The Bell Witch: The Full Account (32 page)

suspected supernatural encounter entails evaluating

many general theories about the supernatural world,

and using those theories to link the elements of

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F I T Z H U G H

cause
,
medium,
and
effect
to the incident you

experienced. Without delving into supernatural

theories, some of which will be examined in a later

chapter, let us instead identify the hypothetical

incident we have been discussing, its matching

supernatural characteristics, and a generally-

accepted supernatural theory that will link the

elements of
cause
,
medium
and
effect
to the incident

and formulate a persuasive argument.

The hypothetical incident you experienced on

many occasions was the repeated slamming of your

12-year-old daughter’s bedroom door in the middle of

the night while she was fast asleep. You checked to

make sure all doors and windows were shut and not

creating a draft, you made sure the dog was outside

and not rubbing up against her door, you made sure

her ceiling fan was not causing a draft, and you

locked her door.

Despite of all this, her door continued to slam

open and shut, repeatedly. You have established a

good reason why this incident is unexplainable,

which in turn suggests that it is
possibly
the

manifestation of some supernatural entity.

The details of the incident are specific in nature – a

door is moving on its own and is making a lot of

noise. After reading up on various supernatural

entities and their characteristics, you are satisfied

that a “poltergeist” is responsible for your daughter’s

door being slammed. Objects moving by themselves

and spontaneous loud noises are indicative of the

presence of a poltergeist.

Based on your description of the incident and the

known characteristics of poltergeists, which are in

fact supernatural entities, it is now
probable
that you

are experiencing encounters with the supernatural.

The author feels
compelled
to believe you; however,

you have yet to
persuade
him.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

241

After conducting further research on the attributes

and characteristics of poltergeists, you learn that

many (but not all) poltergeists are evoked by

brainwaves emitted from the subconscious mind of

adolescent or pre-adolescent people, usually because

of severe emotional or physical trauma. Things now

begin to come together – your daughter was involved

in a near-fatal accident several months ago, her

boyfriend left her, and she has been treated for

severe depression for the past several months. You

have now established probability that a poltergeist is

responsible for the incidents you have been

experiencing.

Thus far, you have established a likely
cause
(your

daughter’s miscellaneous trauma), an
effect
(her door

being repeatedly slammed without explanation), and

a suspected
medium
(a poltergeist). In an attempt to

link these elements together and persuade the

author to believe that a poltergeist is what you are

experiencing, you research several paranormal

encyclopedias and other resources, eventually

locating an interesting topic, “Recurrent

Spontaneous Psychokinesis.”

As you read about the topic, you learn that the

moving of the door is the result of psychokinesis; i.e.,

mind over matter. In this case, as is the case with

most poltergeist cases, it is not the conscious, but

the subconscious mind that moves inanimate

objects. It is recurrent because it happens more

than once, and spontaneity means that these

occurrences happen suddenly and without warning,

following no schedule or pattern.

Congratulations! You have
persuaded
the author

to believe that a poltergeist is disturbing your

household. Your finding the term, “Recurrent

Spontaneous Psychokinesis,” which is the correct

term in this case, links the elements of
cause
,

242 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

medium,
and
effect
. However, what if you later tell

the author that you occasionally hear voices when

the door is slamming? At this point, the author

rejects your entire poltergeist argument – because

poltergeists do not speak. Point: Understanding the

characteristics of supernatural entities is essential to

furthering your argument beyond the point of

possibility
.

While a person might experience and report what

they truly believe to be a manifestation of Kate, it

could have been some other supernatural entity, or

perhaps just an encounter with their own

imagination; i.e., the power of suggestion.

We have just discussed the building blocks of a

persuasive argument that should make one feel

reasonably certain that an encounter with the

supernatural has taken place, if the requirements

are met. Let the author note that he used an

oversimplified example in the previous discussion.

Real-life situations involve more variables and

conflicting theories, but the same analytical thought

processes are required nevertheless.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

243

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Supernatural Concepts

W HERE DOES KATE FIT IN? What was or

is the entity that held an entire

community captive in a malevolent reign

of terror during the early 1800s, and which became

the only documented case in history where a man

was killed by a supernatural entity? Numerous

researchers, historians, and authors have attempted

to answer this question for nearly two centuries; and

while having posed many thought-provoking

theories, they still cannot provide an accurate

explanation of this complex entity. The many

personalities manifested and various disturbances

created by the “Bell Witch” have made the legend not

only the most terrifying legend known to humankind,

but also the most perplexing.

In addition, unlike most legends and stories of the

supernatural, the legend of the “Bell Witch” involves

real people who actually lived at the places and

during the times mentioned in the legend. This has

already been proved by trips to the Tennessee State

244 P A T

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Archives in Nashville and the Robertson County

Archives in Springfield. Everything is there – official

records pertaining to every character, place, time,

and social event mentioned in the legend of the “Bell

Witch.”

It would seem that with all the factual information

pertaining to the characters, places and times,

believing Kate really existed would be easy. However,

the issue of “believing versus not believing” is not

what has kept the legend of the “Bell Witch” alive for

almost two centuries and compelled no fewer than

ten authors to publish extensive works pertaining to

it; nor is it why the Bell Witch Cave was recently

identified as, “The Most Haunted Place in America”

by a well-known paranormal organization. The

legend of the “Bell Witch” is gaining in popularity all

the time; however, if “believing versus not believing”

is not the reason for its popularity, then what is?

Almost everyone the author has discussed the

legend of the “Bell Witch” with, both locally and on

the other side of the world, agrees that the legend is

not a product of fabrication — there was in fact

“something” wrong on the Bell farm in the early

nineteenth century. A second point of consensus is

that there still appears to be “something” wrong,

although not nearly of the sinister forces it once

carried.

What has made the legend of the “Bell Witch” the

most perplexing paranormal mystery ever known to

humankind is not the question of whether something

was or is “wrong,” but instead, the question “What

was or is that ‘something,’ and why did it terrorize

Robertson County and torment one of its most

prominent citizens to his death?”

The basic attributes of any incident are: Who,

what, where, when, how and why. The legend of the

“Bell Witch” is more complex – the “what” attribute

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

245

carries two, logically opposing connotations. Instead

of only asking, “What happened?” (the normal

connotation), we must also ask, “What was or is ‘it’?”

(the paranormal connotation). “What” is the most

perplexing of all the legend’s elements; however, we

must still take into consideration the “who” attribute

until we can prove that Kate was (or is) a

supernatural entity – at which time the paranormal

connotation of the “What” element will take center

stage.

Proving whether the Bell disturbances were the

acts of a supernatural entity or the product of a hoax

requires two persuasive arguments — one that

supports a particular theory and one that debunks

the other theory. Can we do this? No. However,

what we can do is build a persuasive argument

supporting one theory and a compelling argument to

debunk the other theory.

Even if we arrive at a conclusive answer as to

“What” was and is still “wrong” at the Bell farm, there

still remains another important attribute to consider:

“Why?” Since attempting to explain the “Why”

attribute would require considerable speculation, we

will discuss possible “Why” scenarios later and

without going to great lengths in trying to prove

them.

Is the Incident Really Unexplainable?

The legend of the “Bell Witch” is the story of not

one, but many unexplainable incidents that allegedly

happened to a family. The story has been told here

in such a way that the lack of any logical explanation

should be self-evident; hence, we will not examine

each incident from the standpoint of explainability.

Our approach includes looking at several different

entities and concepts, matching “Bell Witch”

246 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

incidents to these entities and concepts, and then

applying a theory that links the elements of
cause
,

medium,
and
effect
.

While reading the following discussions about

supernatural entities and concepts, it is the reader’s

responsibility to keep an open mind and form his or

her own conclusions as to
what
the “Bell Witch” was

or is, and from there decide
why
the disturbances

occurred. The reader may wish to form his or her

own theory as to
why
, or adopt the author’s theory –

it is up to the reader.

Ghosts and Poltergeists

Many publications and researchers over the years

have referred to the “Bell Witch” as either a
ghost
or

poltergeist
. The author has found no evidence that

clearly suggests Kate was or is a
ghost
; however, her

character and the nature of her disturbances closely

align with the attributes and characteristics of a

poltergeist
.

The term
poltergeist
comes from the German

words,
polter
and
geist
, which literally mean “noisy

Spirit.” Poltergeists cause physical disturbances

ranging from rapping on walls to moving inanimate

objects and physically abusing people. In addition to

their propensity for noisy disturbances of a physical

nature, poltergeists have been known to whisper on

occasion.

A widely held misconception about these entities is

that the terms,
poltergeist
and
ghost,
are

synonymous. Although some similarity exists, there

are differences that set the two entities apart.
Figure

1
on the following page illustrates the five major

differences between ghosts and poltergeists.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

247

Ghosts vs. Poltergeists

Attribute Ghost

Poltergeist

Spirits of deceased beings,

Theories suggest that

usually human, appearing

poltergeists are mass forms of

frequently in certain places.

energy that a living person

They can appear in forms

unknowingly controls, usually

Origin

such as transparent

through a form of passive

entities, complete bodies,

psychokinesis resulting from

foggy mists, and smells

severe physical or psychic

(usually associated with the

trauma. In some extreme

deceased while still living).

cases, poltergeists have been

linked to demons.

Usually linked to a specific

Linked to a specific person or