Almost two hundred years ago, in the forests of North Tennessee, an evil spirit tortured the Bell family for many years. The Bell witch has become not just an urban legend, but a literal iconic character in US paranormal history.
In 1804, farmer John Bell and his wife settled on 300 acres of North Tennessee, a state in the eastern United States. For thirteen years they managed to make two children and arrange their life. No one expected that in 1817 their life would change dramatically.
It all started like a horror movie, with the only difference that Bell didn't watch horror movies. Doors slammed, although there was no place for drafts, invisible chains rattled … Soon an unknown creature appeared in person. Seeing him, John could not move in horror, because his gaze appeared to be a cross between a dog and a rabbit. John's son Drew claimed to have watched a huge bird land on the fence, and Betsy's daughter said she saw a girl in a green dress swinging on an oak branch.
But these events turned out to be only the beginning of a dark story, not its end. Something began to sneak into the house, tormenting and tormenting John and his wife Lucy in their sleep. They woke up from the fact that someone scratched them, and later found bruises and scratches on their bodies as confirmation that they had not dreamed all this. To make sure they weren't crazy or lying, Bell was invited to spend the night at their house by Johnston's neighbors.
James Johnston not only heard strange sounds, he even made out the words: "They are listening to hymns." Someone said this in a high, clear voice and introduced himself - indistinctly, but the neighbors claimed they could clearly distinguish the word "witch."
Most of the spirit got the youngest daughter Betsy. The witch pulled her hair, pulling it out by the roots, pinching, pricking and hitting so that bruises did not leave Betsy's body. She was only 11, and neither then nor later could she explain why she became a victim of a witch. The ghost interfered with her life until she grew up. Betsy died in 1888 at the age of 82, and she never discussed the family curse outside the family circle and never slept alone.
The most amazing thing is that the witch loved John's wife Lucy very much, even called her the best woman on Earth, treated her to fresh fruits and sang to her. Lucy and John's son, John Bell Jr., was also sweet to the evil spirit.
But who is this wicked Tennessee witch and why did the Bell family so anger? The most popular assumption is that the former owner of the land, Kate Butts, turned into a witch after her death, who was sure that John had cheated by buying the land from her. The spirit responded to Kate's name.
John Bell died in 1820. He was found dead in bed, and next to him was a vial of an unknown liquid. A few drops were given to lick the cat, and she immediately died. The witch Bell did not stand aside here either, she completely took the blame for John's death, and at the funeral she even sang several funny songs in a drunken voice. A year later, Betsy tried to marry a guy named Joshua Gardner, but the witch was against this union - she tormented the girl with a vengeance and showered threats, claiming that Betsy would not be happy with Joshua. The guy got scared and broke off the engagement.
Gradually, the paranormal came to naught, before her final disappearance, the witch promised to return in 1935, after 107 years. It is said that after John's death, she took refuge in a cave near the farm.
In 1937, Louis Garrison, the new owner of the Bell Cave farm, complained that he constantly heard strange noises coming from there. The descendants of the Bell family claimed that they constantly heard the same sound, as if something rustled on the floor and window frames, at times the sound of a piano was heard from somewhere. Many years have passed, but in the tiny town of Adams, they still believe that an evil spirit lives in these places.
Who knows whose family the witch will choose as the next victim?
