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I
just love a good ghost story. Horror is my favorite genre a I am a
bit of a history buff so it is only natural that I would be curious
about the history of this lovely state where I have lived my entire
life. Well... about the Haunted history anyway. *G* So If
you care to hear a bit about it pull up a comfy chair grab a
hot cup of coffee and prepare to be scared. This is only a beginning.
There are so many
From:
aih50691@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Aaron I. Hilbun) For some reason, everything I have read about the Bell Witch so far on this newsgroup has described her (it?) as a poltergeist, and I am not sure this is the case. I think the Bell Witch is something far more sinister. I am a former resident of Montgomery County, Tennessee, which borders Robertson County (the town of Adams where all this took place is about a 30 minute drive from my parents'). So, I got all the necessary indoctrination from the old timers in the area about the Bell Witch. I have also done some reading on the phenomena myself. Here is the story I usually relate to people: In the early part of the 19th century, a young farmer named John Bell moved to Robertoson County Tennessee from North Carolina. The woman from whom John Bell bought his farm, Kate Batts, claimed that she had been cheated by Bell, but no one paid any attention to her and dismissed her claims as the senile ramblings of an old woman. Kate Batts then swore that she would get even with John Bell, even if she had to come back from the grave to so. Meanwhile, the Bell family had gained a reputation of being one of the most devoutly religious, upstanding families in the community, so people wondered why they had been singled out for such suffering. Incidentally, sometimes the Bell Witch is referred to by Tennesseans as "Ol' Kate." The problems started around 1817, after the death of Kate Batts. As John Bell was inspecting his rows of corn one day, he saw an odd bird with almost human (not having features, but uncanilly resembling human features) features sitting on a fencepost. He raised his shotgun and shot at the creature, but it remained unscathed and flew off unharmed. Several days later, he encountered a snarling dog-like creature in the corn, and once again shot at it, but the creature just disappeared before his eyes. The Bell children began seeing odd creatures in the woods surrounding their farm and a mysterious old woman could be seen sometimes wandering through their orchard. Then came scratching, knocking sounds as if some animal were trying to get inside their house, but upon opening the door saw nothing. Eventually the noises moved indoors, the loud sounds of wings flapping against the ceiling and dogs fighting. In 1818, John Bell came down with a mysterious illness that affected his tongue and jaw and made chewing and swallowing difficult for him. The mysterious events of the Bell home also spread throught the community. The Witch then started to speak - and threaten the life of John Bell. People came in droves to witness this phenomena. Those who spent the night were subjected to derisive laughter and having the sheets yanked off them. One man from the area, Frank Miles, a rather large, stout, person came to the Bell house and volunteered to crush the Witch in his powerful grip. He spent the night at the Bell home waiting for the opportunity to give the witch a thrashing, but instead had his sheets yanked off as well and the witch struck him on the face and head with some of the most powerful blows he had taken. The witch then screamed at him to give up, because he could not win a struggle with a spirit. Another visitor was Andrew Jackson, who was to later become president. At the time, Jackson was living about 35 miles away on the outskirts of Nashville, and Jackson, being the "macho guy" of the early 19th c., decided that he could "tame this monster." As they neared the Bell farm, one of Jackson's companions began to speak ill of the Witch. Suddenly the wagon wheels locked up, and as much as the driver whipped the horses, the wagon would not move. Suddenly, a sharp voice rang out - "Go on, old General." The wheels then moved freely and Jackson's party proceeded. They were not disappointed when they arrived at the Bells'. Betsy Bell screamed all night from the pinching and slapping she received from the Witch, and Jackson's covers were ripped off as quickly as he could put them back on, and he had his entire party of men were slapped, pinched and had their hair pulled by the witch until morning, when Jackson and his men decided to hightail it out of Adams. Jackson was later quoted as saying, "I'd rather fight the British the New Orleans than to have to fight the Bell Witch." The character of the Witch was enigmatic. While she tortured John and Betsy Bell, and the slaves the Bell owned (she would periodically flog them), she was kind to Mrs. Bell singing to her and comforting her and doing some household chores when Mrs. Bell was ill. She was also known to sing hymns and preach not only to the Bells' but others in the community. Young Betsy was madly in love with a fine young schoolteacher, Joshua Gardner, and it pleased both families when they announced their engagement. But the Witch said if she married Josh Gardner, she would never know a moment's peace and would pinch and slap her until she bled, and also tied her hair in knots. Finally, Betsy called off the engagement. The Witch was somewhat appeased saying that there were good reasons. In 1820 John Bell was once again stricken with the ailment of the jaw and tongue except much worse now. His face was constantly contorted in pain. At times his condition seemed to be improving, but the Witch said she would kill him. In his last days as he tried to walk around his yard, the Witch would knock his shoes off his feet and knock him too the ground. His son, John Jr. would tie the shoes to his feet as tight as possible, but that did not deter the Witch and in fits of rage would beat him terribly, sending him to bed and needing a doctor. The doctor prescribed a potion and left. John Bell then got violently ill and died December 20, 1820. The doctor called for the medicine bottle that he had left, but it was no where to be seen, and in its place was a thick dark liquid that defied analysis. The witch laughed loudly and said she placed it there. Early in 1821, the Witch declared that her work was finished and left, but promised to visit the Bells again in 7 years. The Witch came in the same manner, with scratching noises, but stayed only a few weeks and bothered no one in the Bell household (only Mrs. Bell and the two youngest sons remained). A final promise was made - to return in 107 years. The year would have been 1935. If the Witch did return, no one has come forth and spoken about it. Sorry if this has been a little rambling, but these oral tales are sometimes hard to commit to writing. There is an interesting note, there is a cave on the old Bell farm (which I have personally visited) which supposedly is the seat of all the supernatural activity. When some of the Bell children played in this cave, something weird would always happen to them. It is easy to dismiss this as a sort of post script attatched to the story by a later generation, until I read that the native Americans of the area regarded the cave as spiritual, long before the Bell family came to Tennessee. When all these factors are taken into consideration, it is difficult indeed to say just what sort of manifestation for sure the Bell Witch was. If you'd like to read more about this, two good books are: The Bell Witch of Robertson County, Tennessee, by Charles Bailey Bell (John Bell's great grandson I believe) and The Bell Witch by Charles Edwin Price. Aaron I. Hilbun, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Now
I can tell you there are more versions of this story than I can count.
The following is a short list of other haunted places in TN Blountville - Sullivan County News - A ghost called "George" haunts this building. Bolivar - Parran House - the ghost in a rocking chair can be seen on the front porch. Nashville - Hawkins House - a poltergeist inhabited this house for a time. Franklin - Carnton Mansion - here is a Historic mansion in Framklin Tn called Carnton. It was used as a confederate hospital during the Civil War(battle of Franklin). Gun shots, rhythmic drum beats, voices, and running footsteps can be heard there any night. There have been recordings of sounds and pictures taken there by local investigators. Chattanooga - Read House - room 311. Believed that during the Civil War that a soldier took a prostitute to this room and killed her. Her ghost haunts that room to this day, running hotel visitors off. Memphis - The Orpheum Theatre - The ghost of a little girl, Mary, haunts this theatre. She has a favorite seat during performances. Some people believe that she is the ghost of a girl who died when the original Orpheum burned, and others believe she was killed near the Orpheum on Beale Street. She has frightened many employees away. Cleveland - Masoleum in the middle of town - that holds a little girl and her grandfather...They died in train accident...They had gone out for a late night ride in their carriage and it got stuck on the tracks and they got run down by a train...They were both put in the masoleum so they could be together for eternity...Well every year on the anniversary of their death, the masoleum is said to "bleed". Johnson City - East Tennessee State University Campus - Women's Residence Hall is said to be haunted by the ghost of a young boy that died in the elevator. He is known as "marble boy" and can be heard dropping his marbles on the ceilings of every room in the hall. Don't yell at him to stop or he will get mad and drop ALL is marbles. Athens - Wesleyan College - is haunted as students have reported hearing strange voices and seeing dark figures moving near the spot where two trees grew side by side for 165 years. Believed to be a spot where two star-crossed lovers were buried. North Chattanooga - The cemetary off of Memorial Drive - There is an arch in the middle of the cemetary a Masonic arch at which an apparition is supposed to appear. Lennox Place - Lennox subdivision - Not many of the neighbors want to talk about it but some do. The whole Lennox subdivision has experienced ghosts. It is not a house but many houses that see the same ghosts. A man with white hair, in a long nightgown. A young girl with long blonde hair. They are mischievious mostly and not mean. They like to open people's garage doors in the middle of the night. Rattle dishes. Unlock doors during daytime when the owners are away so that they come home and their house is wide open. South Pittsburg - The Baumgartner house - Located directly across the street from the cemetery. Built and owned by the first undertaker of the town. Haunted by three family members. A woman, probably the original owner's wife dressed in a blue dress, a dark haired attractive man, and a slender tall man with a short hair cut wearing a longjohn shirt and slacks. Seen frequently in rooms not being used for a period of time and then used again. Ghosts here don't seem to want to be noticed much. These ghosts interact with the surroundings and are quite visible. Triune - Chapel Hill - A long time ago a man was working for a railroad company. He was the one on the caboose that held the lantern, he fell off and was run over by the train, his head was cut off. At night you can see him walking up and down the tracks looking for his head. All you can see is a mysterious light going back and forth a few feet above the ground. The light comes closer and closer then goes farther and farther away. Jonesborough - There are records of several ghostly happenings in Jonesborough. It has been rated as one of the most haunted places in the country. It is Tennessee's oldest and most mysterious town. Clarksville - Trahern Theater(Austin Peay State University) - The Third floor and stage are apparently haunted by a ghost of a young woman students call "Margaret". Messing with elevators, locking doors, banging lockers, and calling the unfortunate night owl's name. Rugby - The Big South Fork National Park - The newspaper, USA today did a story in 1997 on one of the houses that is haunted by the ghost of a land agent who died there waiting for his son to arrive. Rugby is a village that is the remnants of a failed victorian attempt at a utopian settlement there in the Cumberland Mountains. Gatlingburg - Mount LeCounte - At 3:33a.m. a little girl will appear at the edge of the bed and watch the people sleep. Milligan - just outside of Clarksville - There's a little used road in Milligan,that goes by a Civil War battlefield.Somewhere on this road,you have to drive through a river that isn't there.You can see it and hear it,but if you stand in it,you stay perfectly dry. Kingsport-Sensebau
Tunnel- Suck Creek Nashville-Opryland
Hotel USA
Some of
this info came from Shadowlands. A great site that lists A few more url's to check out are.. Haunted Scotland http://www.haunted-places.com/ Well folks thats it for now. I
will add more links and maybe another
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