The Bell Witch: The Full Account (37 page)

that, “He that believeth shall be saved: He that

believeth not, shall be condemned,” and that “Christ

died for all, all that were dead in trespasses and

sins.”

Reuben Ross, an elder of Red River Baptist

Church, was a leader in the movement toward

Arminianism. Ross’ long-awaited opportunity to

preach his views came in July of 1817 when he was

asked to preach a funeral sermon. The following

account of Ross’ sermon appears in a local history

book:

“After years of careful study, Reuben Ross became

thoroughly satisfied in his own mind that

salvation is for ‘Whosoever will,’ and not for a

55 Calvin’s doctrine of Predestination is included in Appendix H.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

275

select few. He determined to preach his views

regardless of what the consequences might be.

An opportunity presented itself for him to express

his views in the month of July of 1817. He was

requested to preach the funeral sermon of Miss

Eliza Norfleet, who had died some time previously

near Port Royal. She had been buried in the Fort

burying ground on the home site of Elias Fort.

This young lady had been greatly esteemed and

beloved in the community where she had lived. It

was reported that she was of a gentle manner and

had a very loving character. There were a large

number of people who wished to pay their last

respects to the memory of the dearly beloved

young lady, and also to hear a beloved preacher

on this occasion.

On the day of the funeral, there was a large

gathering at the graveyard. A rude platform had

been built for the occasion. Reuben Ross, at the

appointed time, mounted this platform without

fear in his heart and expressed boldly, views that

were contrary to those holding to the doctrine of

salvation for the elect. He told his hearers that

those who would yield to the influence of the Holy

Spirit and become followers of Christ would be

saved and pardoned; that none, unless he

personally surrendered his heart and life to Jesus,

could be saved and that anyone who is lost is lost

because, it is his own fault.

As surprising as it may seem, the crowd gathered

around the grave seemed to accept with favor the

views expressed. As soon as the sermon had been

concluded, Elder Ross descended from the

platform looking straight ahead, walked to the

place where his horse was tied, mounted him and

rode home, a distance of twenty miles.

276 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

Apparently, he was not ready to meet, face to face,

the kind old brothers that he had labored with for

the past ten years. No doubt, he knew that many

friendships would be ruptured because of the

stand that he had taken.” 56

Divisiveness in the Baptist Church grew over time

with many people, including Reverend Sugg Fort,

acknowledging the Arminian doctrine. Many church

congregations split, and additional churches came

into existence as a result. Also during this period, an

event of major religious significance took place along

the New Madrid fault line in Missouri and west

Tennessee, some 175 miles west of Robertson

County.

During the winter of 1811-1812, the New Madrid

area was plagued by a series of earthquakes of the

highest magnitude ever recorded in American

history. Both the loss of life and eyewitness

accounts were minimal, however, due to the area’s

sparse population at the time.

These earthquakes caused the Mississippi River to

run backwards, creating Reelfoot Lake in northwest

Tennessee, and reportedly rang the Liberty Bell in

Philadelphia. The quakes were felt strongly in the

settlements along the Red River, where along with

many other areas it became a popular belief that the

Almighty was expressing His unhappiness with the

sins of the world. What logically followed was the

Spiritual “awakening” of many people and a major

influx of new members into the church – most of

whom were overcome by fear of the Almighty’s wrath.

The author feels that the events described in the

preceding pages brought about a collective state of

emotional discontentment, which “called” the Spirit

56 John M. Goodman, Jr.,
Red River Baptist Church – A History
, pp. 40-41.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

277

world into an intense and prolonged fury that

triggered the vortex on the Bell farm to “erupt” –

opening the “door” between the Spirit and material

worlds. The author also feels that one of the many

Spirits attached to the land became entwined in the

vortex and suspended between the Spirit and

material worlds.

This Spirit was probably of a very low order, and

lacked the ability to free itself and return back to the

Spirit world at its own choosing; hence, it spent a

number of years progressing through the orders of

Spiritual progression to the point it was able to free

itself. The Bell family owned the farm, and because

of this, it was they who the Spirit used as its

stepping-stone through the Spiritual orders –

enlisting other supernatural entities as necessary to

help pave the way during the earlier years of its visit.

On two separate occasions, Kate remarked that she

was not happy and did not want to be at the Bell

farm. 57

57 The first occasion was documented in Richard Williams Bell’s manuscript,
Our Family
Trouble
, and the second occasion was documented in Dr. Charles Bailey Bell’s book,
The Bell Witch: A Mysterious Spirit
.

278 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

CHAPTER TWENTY-

SEVEN

The Sprit’s Agenda

U P TO THIS POINT, we have yet to discuss

the possible reasons behind the Spirit’s

four-fold agenda, that being the killing of

John Bell, preventing Elizabeth Bell and Joshua

Gardner from marrying, taking a seven-year absence,

and then taking a 107-year absence. One cannot

help but question why a Spirit would have such an

agenda and what benevolence, if any, could be

attained by its execution. Let us look at Kate’s

agenda, some possible reasons behind it, and who or

what stood to gain by its execution.

To Kill John Bell

John Bell died in 1820, the period in which Kate

progressed to the 5th Spiritual subclass. This is the

transitional point between the third and second

Spiritual orders, and far superior to the lower,

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

279

“impure” Spiritual orders. What act of benevolence

(needed to progress to the Second Order) could have

offset the vicious act of killing a man? John Bell’s

death must have been the lesser of two evils, for

otherwise the Spirit would not have progressed to a

higher Spiritual order around the time of his death.

What was this “greater evil,” which was

preventable only by John Bell’s death? Since Bell’s

death prevented this “greater evil” from taking place,

there is no evidence from which to devise an answer.

As mortal beings, we cannot travel back in time and

then speculate about a “future event” that current

research suggests never took place. When asked

essentially the same question by John Bell, Jr. in

1828, Kate replied that the Spirit world is not at

liberty to share certain information with the material

world. The author does not know what this “greater

evil” would have been had John Bell had lived, and

neither does anyone else. hh

The author does feel, however, that Kate’s

intentions of promoting benevolence were not for the

sake of goodness to humankind, but to fulfill her

own, self-serving desire to progress through the

Spiritual orders to the point that she could freely

return to the Spirit world.

To Break Elizabeth’s Engagement

Although Elizabeth Bell and Joshua Gardner did

not end their engagement until April of 1821, Kate

had warned Elizabeth about marrying Joshua since

her “arrival” on the Bell farm in 1817. This would

indicate that her aversion to their engagement was

not specific to any particular Spiritual order, but very

general in nature. It was not until after Elizabeth

and Joshua broke off their engagement that Kate

progressed beyond the 5th Spiritual subclass.

280 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

As it has already been stated, Kate never gave a

specific reason for her disapproval of their

engagement. She would only say that Elizabeth

would never be happy if she married Joshua, and

that future generations would see it true. Her

remarks about their engagement made it clear that

some form of benevolence would, in the future, offset

the agony and heartbreak felt by the two lovers and

work to the good of all concerned. This reasoning

falls in direct line with John Stuart Mill’s concept of

utilitarianism
, which loosely states that the act that

produces the highest ratio of good to evil for all

concerned is the
right
act.

Given that Kate was averse to Elizabeth and

Joshua’s engagement for the entire duration of her

“visit” (which spanned many Spiritual orders and

subclasses over a period of time), never gave a clear

reason as to why, and progressed to higher Spiritual

orders and subclasses after their engagement was

broken, it becomes apparent that the achievement of

some perceived future benevolence at the cost of

Elizabeth and Joshua’s engagement was a long-term

plot to effect a rite of passage to higher Spiritual

orders. Moreover, as was the case with John Bell’s

death, the author feels that Kate’s sole intent in

promoting future benevolence was to fulfill her own,

self-serving desire to progress through the Spiritual

orders.

And, once again, the Spirit world knew that

something of a benevolent nature would happen in

the future – but only if Elizabeth and Joshua did not

marry. Both Joshua Gardner and Richard Powell

(the man Elizabeth finally married) enjoyed great

success in their respective careers during the years

that followed; however, Powell’s success was short-

lived. He became an invalid, passed away, and left

his family in a state of poverty.

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

281

Gardner’s success, on the other hand, continued

until the day he died, some 63 years after their

engagement had ended. Despite all of her family’s

hardships after Powell became ill and passed away,

Elizabeth insisted that her relationship with her

husband (Powell) was a very happy one. Why? The

author does not know; however, he will state that

Elizabeth Powell was not the only woman in the

community with an invalid husband.

To Leave for Seven Years

Kate attained the ability to return to the Spirit

world in April of 1821 with the breakup of Elizabeth

Bell and Joshua Gardner, and left the Bell home a

short time later, promising to return in seven years.

The author feels that when Kate promised to return

in seven years, she knew she would be of a higher

Spiritual order at that time and possess the ability to

make amends for some of the harm she inflicted

during her first visit. As promised, Kate returned

seven years later to check on Lucy Bell and relay as

much information about the Spirit world as possible

to John Bell, Jr. These acts were characteristic of

the 2nd Spiritual subclass, to which Kate had

progressed during her seven-year absence from the

Bell farm – just as she had planned.

To Return in One Hundred Seven Years

Kate’s promise to return in 107 years (1935) was

most likely in anticipation of the emotional tensions

that would follow the Great Depression and problems

mounting in other nations at the time that would

ultimately lead to World War II. Kate alluded to

these events in her conversations with John Bell, Jr.

in 1828. Emotional tensions were what “called” the

282 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

Spirit to the Bell farm to begin with; hence, Kate

anticipated a return-visit, or “re-calling” in 1935. It

is not known whether Kate actually returned in

1935, as no credible stories from that period exist.

Despite Kate’s notion that emotional tensions

would warrant her return-visit in 1935, which

presumably never materialized, it is most certain

that conditions on the Bell farm during the early

Nineteenth Century were “right” for a visit from the

Spirit world. The
cause
was the emotional tension

that “called” the Spirit world. The
medium
that the

Spirit world used to connect with the material world

was the vortex. The
effect
was torment to the John

Bell family and a general sense of terror throughout