Unexplained Ghost Haunting : Bell Witch's Cave

Source : www.bellwitchcave.com/
http://www.haunted-places-to-go.com/bell-witch.html

An American Haunting No supernatural story in American history is more famous than that of the Bell Witch. In fact, tales of the spirit were so widespread that they caught the attention of a General and future President, Andrew Jackson. Betsy was tortured by the Witch for several years of her childhood. What was the Bell Witch? Like most supernatural stories, certain details vary from version to version. But the prevailing account is that the Bell Witch claimed to be the spirit of Kate Batts, a mean old neighbor of John Bell who believed she was cheated by him in a land purchase. On her deathbed, she swore that she would haunt John Bell and his descendents. The story is picked up by the Guidebook for Tennessee, published in 1933 by the Federal Government's Works Project Administration. John Bell, a farmer from North Carolina,along with his wife and children settled in northern Robertson County Tennessee in 1804. Their farm consisted of 320 acres of rich farm land that laid along the Red River. They lived a quite peaceful life here for the first 13 years. They were members of the Red River Baptist Church where John became a deacon. The family grew and became somewhat prosperous. In the late summer of 1817 something would happen that would change their lives forever. Some members of the family began seeing strange looking animals around the property. Then late at night they started hearing knocking sounds on the doors and outer walls of the house. Later sounds were being heard in the house. Sounds of a rat gnawing on the bed post, chains being drug through the house, stones being dropped on the wooden floors, then gulping and choking sounds. The family was terrified but kept the problem to themselves for over a year. When things became intolerable John confided in a neighbor, James Johnson. He invited Mr and Mrs Johnson to spend the night. After several nights of witnessing these strange things, Mr. Johnson suggested that more people should be told. And a committee was formed and an investigation started. It was not long before people were coming from miles around to hear and witness this unseen force that was terrorizing the Bell home. Before long this unseen force had gained enough strength that it now had a voice. When asked who and what it was, it gave different identities. It once stated that it was the witch of a neighbor woman named Kate Batts. This is what many people believed, and from then on, this unseen force was called "Kate" the "Bell's Witch". It seemed that Kate had two main reasons for visiting the Bell home. The main one was to kill John Bell. For what reason no one knows because Kate never gave a reason why. The second reason was to stop John's youngest daughter Betsy from marrying a certain neighbor boy named Joshua Gardner. Over the next three years "Kate" tormented members of the Bell family almost daily. John and his daughter Betsy was the ones who received the worst of the physical abuse. Betsy had her hair pulled, she was pinched, scratched stuck with pins and even beaten. While John Bell began suffering from spells of swelling of the throat and often had the feeling of a stick being stuck sideways in his throat. Then came the twitching and jerking of the facial muscles. Kate would blast him with curses and hideous threats during these spells. As time went on John Bell became weaker and weaker. Kate was becoming well known and drew large crowds of people. She seemed to be very intelligent in many things: the bible, people's past and the future. She could be in two places at the same time - miles apart from each other. She(Kate) finally accomplished her mission for coming to the Bell farm. On December 20,1820 John Bell had died. It was believed that he was poisoned by Kate, and Kate took full credit for his death. And then in March of 1821 young Betsy broke off her engagement with Joshua Gardner. Kate then bid everyone farewell and promised to return in seven years. She did return in 1828 for a few short weeks. During this visit she came to the home of John Bell Jr and had long talks with him about the past, the present and the future. She made some predictions for the future. Kate also said there was a reason for John Bells death. However she never said what the reason was. After the second visit, she said her next return would be in One Hundred and Seven years. That would have been in 1935. But some believe that she (Kate) never left the area at all due to the strange things that has occurred in and around the town of Adams and the Bell Witch Cave over these many years. There are many books written about the famous Bell Witch of Tennessee. The legend of the Bell Witch is part of Tennessee history and is still taught in schools today Legend According to the legend, the first reported manifestation of the haunting occurred in 1817 when John Bell Sr. encountered a strange animal in a cornfield on his large farm in Robertson County, on the Red River, near Adams, Tennessee. The animal, described as having the body of a dog and the head of a rabbit, was shot at by John William Bell Sr. At a later date the Bell family claimed to hear knocking and gnawing noises on the outside walls of their house. These noises eventually moved inside the dwelling. Some time after the noises began, Betsy Bell (the family's youngest daughter) claimed to have been assaulted by an invisible force. The legend continues with the poltergeist gaining strength, moving various objects about, speaking and having conversations with the family and guests. It identified itself as "Kate Batts", a neighbor of the Bell's that John had apparently upset in some way. The Bell Witch Cave is rumored to be on of the most haunted locations in all of America. In the year of 1804, a distinguished farmer by the name of John Bell moved his family from North Carolina to Tennessee. The home that they relocated to was perfect for Bell’s career in farming. The land was especially beneficial. It rested along the infamous Red River and it consisted of three hundred and twenty acres of land that was full of rich, moist soil. The family established their place in the community that they lived in, and actually became quite prosperous based on the massive crops that they produced. All went well from the family, until the 13th year that they lived on the land. In the year of 1817, several unexplained events started to take place in and around the home. One of the first things that were documented were unusual animals being seen lurking among the crops of the Bell property. This seemed innocent enough, despite the fact that they were still perplexed by the sights of the unusual creatures. Within a small amount of time, unusual noises started to be heard by the family. A sound that reflected knocking and even taps and bangs on the outside of the home were heard. Naturally, this frightened the family. These sounds were even more frightening considering when they were investigated; there was no indication of anything causing them. Eventually, whatever it was knocking on the outside of the home seemed to invade the inside of the home. There seemed to be gnawing sounds on the wooden furniture in the home, such as bedposts and legs of chairs. Then, it seemed as if chains were literally being dragged along the floors of the home. It also appeared that stones or heavy items were being dropped on the floor of the home, yet there was no physical indication that anything had dropped. Perhaps the scariest of all sounds was that which sounded like someone gulping and even choking to an extent. Naturally, none of these sounds can be explained at all. The family lived in terror for a whole year. It was at this time, they started sharing their experiences with friends and neighbors. These individuals spent time in the home, sometimes even whole nights, and were able to witness the strange events that took place. Eventually, this unseen spirit began to speak. Naturally, the Bell family tried to identify the spirit, but the spirit was often ambiguous and would provide different names. Over time, this spirit would come to be known as “Kate” as it stated the name “Kate Batts” at one point. This is when this spirit gained the name of the “Bell’s Witch”. Kate Batts was a neighbor in which John Bell had several unpleasant accounts with that was believed to be involved in the occult. It seemed that this spirit was the one that was out to do the neighbor’s bidding toward the family. An artist's drawing of Betsy Bell, done around 1894.The spirit that took on the identity as Kate quickly displayed a high level of intelligence. She had two main intentions for the hauntings that she apparently caused. The first was to ensure that John Bell died quickly. The daughter of John Bell was named Betsy. She wanted to ensure that this young girl did not fulfill the engagement and marry a young man in the neighborhood by the name of Joshua Gardner. While all members of the family were tortured and frightened in several ways, the infamous “Bell Witch” seemed to give John and his daughter the worst of it – especially in physical attacks. The family and several witnesses apparently conversed with the spirit of Kate on a regular basis. She knew and understood the Bible, as well as many details of the past and the present. In the year of 1820, on the 20th day of December, Kate was successfully in ensuring the death of John Bell. Just three short months after the death of her father, Betsy elected to call of the marriage that she had committed to. It was then that the Bell Witch stated she would return in seven years. When she returned, exactly seven years later, it is said that she made many revelations to the son of John Bell, John Bell Jr., and it was at this time she revealed that there was purpose and intent to the death of his father. Once her stay was over, it is said that she would return to the area in a time frame of one hundred and seven years, which was the year of 1935. There is a cave on the farm where John Bell lived with his family. It is believed that the Bell Witch stemmed from this location. This is why, to this day, it is called the “Bell Witch Cave” by locals and those abroad. This particular cave has been said to be a tunnel from the spiritual world to the physical world. It is believed to be haunted as several types of unexplained occurrences occur in and around the area. If you would like to visit the Bell Witch Cave Farm, you can do so by visiting the city of Adams in Tennessee. It is on Keysburg Road, and the physical address is 430. Is the story of the Bell Witch real? Several documents throughout history suggest that it is. As a matter of fact, the schools in the area even teach about it in their curriculum. Will you be the next to experience the strange phenomenon of the Bell Witch? Submit News/Videos/Links | Discuss article | Article Link | More unsolved mysteries on Unexplained Mysteries