| ID | #1686565958 |
| Added | Mon, 12/06/2023 |
| Author | July N. |
| Sources | |
| Phenomena | |
| Status | Research
|
Initial data
The Bell Witch or Bell Witch Haunting is a legend from the folklore of the southern United States, based on the Bell family of the 19th century in northwest Robertson County, Tennessee.
Farmer John Bell Sr. lived with his family along The Red River in an area that is currently located near the city Adams.
According to legend, from 1817 to 1821, his family and the surrounding area were attacked by an almost invisible creature that could speak, influence the physical environment and change shape. Some reports say that the spirit was also clairvoyant and able to travel long distances at superhuman speed (and/or be in more than one place at a time).
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In the early 1800s, a Tennessee farming family was tormented by an evil spirit, known today as the Witch from Bell Farm. Strange events began in 1817, when John Bell, a farmer from Adams, Tennessee, met a strange, dog-like creature on his property. He described the creature as a hybrid of a dog's body and a rabbit's head. This unusual experience marked the beginning of a series of unexplained events.
Soon after, unexplained phenomena began in the Bell family. These included strange noises such as banging and scratching walls, as well as the sound of chains being dragged through the house. Family members reported feeling invisible hands grabbing them and spanking them, and their beds often shook violently.
The witch from the Bell Farm was not limited to physical shocks. She also demonstrated the ability to communicate. She participated in conversations with family members, demonstrating great knowledge about their personal lives and often predicting the future. The entity especially targeted John Bell, often cursing and threatening him. After several years of such a life, the man said that this creature caused his illness and undermined his health. The man's life finally ended in 1820.
In 1894, newspaper editor Martin W. Ingram published the first publication on the subject. It was called "The Authentic Story of the Bell Witch." This book is considered the first complete record of the legend and the main source for subsequent research. The people described in the work were famous historical figures. Some skeptics considered Ingram's efforts to be historical fiction or fraud. Other researchers consider it a work that raises questions about folklore and an accurate reflection of the beliefs of the region of the XIX century.
Martin V. Ingram claimed that the poltergeist's name was Kate, and at some point the creature itself declared that it was a witch, who was called "Kate Batts" during her lifetime, and still responded favorably to this name. The creature's physical activity was focused on Belle's youngest daughter, Betsy, and her father, and "Kate" expressed particular displeasure when Betsy got engaged to local resident Joshua Gardner.
The witch was manipulative, sometimes seemed friendly and willing to cooperate, but suddenly became hostile and aggressive. This unpredictable behavior further confused and frightened the family, as they could not predict the actions and mood of the creature. She was not usually content to torment her family in private; and she appeared in public very often. Visitors to the Bell Farm witnessed strange phenomena, such as independent movements of objects, disembodied voices and eerie sounds.
These unusual events attracted considerable attention of the local community, and many people wanted to see this phenomenon with their own eyes. Local authorities, religious leaders and even future US President Andrew Jackson visited Bell Farm to witness these incredible events. Many theories have been proposed to explain the Bell Witch phenomenon, ranging from poltergeist activity to the manifestation of suppressed emotions in the Bell family. Skeptics suggested that the events were greatly exaggerated or fabricated.
The ghosts of the Bell family finally stopped in 1821, when the creature announced that it would leave, but would return seven years later. Before leaving, the witch Bella stated that she had left a hidden treasure as a parting gift. Although this creature has never been found, the creature's recent interactions have added mystery to an already confusing case.
Whether it's a real supernatural event, a case of mass hysteria, or a complex psychological phenomenon, the events of Bell Farm continue to fascinate those who are interested in unexplained phenomena. This incident remains one of the most famous and complex paranormal cases in American history and has served as a source of inspiration for writing books, documentaries and even feature films.
Original news
In his book An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch, author Martin V. Ingram published that the poltergeist's name was Kate, after the entity claimed at one point to be "Old Kate Batts' witch," and continued to respond favorably to the name.[1] The physical activity centered on the Bells' youngest daughter, Betsy, and her father, and 'Kate' expressed particular displeasure when Betsy became engaged to a local named Joshua Gardner.[2]
The haunting began sometime in 1817 when John Bell witnessed the apparition of a strange creature resembling a dog. Bell fired at the animal but it disappeared. John's son Drew Bell approached an unknown bird perched on a fence that flew off and was of "extraordinary size." The daughter Betsy observed a girl in a green dress swinging from the limb of an oak tree. Dean, a person enslaved by the Bell family, reported being followed by a large black dog on evenings he visited his wife. Activity moved to the Bell household with knocking heard along the door and walls. The family heard sounds of gnawing on the beds, invisible dogs fighting, and chains along the floor. About this time John Bell began experiencing paralysis in his mouth.[3] The phenomena grew in intensity as sheets were pulled from beds when the children slept. Soon the entity pulled hair and scratched the children with particular emphasis on Betsy who was slapped, pinched and stuck with pins.[4]
The Bells turned to family friend James Johnston for help. After retiring for the evening at the Bell home, Johnston was awakened that night by the same phenomena. That morning he told John Bell it was a "spirit, just like in the Bible." Soon word of the haunting spread with some traveling great distances to see the witch.[5] The apparition began to speak out loud and was asked, "Who are you and what do you want?" and the voice answered feebly, "I am a spirit; I was once very happy but have been disturbed."[6] The spirit offered diverse explanations of why it had appeared, tying its origin to the disturbance of a Native American burial mound located on the property, and sent Drew Bell and Bennett Porter on an unproductive search for buried treasure.[7] With the emergence of full conversations, the spirit repeated word for word two sermons given 13 miles apart at the same time.[5] The entity was well acquainted with Biblical text and appeared to enjoy religious arguments. As another amusement, the witch shared gossip about activities in other households, and at times appeared to leave for brief moments to visit homes after an inquiry.[7]
John Johnston, a son of James, devised a test for the witch, something no one outside his family would know, asking the entity what his Dutch step-grandmother in North Carolina would say to the slaves if she thought they did something wrong. The witch replied with his grandmother's accent, "Hut tut, what has happened now?" In another account, an Englishman stopped to visit and offered to investigate. On remarking on his family overseas, the witch suddenly began to mimic his English parents. Again in the early morning, the witch woke him to voices of his parents worried as they had heard his voice as well. The Englishman quickly left that morning and later wrote to the Bell family that the entity had visited his family in England. He apologized for his skepticism.[8]
At times, the spirit displayed a form of kindness, especially towards Lucy, John Bell's wife, "the most perfect woman to walk the earth." The witch would give Lucy fresh fruit and sing hymns to her, and showed John Bell Jr. a measure of respect.[9]
Referring to John Bell Sr. as "Old Jack," the witch claimed she intended to kill him and signaled this intention through curses, threats, and afflictions. The story climaxes with the Bell patriarch being poisoned by the witch. Afterward the entity interrupted the mourners by singing drinking songs.[10] In 1821, as a result of the witch's entreatment, Betsy Bell called off her engagement to Joshua Gardner. Subsequently, the entity told the family it was going to leave, but return in seven years in 1828. The witch returned on time to Lucy and her sons Richard and Joel with similar activities as before, but they chose not to encourage it, and the witch appeared to leave again.[11]
Several accounts say that during his military career, Andrew Jackson was intrigued with the story and his men were frightened away after traveling to investigate.[12] In an independent oral tradition recorded in the vicinity of Panola County, Mississippi, the witch was the ghost of an unpleasant overseer John Bell murdered in North Carolina. In this tradition, the spirit falls in love with the central character 'Mary', leading to her death. This account is reminiscent of vampire lore.[13] The supernatural powers attributed to the Tennessee spirit have also been compared to that of jinn in mythology.[14]
In the manuscript attributed to Richard Williams Bell, he wrote that the spirit remained a mystery:
Whether it was witchery, such as afflicted people in past centuries and the darker ages, whether some gifted fiend of hellish nature, practicing sorcery for selfish enjoyment, or some more modern science akin to that of mesmerism, or some hobgoblin native to the wilds of the country, or a disembodied soul shut out from heaven, or an evil spirit like those Paul [sic] drove out of the man into the swine, setting them mad; or a demon let loose from hell, I am unable to decide; nor has anyone yet divined its nature or cause for appearing, and I trust this description of the monster in all forms and shapes, and of many tongues, will lead experts who may come with a wiser generation, to a correct conclusion and satisfactory explanation.[15]
— Williams Bell, An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch: Chapter 8
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Na początku XIX wieku wiejska rodzina z Tennessee była dręczona przez złowrogiego ducha znanego dziś jako Wiedźma z farmy Bell. Nawiedzenie rozpoczęło się w 1817 roku, kiedy to John Bell, rolnik z Adams w stanie Tennessee, napotkał na swojej posesji dziwną, podobną do psa istotę. Stworzenie to, opisywał jako hybrydę posiadającą ciało psa i głowę królika. To niecodzienne doświadczenie zapoczątkowało serię niewytłumaczalnych wydarzeń.
Wkrótce potem rodzina Bellów zaczęła doświadczać niewyjaśnionych zjawisk. Obejmowały one dziwne odgłosy, takie jak pukanie i drapanie w ściany, a także dźwięk łańcuchów przeciąganych przez dom. Członkowie rodziny zgłaszali, że czuli niewidzialne ręce chwytające ich i policzkujące, a ich łóżka często gwałtownie się trzęsły.
Źródło: Innemedium
Wiedźma z farmy Bell nie ograniczała się do zakłóceń fizycznych. Wykazywała również zdolność do komunikacji. Angażowała się w rozmowy z członkami rodziny, wykazując się ogromną wiedzą na temat ich życia osobistego i często przepowiadając przyszłość. Istota szczególnie celowała w Johna Bella, często przeklinając go i grożąc mu. Mężczyzna po kilku latach takiego życia, twierdził, że stwór jest odpowiedzialny za spowodowanie jego choroby i zrujnowanie jego zdrowia. Życie mężczyzny ostatecznie zakończyło się w 1820 roku.
W 1894 roku redaktor gazety Martin V. Ingram opublikował pierwszą publikację na ten temat. Nosiła ona tytuł Authenticated History of the Bell Witch. Książka ta jest powszechnie uważana za pierwszy pełnometrażowy zapis legendy i podstawowe źródło dla późniejszych opracowań. Osoby opisane w pracy były znanymi postaciami historycznymi. Niektórzy sceptycy uważali wysiłki Ingrama za fikcję historyczną lub oszustwo. Inni badacze uważają ją za pracę rodzącą pytania dotyczące folkloru i dokładnego odzwierciedlenie wierzeń w regionie w XIX wieku.
Martin V. Ingram twierdził, że poltergeist miał na imię Kate, a sama istota twierdziła w pewnym momencie, że jest wiedźmą która za życia nosiła imie "Kate Batts" i nadal reagowała przychylnie na to imię. Aktywność fizyczna kreatury koncentrowała się na najmłodszej córce Bellów, Betsy, i jej ojcu, a "Kate" wyraziła szczególne niezadowolenie, gdy Betsy zaręczyła się z miejscowym Joshuą Gardnerem.
Artystyczny szkic domu Bellów
Wiedźma wykazywała skłonności do manipulacji, czasami wydawała się przyjazna i chętna do współpracy, po czym nagle stawała się wroga i agresywna. To nieprzewidywalne zachowanie jeszcze bardziej dezorientowało i przerażało rodzinę, ponieważ nie byli w stanie przewidzieć działań i nastrojów istoty. Zazwyczaj, nie zadowalała się dręczeniem rodziny na osobności; i bardzo często pojawiała się publicznie. Odwiedzający farmę Bell byli świadkami dziwnych zjawisk, takich jak samoistnie poruszające się przedmioty, bezcielesne głosy i niesamowite dźwięki.
Te niezwykłe wydarzenia przyciągnęły znaczną uwagę lokalnej społeczności, a wielu ludzi, chciało na własne oczy zobaczyć to zjawisko. Lokalne władze, przywódcy religijni, a nawet przyszły prezydent USA, Andrew Jackson odwiedzili farmę Bell, aby doświadczyć tych niesamowitych zdarzeń. Zaproponowano wiele teorii wyjaśniających fenomen wiedźmy z Bell, poczynając od aktywności poltergeista po manifestację tłumionych emocji w rodzinie Bellów. Sceptycy sugerowali, że wydarzenia były znacznie wyolbrzymione lub sfabrykowane.
Nawiedzanie rodziny Bellów ostatecznie dobiegło końca w 1821 roku, kiedy to istota ogłosiła, że odejdzie, ale powróci za siedem lat. Przed odejściem czarownica Bell twierdziła, że zostawiła ukryty skarb jako prezent pożegnalny. Chociaż ten nigdy nie został odnaleziony, ostatnie interakcje istoty dodały warstwę tajemniczości do i tak już zagmatwanej sprawy.
Niezależnie od tego, czy jest to prawdziwe wydarzenie nadprzyrodzone, przypadek masowej histerii, czy złożone zjawisko psychologiczne, zdarzenia z farmy Bell nadal urzekają tych, którzy interesują się niewyjaśnionymi zjawiskami. Zdarzenie to pozostaje jednym z najbardziej znanych i skomplikowanych przypadków paranormalnych w historii Ameryki i zainspirowało ona książki, filmy dokumentalne, a nawet film fabularny.
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