The Influence of The Bell Witch Legend
The legend of the Bell Witch gave birth to endless horror material, including one of the most infamous found-footage horror movies of all time...
The legend of the Bell Witch is arguably the most prominent haunting in the United States. Though the legend has persisted since the early 19th century, the story of the Bell Witch endures to this day and lead to the creation of one the most infamous found-footage films ever created.
I recently had the pleasure of diving into Brent Monahan’s The Bell Witch: An American Haunting. Published in 1997, the novel is prefaced by detailing an uncovered “manuscript” passed down to the author by a friend who had discovered the aged documents in the attic of a deceased aunt, who after reading, became so troubled by the account that she “couldn’t sleep for three nights”, owing her insomnia to the disturbing material she had uncovered from her aunt’s attic. No longer wanting to possess the documents, she forwarded it to Monahan who thought it better to scare a larger swath of people.
Monahan then published the manuscript in its full unedited form originally intended to be passed down to the daughter of Richard Powell, who bore witness to the haunting.
![The Bell Witch: An American Haunting [Book]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5TdD!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1ef2b01c-d718-451e-821c-ac2b6e646841_234x350.jpeg "The Bell Witch: An American Haunting [Book]")
The legend goes that John Bell Sr. and his family had come under attack by an unknown and unseen entity that began terrorizing them for the next few years. At first, the activities were subtle, beginning with knocking, scratching and tapping sounds that the family attributed to an infestation of mice and other wild animals. Yet over time, the poltergeist grew in intensity. The family began hearing unintelligible whispering, stomping, and sounds of chains being dragged along the floor.
Over time, the phantom grew in strength and soon the harmless sounds turned into physical attacks. Particularly against John Bell, Sr. and his young daughter Betsy Bell. John Bell would be victim to slapping, shoving, and getting swift kicks in the ass from the unseen presence.
Poor Betsy was harassed even worse than her father. She was pinched, kicked, punched, scratched, and even had her hair yanked into the air to the point where her feet left the ground. All by an invisible force that she and her family were powerless to stop.
Soon the entity would begin speaking aloud, starting with a few words here and there and progressing to the point that the spirit was able to have full-on conversations with family members and morbidly curious visitors wanting to witness the spectacle. Even a future president Andrew Jackson was rumored to have visited the Bell residence to glimpse the Poltergeist himself. Afterwards noting that “he would rather face the whole of the British army than spend another night in that house”.
For four long years the apparition terrorized the Bell family, until finally with the demise of John Bell, Sr. the spirit claimed that it would no more haunt them and that its job was finished. True to its word. The spirit vanished. Although some say that the Bell Witch still reappears to haunt the area.
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The story of the Bell Witch became one of the first and most well-known hauntings within the United States. The misery endured by the Bell family became a focal point for everyone who lived nearby and prompted far-away guests to visit the homestead.
The area of Adams, Tennessee continues to hold tours of the Bell homestead and especially the Cave of the Bell Witch. Where tour guides claim to have been attacked by the Witch itself and tease those brave enough to venture in that they may be next.
Wherever you may stand on the curious case of the Bell Witch haunting, there is no denying its impact the legend had on the American imagination. I will stand firmly on the hill that most of the media we consume around this Halloween season can be directly traced to the legend of the Bell Witch.
In fact, the filmmakers of one of the most infamous found-footage horror movies have said that this story is one of many that inspired them to create the idea:
Indeed 1999’s The Bell Witch story inspired the Blair Witch Project, though it far surpassed the reach of its notorious inspiration.
I wish I could detail to you, dear reader, how much impact this movie had when it was first released. At risk of dating myself, I wasn’t even 10 years old when it came out, though after it did, it was all anyone could talk about at the time. But at the top of mine and my classmate’s minds was the question of whether or not this movie was real. Our young minds couldn’t logically debunk the elaborate marketing scheme behind the movie’s promotion. They wanted us to think it was real, that the actors were real people and had disappeared while filming; making this movie more horrifying.
Some braver kids claimed to have actually watched it and said it was the most frightening thing they had ever seen. Other kids teased the more gullible into believing that the Blair Witch was real and was out to get them in their sleep.
I probably tortured my poor parents by seeking reassurance that The Blair Witch Project was just a movie. Just a work of fiction.
After reflecting upon this now, I know in a way, this movie was real.
The Blair Witch creators weren’t out to make the exact story of the Bell Witch come to life, but they tapped into a superstitious fear that lives in everyone. The fear that lurks in back of everyone’s mind, no matter how much we try to lock it away.
What if there was a demonic entity that terrorized a family 200 years ago?
What if there are such things as spirits that can interact with the living?
Is there such a thing as an afterlife? Will I be able to interact with the living when I expire?
The legend of the Bell Witch has confusing origins. The first detailed account that we have is an account written by Martin van Buren Ingram in 1894 as An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch. You may already see the problem with the timeframe of the original publication.
Ingram’s account was written more than 70 years after the original events, so it becomes difficult for those looking to verify the account as truth, therefore the legend has become impossible to fully substantiate. Despite the controversy surrounding the legend of the Bell Witch, there are some who fully believe the events that happened more than 200 years ago are fact and the land remains cursed to this day. Some believe that the account was made up by a fanciful author, looking to simply entertain his readership.
Whether or not you think the events surrounding what happened during the terrifying four years between 1817 and 1821 are true. I believe this tapped into something else of the American consciousness in the early 19th century. Back then, the American public had a morbid curiosity and fear surrounding the afterlife and the Bell Witch became a supernatural anamoly. It was strange enough to seem credible, yet terrifying enough to hold the public’s imagination. Although science was advancing steadily during this period of history, it didn’t yet explain everything that was happening around them and religious explanations served to fill the void of knowledge. Many religions had tales of witches, ghosts, poltergeists and evil spirits that would come to our world to haunt the living. The Bell Farm being located in a predominately Christian/religious and rural area; the Bell family and their friends were especially religious.
The legend has taken its rightful place among the most notable poltergeist activity and stands in the middle ground of historical accounts. Not quite old enough to be considered a primitive account told by our know-nothing ancestors, yet close enough to our timeline that they should know better.
If you haven’t read Monahan’s book, I highly suggest it. It was an engaging read, albeit with a tragic reveal of an ending.
I won’t give away any spoilers, but I will say this: We often think that the monsters hide away just out of sight, on another plane of existence and in the shadows. But sometimes, they live under the same roof as us, hiding in plain sight.
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Please consider hitting the subscribe button below so you don’t miss any posts and to help increase the traffic flow for this channel, it’s completely free! Also, consider sharing this post with fellow horror-loving friends! It helps grow this account and deliver more scares.