The Bell Witch: The Full Account (19 page)

ridicule escalated, and John Bell was on the

receiving end.

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

John Bell’s Final Days

T HE AFFLICTION that once affected only Bell’s

tongue and jaws now affected his entire body.

He frequently encountered seizures and other

violent episodes that often struck without warning

and left him without strength for several days at a

time. John Bell’s episodes grew more intense and

frequent as his health continued to deteriorate.

John Bell’s Shoes Fly Off

Early one morning in October of 1820, John Bell

and one of his younger sons, Richard, set out

walking towards the hog pen to separate some hogs.

Shortly after they began their walk, John Bell’s shoe

quickly flew off his foot. Richard helped him put the

shoe back on, securing it with a double knot. After

they resumed their walk, Bell's other shoe flew off as

quickly as the first one did. Regardless of how tight

his shoes were tied, they repeatedly flew off his feet

as quickly as Richard could put them back on. This

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139

exercise lasted until they reached the hog pen, at

which time Bell removed both of his shoes and

relaxed his feet before tending to the hogs.

They began walking back to the house after they

finished separating the hogs and John Bell’s shoes

began flying off his feet again, just as they did earlier.

Bell suddenly felt a hard blow to his head as he

stopped to retie his shoes. He described the blow as

a hard, stinging slap in the face. Now very upset and

beginning to feel light-headed, Bell sat down on a log

beside the road to regain his composure. His body

began trembling and his face twitched uncontrollably

as he became overtaken by a seizure.

The seizure was not severe, and upon its passing,

Bell looked up to the sky and said a long, fervent

prayer asking again, “Why?” Feeling much better

after having said the prayer and resting for a few

minutes, Bell walked back to the house with his son.

They encountered no more problems that day.

The Affliction Worsens

Upon returning, John Bell took to his bed for a

long nap. Over the next several weeks, he lacked the

strength and determination to go out into the fields

and spent increasingly more time in bed as his

health rapidly deteriorated. He never went outside

the house again. What little that was heard from

Kate during this time was a far cry from grapes and

hazelnuts. She sang louder and more frequently

during this period, as if she was celebrating Bell’s

demise.

Both Lucy and John Jr. stayed by John Bell’s side

day and night, comforting him and praying for the

Almighty to release whatever curse had befell him so

he could once again have a normal life.

Unfortunately, this would never happen. Friends

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visited often, but at this late stage of Bell’s life, there

was nothing they could do but pray for John Bell’s

deliverance from the malevolent Spirit that had

tormented him so long.

It was apparent to those who visited that Kate

intended to torment Bell increasingly during his final

and most painful days. While Kate refrained from

speaking during Bell’s last days, she made her

presence known by singing hymns in multiple,

simultaneous voices, and by covering the dell with

flitting candles as she had several years earlier. On

occasion, people who came to visit Bell reported

hearing the voices of small children quoting scripture

and singing hymns as they walked up the lane to the

house, and a constant, cold drizzle falling over the

dell outside the Bell home at night — all of this

reported during John Bell’s final days.

The Death of John Bell

One morning in December of 1820, John Bell did

not awaken at daybreak as he normally did, so Lucy

and John Jr. thought it best to let him sleep until

after breakfast. Elizabeth went upstairs to awaken

him shortly after breakfast, where she discovered

that his breathing had become irregular and that he

had apparently lost consciousness. Hearing

Elizabeth’s cries for help, both Lucy Bell and John

Jr. rushed up the stairs to see what had happened.

John Jr. walked over to the cupboard where his

father’s medicine was stored and discovered that the

medicine had been replaced by a smoky-looking vial

that was one-third full of an unknown, dark liquid.

After checking with others who knew nothing

about how the vial had gotten there, Lucy and John

Jr. sent for the family doctor, George Hopson.

Despite the seven-mile buggy ride from Port Royal,

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141

Hopson arrived quickly as did Alex Gunn, Frank

Miles, John Johnston, and Richard Powell. After

carefully examining the vial and its contents, Dr.

Hopson reported, “I have no idea what this liquid is

or the purpose of it being here; however, I am

absolutely sure it’s the same odor I detected near Mr.

Bell’s face!”

After a short period of silence, a shrill voice filled

the room and exclaimed, “It's useless for you to try to

relieve Ol’ Jack, I have got him this time; he will

never get up from that bed again!” “No he will not,

he is a bad rascal and will spend eternity in hell,”

exclaimed another voice. “For it is written that

repentance is no recourse against the sins of the

father,” exclaimed the voice of a small child. “For

this man dies and suffers the fruits of his evil forever

just as other men shall in future generations,” the

first voice proclaimed. “And it shall be so, and it

shall be so,” all three voices said in unison.

“Listen! This liquid is something I have never seen

before; it’s not medicine, and I think it’s in my

patient’s best interest that you tell me what it is and

how much you gave him!” Dr. Hopson angrily

exclaimed “Doctor, there is no use in trying to

engage this worthless, demonic jackass in any type of

intelligent conversation,” John Jr. exclaimed. Kate

then replied to Hopson, saying, “I put it there, and

gave Ol’ Jack a big dose of it last night while he was

asleep, which fixed him!” “Yes, it fixed him,” said a

child’s voice coming from the other side of the room.

John Bell suddenly began jerking and turning his

head from side to side, trying desperately to say

something but to no avail. Bell’s mysterious jerks

continued for several minutes despite Dr. Hopson’s

best efforts to calm him. After vomiting several

times, he quickly calmed and became unconscious

once again. Everyone noticed what looked like whip

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marks all over his face, however no sounds were

heard during Bell’s episode.

The group decided to test the vial’s contents on the

family cat. Alex Gunn caught and held the cat as

John Jr. poured some of the liquid into its mouth.

The cat fell to its side, stretched and kicked for a

short time, and then died. Everyone decided that the

vial and its contents should be destroyed at once.

Frank Miles volunteered to throw it into the fire.

“No, don’t do that,” ordered Dr. Hopson; “I would like

to take this strange vial with me and analyze its

contents.” “Yes, that is what needs to be done; I

want to know what it was that Kate gave to John. If

it can kill our cat that quickly, I am sorrowfully

afraid that my husband’s end is near,” said Lucy

Bell.

“Oh, this is absolute nonsense! Can you not see

that it no longer matters? The man is dying, for

God’s sake! Can you not let him die in peace so as

not to be clouded by the additional controversy of

what might be in that bottle? The doctor has much

better things to do than play games with this so-

called “witch” by analyzing what is in the vial. John

Bell is dying! It doesn’t matter what is in the vial or

how it got there!” Richard Powell angrily exclaimed as

he jerked the vial away from Dr. Hopson and threw it

into the fire. When the vial hit the fire, a popping

sound was heard and it burst into a bright, blue

flame that burned out quickly.

John Bell remained in a coma for the rest of the

day and night, as Lucy Bell, John Jr. and John

Johnston stayed by his side and comforted him. On

the following morning, December 20th, John Bell

breathed his final breath. Kate began singing hymns

and laughing fervently upon his passing, not letting

up until the end of the day. Nothing further was

heard from Kate until Bell’s funeral.

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“Kate” Sings at John Bell’s Funeral

John Bell was laid to rest in the Bell family

cemetery, located on a cedar-covered knoll some 300

yards north of the Bell home. It was a bright winter

day, and friends from all over the countryside came

to pay their last respects. Bell’s funeral, conducted

by Reverend Sugg Fort and the Revs. Thomas and

James Gunn, was one of the largest ever held in

Robertson County. All three preachers were very

close friends of the Bells despite John Bell’s

excommunication from the church two years earlier.

As they promised, their respect for him remained

until the very end.

As the large crowd of family and friends began to

disperse after Bell’s burial, Kate began laughing

hysterically and sang, “Row me, O Row me, Row me

up some brandy O,” which continued until the last

person had left the cemetery.

John Bell’s Unanswered Request

In hopes of being reinstated into the fellowship of

Red River Baptist Church, John Bell had in 1819

requested a review of the events that resulted in his

excommunication the previous year. The matter was

assigned to a committee representing the leadership

of five different churches, which recommended Bell‘s

reinstatement.

The matter of Bell’s reinstatement frequently

appeared on the church meeting agenda but was

never taken up, always being “postponed till next

conference.” At the time of Bell’s death, the matter

still had not been taken up. The lone entry in the

church minutes for the month of December 1820

stated, “No conference in December.” 30

30
Red River Baptist Church Minutes (1791-1826)
, p. 215.

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Hearts are Broken

I N THE WEEKS THAT FOLLOWED John Bell’s

death, many friends and neighbors visited his

family to comfort them and share in their grief.

The reason or reasons why Kate tormented Bell to

his death were no longer of concern, as there was

now a great feeling of relief in knowing he was no

longer suffering the pain he had been forced to

endure in the last four years of his life. Kate’s visits,

now fewer and less frequent, centered more around

Elizabeth than other members of the Bell family. It

appeared that she was extending sympathy to

Elizabeth by comforting her as she grieved the loss of

her father.

Kate ceased abusing Elizabeth and speaking

unfavorably of her courtship with Joshua Gardner,

and Elizabeth’s much-needed feelings of relief were

obvious to those around her — her mischievous

smile began to reappear, the circles below her eyes

and the bruises on her arms went away, the paleness

of her face was replaced with a rosy-red complexion,

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145

and her mood became very cheerful compared to

what it had been the last four years.

Elizabeth’s changes were due not only to having

gotten over the death of her father, but also renewed

optimism in her relationship with Joshua Gardner.

The Relationship Grows Stronger

While Elizabeth’s renewed optimism was quite

strong, there still existed the fear of the unknown.

Did Kate’s newly found silence about the relationship

mean that she now approved of it? What if she

disregarded Kate’s earlier warnings about marrying

Joshua Gardner if he proposed — would they suffer

the same fate as her father? These and other

questions often ran through Elizabeth’s mind, fueling

the constant struggle in her heart between love and

fear.

The two lovers spent much time discussing their

plans to possibly marry and move far away from the

land that had brought them much fear and suffering

for so long, sometimes nearly crushing their hearts

in an inescapable vise. They were very eager to move

away; however, they decided to give the matter more

time to make sure Kate did not rescind her implied

approval of their courtship.

Joshua Gardner continued his bold and relentless

pursuit of Elizabeth, often telling her, “Nothing is