Is the Legend of the Bell Witch True?

A look at the legend of the Bell Witch and whether or not it is possible that the events described in the story actually occurred.

There are countless stories of hauntings, poltergeists and witches in American history. The legend of the Bell Witch is among the most well known of these stories and has been the subject of movies, plays, etc., but is the story true? For skeptics, of course, it is hard to believe the legend for the mere fact that any kind of paranormal activity has never been conclusively proven to exist. Therefore, it must have been concocted by those who claimed to have seen or heard the being. For believers, it is a terrifying tale of the suffering of the Bell family and perhaps the continued haunting of the area where their home previously stood.

The Bell Witch was supposedly an entity that "haunted" the Bell family of Red River, Tennessee for several years during the early 1800's and possibly much longer. The name "witch" is a bit of a misnomer in this situation because the supposed activity of the Bell Witch was much more like one would describe in a poltergeist situation. The entity could reportedly speak, move objects and physically attack the members of the Bell family. According to the legend, it was also responsible for the breaking of an engagement by Elizabeth Bell and the death of John Bell Sr. It came back (reportedly) after John’s death to converse with his widow and his son. It may have even come back to speak with John’s descendants after his death.

There are plenty of people who are said to have witnessed the Bell Witch in action. In fact, Andrew Jackson himself is one of them. He supposedly payed the family a visit and spoke to the entity before he became the President of the United States. A number of neighbors and friends visited the family and said that they had experienced the activity of the entity as well. Does this prove the existence of the entity? No, it doesn’t. All of this evidence is based solely on hearsay. However, that doesn’t mean that the events never took place. It simply means that none of the evidence is conclusive.

Until we are able to prove the existence of poltergeists, ghosts or witches, there is no way that we can say that the Bell Witch legend is true. There is no denying that the story is compelling and that it has endured for many years, but none of these things make it true. It doesn’t necessarily make it fiction either. We can’t say for sure that what we have heard has happened and we can’t say for sure if a group of people were just attempting some kind of scam. That’s the nature of the unknown.

Sources

Fitzhugh, Patrick, The Bell Witch Haunting, retrieved 11/05/09, bellwitch.org/story.htm