The Bell Witch: The Full Account (8 page)

For hours, Johnston listened attentively as Bell

tearfully described the painful events that had taken

place over the past year.

Shocked by what Bell had told him, Johnston said

a prayer for the Bells and offered to help in any way

he could. “James, I would like you to experience this

first-hand and tell me what you think it is. You and

Jane are welcome to stay the night with us any time

you want to,” Bell announced. “We would be glad to,

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53

John. We could hold a prayer meeting in your home

tonight and Jane and I will spend the night

afterward,” replied Johnston. John Bell thanked him

for his time and concern, then mounted his horse

and rode home.

James Johnston led the worship that evening at

the Bell home, reading scripture, leading hymns, and

praying. He prayed fervently for the Bells’

deliverance from the mastery of the maleficent Spirit,

and that its identity and purpose would soon be

made known. Not long after everyone retired, the

disturbances commenced — gnawing, scratching,

beating on the walls, pillows being jerked, and other

mysterious actions began occurring all throughout

the Bell home. It seemed as if the Spirit was aware

of the Johnstons’ presence and was putting on a

“show” for them. Despite his and his wife’s intense

fear, James Johnston listened carefully to the Spirit.

Hearing the sounds of air being blown and lips

smacking together, he decided that the Spirit

possessed some form of human-like intelligence.

Curious about the Spirit’s ability to communicate,

Johnston asked, “In the name of the Lord, what or

who are you? What do you want and why are you

here?” This question silenced the Spirit for a short

time; however, the disturbances soon started again

and with a much greater force. The Johnstons spent

the remainder of the night listening to Elizabeth

scream from being pinched and slapped.

Friends Vow to Help

While eating breakfast the next morning, James

Johnston remarked, “I’ve now experienced what your

family has been experiencing for the past year. It is

different from anything I have ever seen or heard

about, and certainly well beyond my comprehension.

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The fact that it stopped when I spoke tells me it

possesses human-like character and intelligence.”

“What do you think we can do about it, James?

Lucy and I have tried everything we know to try, and

the disturbances just get worse. As you can easily

see for yourself, they’ve taken quite a heavy toll on

Elizabeth,” Bell responded. “John, I know you won’t

see fit to do this but I feel that others need to know

about these disturbances so they can help, too.

We’re not dealing with coincidence, movements of the

earth, or a prankster here; we are dealing with a

demonic Spirit, a minion of the devil that possesses

intelligence and power that is much greater than our

own — just like the Bible talks about!”

John Bell then responded, “But James, you must

understand that if someone proves this to be a hoax,

my entire family will look like a bunch of fools. And,

there is the church to consider. The alleged presence

of an evil Spirit in our home would cast a dark

shadow over my family and our religious convictions,

which would get us labeled as “outcasts.” I don’t

want that to happen.” “John, Almighty God is on

your side. The first people outside your family who

should be told of this Spirit are the preachers. The

Gunns and Reverend Fort are devout Christians and

men of great courage who always have compassion

for their fellow man.”

Just as Johnston finished talking, a feeble voice

filled the room and exclaimed, “Ol’ Sugar Mouth is

right. The Gunns and the Reverend Fort are fine

Christian men who are very understanding and

compassionate. They are among the best men in the

land, just as is Ol’ Sugar Mouth himself.” Dead

silence filled the room as everyone who heard the

voice became wide-eyed and overcome with fear.

Holding his Bible high in the air and looking

around the room, James Johnston said a prayer.

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55

Joel Bell broke out in laughter, as he had not heard

the Spirit call anyone by a nickname before. “Ol’

Sugar Mouth” would become the Spirit’s nickname

for James Johnston from this point forward.

John Bell and James Johnston mounted their

horses and quickly rode to the home of Reverend

Sugg Fort, where they told him in painful detail of

the disturbances that had been plaguing the Bells for

the past year, and what Johnston himself witnessed

just the night before. Fort listened attentively just as

Johnston had the day before. He said a prayer for

the Bells’ deliverance, then suggested they all go and

explain the situation to the Gunns. The three men

set out to visit Revs. Thomas and James Gunn.

After explaining to the Gunns what had been

taking place in the Bell home, the men joined in

prayer. Reverend Fort then said to John Bell, “John,

regardless of anything bad that may happen to you

or your family, Brothers Gunn, James Johnston, and

I will always lend you and your family the same type

of support, Spiritual guidance and compassion that

we would our own families during such a difficult

time. And above all, John, remember that the Lord

will always be with you.”

Neighbors Encounter the Spirit

The word spread, and after about two weeks, there

was nobody in the community who was not aware of

the disturbances going on at the Bell place. Instead

of approaching the disturbances with skepticism,

most of the Bells’ neighbors became genuinely

concerned about the matter and offered to help in

any way they could.

Since James and Jane Johnston’s experiences at

the Bell home confirmed that the disturbances were

not just confined to the Bell family members and

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their slaves, many neighbors began visiting the Bell

home hoping to have an encounter with the Spirit to

see what all of “the talk” was about. The Spirit

seldom failed to create a disturbance, either. On

many occasions, the visitors got exactly what they

wanted and left hurriedly, never to return. Some

neighbors were braver than others, however. James

Johnston’s sons, John and Calvin, spent

considerable time at the Bell home engaging the

Spirit in conversations and frightening

demonstrations.

Calvin Johnston Shakes an Invisible Hand

While both brothers were devout Christians and

upstanding citizens of the community, the Spirit

openly expressed its distrust of John Johnston

because it seemed that he was always trying to trick

or outsmart the Spirit with leading questions and

conversation.

John Johnston was said to have been the

shrewder of the two brothers, and the “Sprit” pointed

out on several occasions that his motives were never

of an earnest nature and were only a ploy to

investigate and expose as much as he could. Calvin

Johnston, on the other hand, was of a much different

character than his brother. He was very plain and

straightforward about his intentions and never asked

the Spirit leading or “trick” questions.

One evening while visiting the Bells, Calvin

Johnston asked, “What do you use to slap the

children? The sounds are loud and high-pitched,

and the children say the slaps feel like stings.” The

Spirit replied, “Why my hand, what else?” After

much discussion and pleading from Johnston, the

Spirit agreed to shake hands with him provided he

agreed not to squeeze or hold its hand. Johnston

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57

stretched out his arm and felt a soft, delicate hand

press against his hand for a few seconds.

Then, Calvin’s brother John begged the Spirit to

shake hands; to which the Spirit quickly responded,

“No, you only want a chance to catch me!” Kneeling

on the floor, Johnston pleaded his case once more.

“Please let me shake your hand; I promise in the

name of the Lord that my intentions are sincere!” “I

know you, Ol’ Jack Johnston; you are a grand rascal,

trying to find me out, and I will not trust you!” the

Spirit exclaimed. While the Spirit stuck to its word

and never let John Johnston shake its hand,

Johnston did manage to engage the Spirit in many

interesting and thought-provoking discussions.

John Johnston Tests the Spirit

While spending an evening at the Bell home

conversing with the Spirit, John Johnston decided to

conduct some simple tests to see just how much it

knew about him and his family. His first question

was, “What does my Dutch step-grandmother in

North Carolina say when one of her slaves does

something wrong?” Speaking in the woman’s own

voice and using her Dutch accent, the Spirit replied,

“Hut, tut. What has happened now?”
Hut tut
is a

Dutch term meaning, “No-no,” and is used as a

chiding expression — almost a term of endearment.

Johnston later told others of this encounter and how

the Spirit knew the correct phrase and could imitate

his step-grandmother perfectly.

During another late-night discussion with

Johnston, the Spirit became angry and threatened to

kill him. He noticed the shadow of a long, sharp

knife just behind his head while walking home the

following morning. Knowing Kate was about to make

good on her threat, Johnston thought to himself, “If

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the Lord wants me to die, then I will die; I will not

run.” He stood patiently in his tracks, waiting to see

what fate would deal him. The knife continued to

dangle behind his head.

After standing still for some time, he began looking

around and soon discovered that the “knife” was

actually the shadow of a cornstalk blade blowing in

the wind. Johnston hypothesized that many so-

called “encounters with Kate” were logical things like

the shadow of the cornstalk blade, but that most

people ran away without analyzing their

surroundings and finding the true sources of what

they saw.

On another occasion, Johnston asked the Spirit,

“Can you tell me what my wife has been doing

lately?” “Yes I can. She has been baking cakes for

you to carry along to eat on your trip to Nashville,

where you intend starting tomorrow,” the Spirit

replied. Like many other things the Spirit told

Johnston, only his immediate family knew of this

fact.

One of the most important things John Johnston

learned of the Spirit was its inability to read peoples’

minds. He asked the Spirit on several occasions

what he was thinking about, but a correct answer

was never given. But what remained a mystery to

Johnston and others was whether the Spirit was

really
incapable of reading minds, or was only

making people think that was the case. Johnston

took solace in knowing that he was not the Bells’

only friend whom the Spirit expressed a strong

dislike for. One of his neighbors on Sturgeon Creek,

Frank Miles, was also strongly disliked by the Spirit.

Frank Miles is No Match

Frank Miles was one of the Bell family’s closest

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59

friends and was especially good friends with John Jr.

Elizabeth Bell remarked later in life, “Of all of our

friends, none were thought of more highly than

Frank Miles. Brother John and he would have died

for each other without hesitation.” 15

Standing well over six feet tall and weighing close

to 250 pounds, Frank Miles was thought to be the

strongest and most fearless man in Robertson

County at the time. Where it would require two men

to carry one end of a large log, Miles easily carried

the opposite end by himself. It was also said that he

could uproot a tree more than one foot in diameter

with his bare hands. Like his best friend, John Jr.,

Miles strongly disliked the way Elizabeth was treated

by the Spirit and readily made it known.

As was the case with other friends of the Bells,

Frank Miles spent many nights at their home

distracting the Spirit with conversation so they could

sleep. It seemed that the Sprit would leave the Bells

alone when it Spirit had someone to pester and gab

with. Miles sometimes tried to sleep over, but rarely

ever slept because the Spirit pulled the covers from

his bed as fast as he could pull them back up. On

one occasion, he tried holding the covers in place

with all of his weight and strength. Despite his

weight and great strength, Miles’ efforts were useless.