. Bell, did you hear that!” inquired the doctor.

“Yes, I did,” replied Bell; “it is not uncommon to hear

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

175

strange noises or see strange things around here. I

have not been able to determine the source, but I can

assure you that no one here has ever been hurt

because of these strange things.” “Might this have

something to do with the ‘witch’ that haunted these

parts many years ago?” asked Dr. Sugg. “I don’t

really know,” replied Bell, “but it would not surprise

me at all.”

Dr. Sugg then fetched his medicine bag and

checked its contents for damage. “Mr. Bell!”

exclaimed Dr. Sugg, “I am astonished. I cannot

believe this! Every vial in my bag is intact, just as I

arranged them earlier this morning. How do you live

day in and day out with such mind-boggling events

occurring right here in your home?” “I suppose it’s

because I grew up with such things and they don’t

bother me much anymore,” Joel Bell replied, “but

one thing I’ve learned to do when these things

happen is to ignore them. They usually stop, and

very quickly.”

Dr. Sugg’s strange encounter was not the last to be

experienced in the house atop Brown’s Ford Bluff.

Another strange event occurred at the same house in

early 1861, six years after Joel Bell had sold it to his

brother, Richard, who died two years later and left it

to his son, Allen Bell.

Reynolds Powell’s Encounter

Allen Bell and Reynolds Powell, son of Richard and

Elizabeth Powell, served together in Company F of

the Eleventh Tennessee Regiment of the Confederate

Army. Powell was a private and Bell was fourth

sergeant, both ultimately taking orders from Captain

James Long, husband of Elizabeth’s childhood

176 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

friend, Rebecca Porter. 43 Bell had been discharged

from the Confederate Army because of health

problems, and was at home recuperating when

Powell came to visit and spend the night with him. p

The men sat up until late in the evening, talking

about many things and occasionally playing with

Bell’s dog. It had gotten somewhat stuffy inside, so

before retiring for the evening they opened the doors

to allow some fresh air to circulate in the house.

Shortly after they fell asleep, the dog began fiercely

barking and ran into the house with its tail tucked as

if it had been frightened.

Both men awoke to strange noises outside their

windows. These noises were later described as

sounding like animals fighting in a strong wind;

however, the wind had been calm that evening.

Despite being inside the house, the dog continued

barking, snarling and growling as if it was fighting

with some invisible entity. After investigating and

finding nothing, Bell and Powell put the dog outside

and closed the door in hopes of being able to sleep

again.

They once again fell asleep but were awakened

later on by an invisible force that jerked the pillows

from behind their heads and pulled the covers off

their beds. They could neither see nor hear

anything, and the activity continued off and on until

daylight. q

Five years later, another remarkable event took

place on the old Bell farm at the Enchanted Spring,

the same landmark the Spirit said contained buried

money some 50 years earlier, and the site where

Joshua Gardner and Elizabeth Bell said their final

farewell on Easter Monday of 1821. However, this

43 Albert Virgil Goodpasture,
Goodspeed History of Tennessee – Robertson County
, 1886, p. 856.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT