WriterDom
Good to the last drop
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- Jun 25, 2000
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The Bell Witch is probably the most famous witch in Tennessee if not the whole south. Tours are given of the property, and visitors are lead into the cave but warned not to remove anything from the cave to take home. There are many stories of terrible things happening to people who do not heed the warning and stick a rock in their pocket.
The Bell Witch
The Bell Witch stories have been around since the early 19th century, but some believe there may be something more haunting the property which lies in Robertson County, Tennessee.
In the early 1800s, John Bell, a farmer, moved to Tennessee and bought some land from an old woman named Kate Batts. However, she claimed Bell had cheated her and she swore to get revenge. She died in 1817, and the problems began. One day Bell was checking on his corn and he saw a strange looking bird that had characteristics of a human. Some time later, he saw a creature which resembled a dog and shot at it, however the strange creature completely vanished before his very eyes. Sometimes an old woman no one recognized was seen walking through an orchard. Soon after, there was scratching and knocking. The sounds soon turned to wings flapping and dogs fighting inside the house. These events puzzled the Bells greatly. In 1818 John Bell came down with a strange illness that made chewing and swallowing difficult because it affected his tongue and jaw. A while later, the Bell Witch spoke and made her presence known. She threatened John's life on many occasions. People began to become curious and they came to check out the events on the Bell property. Those who stayed the night heard laughter and had the sheets pulled off of them. One man who had a reputation for being 'tough' came and stayed the night believing he could defeat the Bell Witch. However, she yanked off his sheets too, and hit him, screaming at him to give up because he couldn't win a fight with a spirit. Andrew Jackson even visited the Bells' home. While on the way to the Bell property, one of Jackson's companions began to talk badly of the witch. The wagon wheels locked up and although the driver tried to get the horses moving, the wheels just wouldn't turn. Then the men heard a voice say "Go on, old General" and the wagon began to move once again. Betsy Bell was tortured all night with the pinching and slapping the witch gave her, Jackson's sheets were repeatedly yanked off and his men slapped and pinched until day break. Jackson and his men left as soon as they could. Although the Bell Witch tortured many people including Bell's slaves, she often helped Mrs. Bell. She would sing to her and do her chores when she was sick. Betsy planned to marry a man named Josh Gardner, but the Witch told her not to, and if she did, she'd never be able to rest. Again in 1820, John was sticken with the same illness in his tongue and jaw, only this time it was worse. Sometimes, people believed his was getting better, but the Witch insisted that she would kill him. In the last days of his life, he would walk around his land and the Witch would take his shoes off of his feet and trip him. Once, she beat him so badly he needed a doctor and bed-rest. Then Mr. Bell died on December 20. In the early weeks of 1821, the Bell Witch said that her work was done and she would leave, but she told that she was to come back in 7 years. She did indeed come back, but there were only scratching noises this time; she hurt no one. She then promised to return in 107 years, which would have been 1935, but no one has come forward to say that any strange events had taken place on the Bell property that year.
It is believed that there are still hauntings there. Many say there is more than one ghost. Some people who live there have said that they were watching TV and they heard a dog growl behind them, but there was no dog there. One time, while walking outside, someone was heard saying "hey mom!" It is also said that if you take a tour of the cave, you can hear someone running through waater or voices. Many have taken rocks from the cave as souvenirs, but have begged the owners to put them back in the cave because of the bad luck they had received after doing so.
There is a cave on the property which is said to be the site of the origin of all of the supernatural happenings there. The Native Americans that live in the area have also said that they regarded the cave as spiritual. Maybe the spirits have been there since the beginning of time...
http://rd.yahoo.com/M=215002.169748...4036/N=1/id=Number of times URL was launched/*http://ads.x10.com/?Z3lhaG9vUFUyLmRhd=1004834648>M=215002.1697480.3234800.1493765/D=geocities/P=m1p0tp5c11000g/S=76001072
UC/A=794036/R=3
The Bell Witch
The Bell Witch stories have been around since the early 19th century, but some believe there may be something more haunting the property which lies in Robertson County, Tennessee.
In the early 1800s, John Bell, a farmer, moved to Tennessee and bought some land from an old woman named Kate Batts. However, she claimed Bell had cheated her and she swore to get revenge. She died in 1817, and the problems began. One day Bell was checking on his corn and he saw a strange looking bird that had characteristics of a human. Some time later, he saw a creature which resembled a dog and shot at it, however the strange creature completely vanished before his very eyes. Sometimes an old woman no one recognized was seen walking through an orchard. Soon after, there was scratching and knocking. The sounds soon turned to wings flapping and dogs fighting inside the house. These events puzzled the Bells greatly. In 1818 John Bell came down with a strange illness that made chewing and swallowing difficult because it affected his tongue and jaw. A while later, the Bell Witch spoke and made her presence known. She threatened John's life on many occasions. People began to become curious and they came to check out the events on the Bell property. Those who stayed the night heard laughter and had the sheets pulled off of them. One man who had a reputation for being 'tough' came and stayed the night believing he could defeat the Bell Witch. However, she yanked off his sheets too, and hit him, screaming at him to give up because he couldn't win a fight with a spirit. Andrew Jackson even visited the Bells' home. While on the way to the Bell property, one of Jackson's companions began to talk badly of the witch. The wagon wheels locked up and although the driver tried to get the horses moving, the wheels just wouldn't turn. Then the men heard a voice say "Go on, old General" and the wagon began to move once again. Betsy Bell was tortured all night with the pinching and slapping the witch gave her, Jackson's sheets were repeatedly yanked off and his men slapped and pinched until day break. Jackson and his men left as soon as they could. Although the Bell Witch tortured many people including Bell's slaves, she often helped Mrs. Bell. She would sing to her and do her chores when she was sick. Betsy planned to marry a man named Josh Gardner, but the Witch told her not to, and if she did, she'd never be able to rest. Again in 1820, John was sticken with the same illness in his tongue and jaw, only this time it was worse. Sometimes, people believed his was getting better, but the Witch insisted that she would kill him. In the last days of his life, he would walk around his land and the Witch would take his shoes off of his feet and trip him. Once, she beat him so badly he needed a doctor and bed-rest. Then Mr. Bell died on December 20. In the early weeks of 1821, the Bell Witch said that her work was done and she would leave, but she told that she was to come back in 7 years. She did indeed come back, but there were only scratching noises this time; she hurt no one. She then promised to return in 107 years, which would have been 1935, but no one has come forward to say that any strange events had taken place on the Bell property that year.
It is believed that there are still hauntings there. Many say there is more than one ghost. Some people who live there have said that they were watching TV and they heard a dog growl behind them, but there was no dog there. One time, while walking outside, someone was heard saying "hey mom!" It is also said that if you take a tour of the cave, you can hear someone running through waater or voices. Many have taken rocks from the cave as souvenirs, but have begged the owners to put them back in the cave because of the bad luck they had received after doing so.
There is a cave on the property which is said to be the site of the origin of all of the supernatural happenings there. The Native Americans that live in the area have also said that they regarded the cave as spiritual. Maybe the spirits have been there since the beginning of time...
http://rd.yahoo.com/M=215002.169748...4036/N=1/id=Number of times URL was launched/*http://ads.x10.com/?Z3lhaG9vUFUyLmRhd=1004834648>M=215002.1697480.3234800.1493765/D=geocities/P=m1p0tp5c11000g/S=76001072
UC/A=794036/R=3
