The Bell Witch: The Full Account (18 page)

responded by saying, “Well, okay; but you had better

behave yourself.”

He then felt a scaly, slithery, creature crawl up

underneath the covers and lay beside him. He held

onto the covers tightly as he felt them being slowly

pulled away. His tight and powerful grip proved to

be no match for “Kate,” however; the covers were

pulled completely off him and assumed the form of a

human body lying beside him. Angered by Kate’s

insistence on hogging the covers, Porter decided to

burn her, as it appeared the perfect opportunity had

finally availed itself.

He quickly rose out of bed and put his arms

around the covered body, then lifted it and ran

towards the fireplace with it. The sheet grew heavier

with each step he took, and a foul odor began

emanating from it. After taking just a few more

steps, Porter became so exhausted and consumed by

the foul odor that he dropped the sheet just before

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129

reaching the fireplace. Wanting to finish the task,

Porter quickly stepped outside to get some fresh air

and regain his composure. Upon going back into the

house, he found the sheet completely unraveled and

no trace of the foul odor that had filled the room only

minutes earlier.

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Kate’s” Hatred for the Slaves

D ESPITE HER ADORATION FOR LUCY BELL

and others, Kate often reiterated her hatred

for the slaves — which was nearly as strong

as her hatred for John Bell. She enjoyed playing

pranks on the slaves and often spoke of what she

called their “foul smell.” While Chloe seemed to

enjoy an uneventful relationship with Kate, her

relationship with Chloe's children was anything but

uneventful. This was especially the case with Harry,

a house servant who was responsible for starting the

morning fire to warm up the house.

Harry and the Fire

Several mornings in a row, John Bell awoke to find

the house unusually cold. After learning that Harry

had not been starting the fire early enough, Bell

scolded him. Despite Bell's scolding Harry about the

fire for several days in a row, the problems continued

and Bell became frustrated.

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131

Kate apparently did not like being cold in the

mornings, either. On one cold morning, she said to

Bell, “Never mind, Ol’ Jack, don’t fret. I will attend to

the rascal the next time he is belated!” After several

days of being punctual, Harry was later making the

fire one morning than he had ever been. As Bell

harshly scolded Harry, Kate interrupted and

exclaimed, “Hold on Ol’ Jack, didn’t I tell you not to

pester? I will attend to this rascal!”

As it was, Harry was on his knees and blowing into

the fireplace to make a blaze. Suddenly, something

grabbed him by the neck and began beating him

mercilessly. The sound of a piece of wood like a

paddle was heard all throughout the Bell home.

Nobody who rushed into the room saw anything that

resembled a paddle; however Harry's yelling, which

worsened the beating, was heard by everyone both

inside and outside. Harry made the fire in plenty of

time each morning from this point forward.

Harry was the only slave known to have received a

beating from Kate, however his sister, Philis, received

a spanking from her mother as the result of a prank

played by Kate.

Philis’ Legs Become Locked

Late one afternoon while waiting on dinner, the

Bell children decided to test their athletic abilities by

engaging in some contests of strength and agility.

They rolled, jumped, and put their feet behind their

heads. From the kitchen, Philis watched with

amazement, as she had never seen anyone do such

tricks. The next day, she decided to try the same

maneuvers by herself in an upstairs room.

After trying for some time and finally getting her

feet behind her head, she realized that they were

stuck and she could not move. After spending

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several minutes trying to free herself but to no avail,

Philis heard her mother calling from downstairs.

Embarrassed, she responded, “I'll be there in just a

minute, I promise!” After calling several more times,

her mother became frustrated and went upstairs to

spank her. Finding Philis in a position more than

suitable for a spanking, her mother spanked her very

hard and then scolded her for not obeying her orders

to come downstairs.

Philis had become able to move by this time and

quickly freed herself. Just after she explained to her

mother that Kate had locked her legs so she couldn’t

move, the room filled with Kate’s gleeful laughter and

an ear-piercing exclamation, “That will teach you,

you filthy little rascal. Don’t be upstairs playing

while you should be downstairs helping your mother.

The both of you also need a bath. I despise how you

slaves smell, especially you two and that smelly big

sister of yours, Anky!” m Four years Philis’ senior,

Anky worked in the fields every day and was

regarded by the Bells as one of their best field slaves.

“Kate” Finds Anky

It was a well-known fact that Kate never visited

any of the slave cabins because she emphatically

detested “that old smell,” as she put it. Keeping this

in mind, Lucy Bell decided to try to outwit Kate by

using her aversion to the smell of the slaves against

her.

She thought carefully and devised a plan that

would possibly rid the Bell home of Kate once and for

all. Fearing the possibility of Kate catching and

punishing her, Mrs. Bell decided to keep her plan a

secret from everyone, including the rest of her family.

One afternoon Mrs. Bell paid a visit to Anky and

told her, “Anky, I think that you would make a

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133

wonderful house girl. Your mother and sister have

all the chores they can handle, and your

grandmother, Chloe, is almost sixty years old and

can’t get around like she used to. There is more and

more work to be done in the house, and I want you

to be my house girl. I will even let you sleep in the

same room with me.” “Do you reckon that old witch

will pester me,” asked Anky. Mrs. Bell replied, “Why

no, Anky, I don’t think she will be anywhere around;

and if she is, it would be downstairs bothering our

guests. I also want you to keep this a secret so she

won’t know in the first place that you are sleeping in

the house.”

That same evening, and before the usual deluge of

visitors began to arrive, Anky went into the house

and up the stairs to Mrs. Bell’s room. After setting

up and hiding her pallet underneath the bed, she lay

down on it for a long nap knowing that nobody

besides Mrs. Bell knew she was there.

The house later filled with visitors who were soon

exposed to Kate’s usual demonstrations. While

giving the visitors a lecture about not speaking in

John Bell's defense, Kate all of the sudden stopped

and angrily exclaimed, “There is a bad smell in this

house, and it’s 'Ank;' I smell her under Old Luce's

bed and she’s got to get out!” A loud noise coming

from upstairs was suddenly heard. Anky, with her

head and face covered with white foam, ran down the

stairs exclaiming, “Oh missus, missus, it’s going to

spit me to death. Let me out, let me out!” Mrs. Bell

opened the door and Anky ran back to her cabin as

fast as she could, crying and screaming all the way.

Kate then set her sights on Mrs. Bell, “Say Luce,

did you bring her in here?” “Yes,” replied Mrs. Bell;

“I told Anky that she might go under my bed where

she would be out of the way and still be able to hear

you talk and sing with that ever-sweet voice of

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yours.” Not phased by Mrs. Bell’s seemingly good

intentions, Kate responded, “Nobody but you, Luce,

would have thought of such a smart trick as that;

and if anyone else had done it, I would have killed

'Ank.' Lord, Jesus, I won’t get over that smell in a

month! The only thing I’ve smelled any worse than

that was when I turned Old Dean into a mule one

night and he got too scared.”

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Andrew Jackson Visits “Kate”

O F ALL THE VISITORS who came from

around the world to investigate and witness

Kate’s demonstrations, perhaps the most

prominent was Major General Andrew Jackson, who

lived in nearby Nashville at the time.

Jackson was a military leader, lawyer, and

statesman. After fighting in the Revolutionary War at

a very young age, he studied law and became a

lawyer. Joining the Tennessee Militia in 1801, he

enjoyed a long and decorated military career that

included the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814 and

the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.

Both Jesse Bell and John Jr. had fought under

Jackson; Jesse at Horseshoe Bend and New Orleans,

and John Jr. at New Orleans. Already aware of the

Bell disturbances, Jackson, upon learning that Jesse

and John Jr.'s family was the same Bell family that

was being tormented, decided to pay a visit to the

Bell farm to see for himself just what Kate was all

about.

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F I T Z H U G H

Jackson’s Wagon is Stopped

General Jackson made his visit to the Bell farm in

late 1819. As the Jackson entourage approached the

Bell property line, the wagon came to a sudden and

mysterious halt. The horses spooked and the wagon

master repeatedly whipped them but to no avail. The

whipping and cursing continued for several minutes

before Jackson suddenly exclaimed, “By the eternal,

boys, it must be the witch!” After Jackson made this

statement, a feeble voice heard coming from the

woods nearby said, “Alright General, let the wagon

move on, I will see you again tonight.” Baffled,

Jackson's men checked up and down the road and in

the woods, but found no sign of anyone having been

there and spoken to them a moment earlier. The

entourage then proceeded down the lane and to the

Bell home.

Upon his arrival, Jackson had a long and

pleasurable discussion with John Bell about the

Indians, the Battle of New Orleans, and other topics

as his men waited patiently in the family room for

Kate to manifest herself.

Jackson’s “Witch Tamer” Becomes a Believer

One of the men in Jackson’s entourage claimed to

be a “witch tamer,” and, after several uneventful

hours, decided to call upon Kate. He pulled a shiny

pistol from his holster and boldly announced his

intent to kill her. The man slumped over almost

instantly and began moving his body in different

directions around the room, screaming,

“Oh…oh…oh…No! My God, help me! Oh…Oh…it

hurts! I'm being beaten to death and stuck with pins

all over! Somebody do something, darnit!” He

quickly threw down his pistol and ran out the door,

then Kate announced, “There is yet one more 'fraud'

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in this bunch, and I will identify and properly deal

with him tomorrow evening!”

Perplexed and terrified, Jackson’s men begged him

to leave the place as soon as possible; however,

Jackson insisted on staying so he could learn who

the other “fraud” in his party was. After some tense

discussion, Jackson and his men went outside to

their tents to get some much-needed rest. Unable to

sleep, and for obvious reason, the men continued

begging Jackson to leave the Bell farm.

Jackson remained unmoved by his men's pleading

and maintained his position of wanting to stay so he

could find out who the other “fraud” in his party was.

By noon the next day, however, Jackson and his men

had already left the Bell farm and were seen going

through Springfield as they headed back to Nashville.

It is not known what caused Jackson to change his

mind so abruptly and leave the following morning.

Jackson, a popular and well-liked military hero,

was quoted as having later said, “I’d rather fight the

entire British Army than deal with that thing they

call the Bell Witch!” Jackson later went on to

become the President of the United States.

After Jackson and his entourage had left the Bell

farm, Kate declared that it was time to finish her

mission of “tormenting 'Ol Jack Bell' to his grave.”

She continued expressing her strong dislike for Bell,

often reiterating her vow to make his death the

slowest and most painful type possible. Such

remarks increased over time, and Bell’s condition

worsened all the while. Kate’s acts of violence and