MIDDLE TENNESSEE SKEPTICS
Giving Common Sense a Chance
The SOURCE of the LEGEND
Several authors have documented the haunting of John Bell in Adams, Tennessee. While analyzing what was reported, I was careful not conclude that because one story matched another facts were verified. Unfortunately, the events occurred between 1817 and 1821 and the first public record wasn't until 1886, nearly two generations latter, when Albert Goodpasture referenced in his "History of Tennessee". In 1894 Martin Ingram published "Authenticated History of The Bell Witch". Both were a very long time after memories are far from accurate.
HOW THE LEGEND PERPETUATES
The story was picked up in 1933 by the Guidebook for Tennessee by Federal Works Project Administration. In 1934 by Dr. Charles Bailey Bell published "The Bell Witch: The Mysterious Spirit," followed in 1979 H.C. Brehm's "Echoes of the Bell Witch in the Twentieth Century". In 1994 Charles Edwin Price offered "The Infamous Bell Witch". Recently in 2000 Brent Monahan published "The Bell Witch" and Pat Fitzhugh "The Bell Witch: The Full Account." Mr. Fitzhugh's compiliation what I used as the starting point in my analysis.
For the reader who doesn't have access to these books (see my Bibliography), there are HUNDREDS of accounts documented on the Internet. You should start with the BASIC account - Ingram's Book. I have attached a complete copy of the RED BOOK, which includes a copy of Richard William Bell's Diary: My Family's Troubles. In order provide a version that you can easily download and print for off-line reading, I have made this a ZIPPED Plain Text file. Click on the Link and the file will download to your computer. Save it, read it off-line at your leasure, or print it. The HTML Version with sketches is at Bellwitch02.tripod.com.
Then you may wish to visit what Pat Fitzhugh modestly claims as the official Bell Witch site and then examine some of those listed below:
RECOMMENDED:
- bellwitch02.tripod.com/introduction.htm (most complete coverage)
- members.aol.com/wbell27598/genpages/bellwitch.html (Bell geneology)
OTHERS:
In addition to the Tennessee legend, the Mississippi legend was published by Arthur Hudson in 1934. The Mississippi version of the Bell Witch was totally based on oral tradition. Many of its "facts" were obviously wrong, thereby dis-qualifying it from any serious research. Originating from members of the family who actually experienced the event, such as Betsy Bell, who moved to Mississippi, this version was so different from that told in Tennessee that it demonstrates how memories can change. Nevertheless, the account is interesting to read and I have provided a ZIPPED Plain Text Version.
A TIMELINE ON THE LEGEND
Using the details in Mr. Fitzhugh's book I have constructed the chronology of the Bell Witch. I have attempted to cross check it with public record where available.
BELL FAMILY
John Bell, Sr, (1750 - 1820) 70 yr
Mary (Mississippi Legend) (1) Lucy (Williams) Bell (1770 - 1836) 67 yr
Jesse Bell (1790 - 1843) 53 yrTN, (40) MS
53 yrTN, (40) MS John Bell, Jr (1793 - 1862) 69 yrTN
69 yrTN Joel Thomas Bell
Charles Bailey Bell Drewey Bell (1796 - 1865) 69 yrTN
TN Benjaminunknown, died in childhood
unknown, died in childhood Ester (Bell) Porter (1800 - 1859) 59 yrTN, (38) MS
TN, (38) MS Zadok Bell (1803 - 1826) 23 yrAL
AL Eliz. Lucy Bell (1806 - 1888) 72 yrTN, (74) MS
TN, (74) MS Richard Wm Bell (1811 - 1857) 46 yrTN (wrote acct 1846)
TN (wrote acct 1846) Joel Egbert Bell (1813 - 1890) 77 yr TN (worked w/Ingram)
77 yr TN (worked w/Ingram)CHRONOLOGY
1782 Marriage (2)
1800 (est) J. Bell kills J. Black (3)
1803-04 Moved to Tennessee
1817-22 Haunting
1818 J. Bell excommunicated (reported for usury)
1819 Reported Andrew Jackson visit
1828 Entity visits J. Bell,Jr (reported by Bell, no witnesses)
1846 RW Bell writes account(claims from diary as 6-9 yr old) (4)
1849 Saturday Evening Post Sources: Hearsay, forced to retract (5)
1880 MV Ingram starts researching his book
1886 AV Goodpasture Account Source: Hearsay
1896 MV Ingram Book Source: RW & Joel Bell (4)
Source: RW & Joel Bell (4) 1930 Harriet Parks Miller Book Source: Rehash of Ingram Book
1934 Charles Bell Book Source: JT Bell notes from John Jr
Source: JT Bell notes from John Jr Ingram Account plus John Jr supposed 1828 discussions with entity (generally assumed as fabricated) (6) 1934 Arthur Hudson account Source: Mississippi Oral tradition 1,3)
assumed from Ester & Jesse stories 1935 Entity promises a return (Never Happened) (6)
1937 H.C. Brehm Book Source: Ingram book
Source: Ingram bookInteresting Items to note:
1) Mary Bell, suposedly daughter of John Bell, Sr appears in Mississippi folklorebut not mentioned in TN account.
Marries and leaves home before 1800. Who was the mother?
2) Lucy, reported from wealthy Williams family, marries at age 12, but doesn't have first child until age 18.
Doesn't seem logical.
3) John Black was overseer on Bell farm. J. Bells kills him after hearing himbrag luridly about Mary Bell. No wit-
nesseses, not in public record, but Bell was acquitted based on self-defense. Mississippi tale
suggests entity was the ghost of Black.
Although the Black episode significantly contrasts with "facts", Fitzhughincludes it in his book as "fact, but the
source wishes to remain anonymous". Fitzhugh seems to ignore the fact that there are no public records of Mary!
4) Source material for MV Ingram's book - memories of a 6 to 9 child reconstructed 20 years after the fact and
released by a third party 40 years subsequent to that.
5) Claimed Witch was a hoax contrived by Elizabeth Bell and Powell (a suitor). They were forced to retract that state-
ment after E. Bell threatened to sue.
6) After supposed 1828 meeting with John Jr. the Witch promised to return after 107 years had lapsed. In that meet-
ing the Witch was supposed to have made numerous predictions which came true and which were in book as additions
to Ingram story. Naturally, ALL these predictions were reported AFTER the event occurred.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
TENNESSEE STATE LIBRARY & ARCHIVES
Barr, Gladys H. The Bell Witch at Adams. Nashville, D. Hutchinson, 1969. 107 pp.
Bell, Charles B. The Bell Witch: a mysterious spirit. Nashville, Lark, 1934. 228 pp. (reprinted 1972 by Charles Elder)
Bell, Charles B. & Harriet P. Miller. A mysterious spirit & the Bell Witch of TN. (a reprint of The Bell Witch: a mysterious spirit, 1934)
Brehm, H.C. Echoes of the Bell Witch in the twentieth century. Nashville, the author, 1979. 65 pp.
Goodspeed, A. Goodspeed's history of TN (Robertson County, pp. 827-867, 1124-1205). Goodspeed, 1886.
Ingram, M.V. Bell Witch: most gruesome of ghost stories, to be run as a serial in the Sun. Charleston, MS, the Sun, 1937. 48 pp.
Ingram, Martin Van Buren. An authenticated story of the famous Bell Witch, the mysterious talking goblin that terrorized the west end of Robertson County, TN, tormenting John Bell to his death; the story of Betsy Bell, her lover & the haunting sphinx. Clarksville, W.P. Titus, 1894. (various reprints available)
Lockhart, Teresa A. 20th century aspects of the Bell Witch. TN Folklore Soc. Bull. 50 (1984), pp. 18-24.
Lombardo, Josephine. Bell Witch legends. Bloomington, Indiana Univ., Archives of Traditional Music, 1972. 8 sound cassettes + documentation. (various named informants interviewed by Lombardo; recorded June-July 1972 by Lombardo in Clarksville, Adams, & Cedar Hills, TN)
Miller, Harriet P. The Bell Witch of middle TN. Clarksville, Leaf-Chronicle, 1930. 72 pp.
Mulloy, James S. Reminiscences of Robertson County. Springfield, n.p., n.d. 23 pp.
Price, Charles E. The infamous Bell Witch of TN. Johnson City, Overmountain Press, 1994. 120 pp.
Red River Baptist Church (Adams, TN). Records of Red River Church at the mouth of Sulpher Fork of Red River in TN County (now Robertson County) Mero District, 1791. N.p., 1936. 251 pp.
Scenes of the Bell Witch legend. Adams, K.R.J. Russell, 1972. 6 pp.
Shebar, Sharon S. & Judith Schoder. The Bell Witch. NY, J. Messner, 1983. 63 pp. (juvenile literature)
Willett, Charles. Bygone days in TN. Springfield, the author, 1961. 7 pp. (reproduced from Robertson County Times, Feb.-Mar.-1961)
Winters, Ralph L. Historical sketches of Adams, Robertson County, TN & Port Royal, Montgomery County, TN, 1779-1968. Clarksville, 1968. 280 pp. (reprinted 1978 by S.J. Winters)
OTHER THAN INGRAM - NO SOURCE RECORDS EXIST FOR THE BELL WITCH
Unfortuneately, the hundreds of the WEB sites and our extensive bibliography (listed below) could not point us to any information not aready reported in Ingram's book. Most were nothing but rehash of the original story. It shouldn't require a Ph.D. research physicist to question the veracity of the Bell Witch story. Every competent scientist and researcher trained in critical analysis knows claims can't be accepted as factual until they are independently collaborated. Our simple Timeline on the Legend (below) suggests something is missing. So what's happening?
