The Bell Witch
Jim Holton
There's a legend about a woman known as the Bell Witch. I don't remember
the whole story, but I remember reading about the legend in a local
history book. I think she was a jilted bride who took her frustrations
out on the groom's family.
When I was in elementary school we had our own series of legends on the
Bell Witch. We strongly believed that she lived (haunted?) in the field
behind the school, which contained some old shacks. It was said that if
you looked into a mirror and said, "I hate the Bell Witch" three times,
she would appear. Also, if you dialed 123-4567 or 111-1111 or 999-9999
(the exact number changed) on the telephone, you would reach the Bell
Witch. A lot of my friends swore this was true. To tell the truth, it
scared the hell out of most of us and we never got the nerve to call
(until we were much older and it was all a big joke).
Derek Peschel
Jim Holton <Jim_Holton.CELL#u#BIO...@cellbio.duke.edu> wrote:
> I think she was a jilted bride who took her frustrations
>out on the groom's family.
The movie _Candyman_ uses a similar premise. I think the Candyman was a
former slave (according to the movie) who had a love affair, and was
punished by the father of the bride. I remember for certain that the father
hired thugs to kill Candyman -- the thugs unleashed a swarm of bees, and
cut off Candyman's hand with a rusty knife.
This happened at Cabrini Green in Chicago (according to the movie), which
was a field but is now the name of a housing project. Thus, the housing
project was haunted in the movie.
>you looked into a mirror and said, "I hate the Bell Witch" three times,
The movie used this device too -- look in a mirror, say the Candyman's name
five times, and he would appear behind you and kill you (with the hook that
he used for a hand).
I'm not a horror-movie fan... I wouldn't normally post here, but seeing the
same story intrigued me.
-- Derek
Je...@jaffro.sunquest.com
The bell witch sound an awful lot like the movie "Candy Man".
The movie is set in Chicago and deals with urban legends.
In the movie you said Candyman 3 times in a mirror and he would appear and
of course kill you in a rather creative and gruesome manner.
I have a book on urban legends that was written by a proffessor at
the University of Utah who studies urban legends, most are
Ghost Stories, but it is rather good. I'll post it after I locate the
book.
Jeff
Denise Darling
I thought the Bell Witch thing took place in Tennessee or something.
There was an actual haunting of the Bell family. They called the ghost the Bell
Witch. Could the Bloody Mary type story have been a sort of take off of the
original?
M APPEAL
friend told me about her. Just the name Bell Witch gives me
a spooky feeling now (some 20 years later) even though I don't
remember the whole story. One detail that stays with me is
that the witch somehow made someone's tongue swell up and
turn black, preventing the person from talking, eating, etc. That
was very disturbing to me then.
M Appeal
Matt Hucke
>When I was in elementary school we had our own series of legends on the
>Bell Witch. We strongly believed that she lived (haunted?) in the field
>behind the school, which contained some old shacks. It was said that if
>you looked into a mirror and said, "I hate the Bell Witch" three times,
>she would appear.
I've heard several variations of this. In my area, it was "Mary
Magdalene, come out, come out", said five times to a mirror in a completely
darkened room. She would then appear, covered in blood, and strangle you.
The movie "Candyman", very loosely based on Clive Barker's "The
Forbidden", had a similar legend. If "Candyman" was said five times into
a mirror, the ghost would burst through and cut the victim open with the
hook that served as his hand. The Candyman was a ghost of a black man
from the previous century, who had been commissioned to paint a picture of
a white girl. They fell in love, and when the girl's father learned of
this, he led a mob which cut off his hand and then burned him to death.
[I especially enjoyed the movie because, although the story was originally
in England, the film was set in Chicago, at the University of Illinois
and nearby housing projects. During my first week at UIC, the student union
had a showing of Candyman, undoubtedly selected because it featured the
university... the chills a movie like this can send down your spine are
amplified tenfold when you are viewing it in the location it was set,
and the familiar landmarks take on a more sinister feel...]
--
_____ Proud member of P.E.T.A. - People for Eating Tasty Animals
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Chip Woods
: I thought the Bell Witch thing took place in Tennessee or something.
: There was an actual haunting of the Bell family. They called the ghost the Bell
: Witch. Could the Bloody Mary type story have been a sort of take off of the
: original?
The Bell Witch either took place in Alabama or Tennessee. It was a
ghost that haunted a family. It threatened to kill the members pretty
regularly and then maybe even killed some of them. There was also
something about a painting that appeared to be charcoal but then
colorized itself over time. The reason that I remember this is because I
used to know a descendant of the Bell family and we used to make jokes
about the witch coming to get her.
--
chip woods
athens, ga
regular at Waffle House #48
Randall W. Partin
Hey! I recognize that legend! When I was in high school in
Clarksville, TN, we had some similar superstitions about the
Bell Witch. Some of the better ones were that if you were
on the road to the Bell Witch House (in Adams, TN) and saw an
animal cross the road, you would see blood
further down the road (actually supported by a story about
a tragic car accident that followed a rabbit's foray into
the road). Other stories included those about weird results
of playing with an Ouija board on the Bell property. When
I was in middle school, we were even treated to a movie
about the legend of the Bell Witch. Great stuff
See ya,
RPX
******************************************************************************
Randall W. Partin par...@osiris.colorado.edu
Department of Political Science
University of Colorado RPX
Boulder, CO 80309-0333
******************************************************************************
Captain Nemo
: Denise Darling (dlda...@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu) wrote:
Shit. I once found a whole thick book on the Bell Witch. Some strange,
wacky stuff. I wish I could remember the name of it. There's actually
many "capsule" references to it in other books.
Sounds like a babe to me..
GRETCHEN L. HEIN
:
:
: I thought the Bell Witch thing took place in Tennessee or something.
: There was an actual haunting of the Bell family. They called the ghost the Bell
: Witch. Could the Bloody Mary type story have been a sort of take off of the
: original?
Really - Southern Kentucky - near Franklin.
At least everyone atayed away from teh house where Bell Witch lived.
I grew up down there and an old black woman was known as Bell Witch.
Kids were dared to go to her house and look in the windows.
After she died, the proerty would not sell - weird lights and sounds were
heard from it. I moved away over 15 years ago - but it's great to know
that she lives on....
--
****************************************************************
* Freedom is not a license for chaos. * Gretchen Hein *
* "The Dot and the Line", Norton Juster * glh...@mtu.edu *
****************************************************************
Tom Norris
north of Clarksville. There is a Bell family cemetary there, as well as
something called the "The Bell Witch Opry" which I may assume to be
some sort of performance of the Bell Witch Legend.
More as I actually am able to find it---
Never seem to find any of my subject references until I actually
DONT need them....
Tom
Dave Zack
All this talk about the Bell Witch brings back some very
scary memories for me. When I was in 6th grade, I found a
book on Poltergeists in our school library. They talked
about many cases but the two I remember are the hauntings
at the Borley Rector in England and the Bell Witch. The
following is very sketchy as I have not studied the subject
for awhile.
I guess many poltergeists appear when there is a teenager in
the house. The Bell Family was a family in Tenessee that
had numerous children including a teen age daughter. The
Poltergeist appeared in their house with no warning and proceeded
to do typical ghostly things such as make noises and move things.
The Bell Witch was very different in one way, and this is what
scared me to death. It appeared that it took and intense dislike
to John Bell and proceded to physically abuse him. I seem to remember
it hitting him with objects and not letting him sleep. It would also
talk and say it was going to kill him. At times it could be friendly
and at other times very mean. It was once asked to show itself and
a small weaslel/badger like thing appeared briefly. John Bell eventually
died from the abuse and I believe it is thought the ghost somehow
poisened him. The ghost hung around awhile after his death but eventually
just kind of weakened and faded away.
I am just passing this on....I read it in the 6th grade. I remember
not being able to sleep cause of this book....I have no clue how
accurate the book or my memory is....any more details?
Dave Zack (512) 823-9558 ===> za...@austin.ibm.com
Vendor IBM Austin za...@oneway.austin.ibm.com
Austin Huns RFC: 512-453-2344 zack%rugby.aust...@ibmpa.awdpa.ibm.com
--
Dave Zack (512) 823-9558 ===> za...@austin.ibm.com
Vendor IBM Austin za...@oneway.austin.ibm.com
Austin Huns RFC: 512-453-2344 zack%rugby.aust...@ibmpa.awdpa.ibm.com
Gregory K. Maier
and hauntings that I could get my hands on. One version of the
story of the Bell Witch can be found in:
Haunted Houses
Richard Winer and Nancy Osborn
Bantam Books
Another interesting series was, "Ghosts in the Valley", a
collection of stories of real hauntings in the Penn., Delaware,
and New Jersey areas. The story of the Bell Witch stayed with
me because of its unique, well, scariness. This was one viciously
mean and crafty ghost.
Here's what I see about the location:
There is a mysterious Bell Witch Cave on the land where the Bell
family lived and was harrassed by the ghost. The Red River runs
through this property in Robertson County of north-central
Tennessee. The ghost is believed to still be active (as of around
1975).
Dave Zack (za...@austin.ibm.com) wrote:
: to do typical ghostly things such as make noises and move things.
: The Bell Witch was very different in one way, and this is what
: scared me to death. It appeared that it took and intense dislike
: to John Bell and proceded to physically abuse him. I seem to remember
: it hitting him with objects and not letting him sleep. It would also
: talk and say it was going to kill him. At times it could be friendly
: and at other times very mean. It was once asked to show itself and
: a small weaslel/badger like thing appeared briefly. John Bell eventually
: died from the abuse and I believe it is thought the ghost somehow
: poisened him. The ghost hung around awhile after his death but eventually
: just kind of weakened and faded away.
Yes, when John Bell died a bottle of dark-colored liquid was found,
and the witch announced, "... I gave old Jack a big dose out of it
last night while he was asleep, which fixed him." (The witch would
call John Jack).
The Witch would sometimes prophesize, and predicted the Civil and
World Wars to within a few years each. Usually, though, it was
screaming obsenities, slamming cabinets, and making animal noises.
This is one of my favorite ghost stories of all time. Someone
just closed a door downstairs and I nearly jumped out of my skin!
Greg
gkm...@crl.mobil.com
"Already I am zee <hickle> picked!"
EWIN...@maine.maine.edu
"Bell Witch" If I find it and have time I will post the story
for you all.
Erik
"Forever in debt to your precious advice..."
-Kurt Cobain
Pet
wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> All this talk about the Bell Witch brings back some very
> scary memories for me. When I was in 6th grade, I found a
> book on Poltergeists in our school library. They talked
> about many cases but the two I remember are the hauntings
> at the Borley Rector in England and the Bell Witch. The
> following is very sketchy as I have not studied the subject
> for awhile.
> I am just passing this on....I read it in the 6th grade. I remember
> not being able to sleep cause of this book....I have no clue how
> accurate the book or my memory is....any more details?
>
IT WAS CALLED POLTERGEISTS AND WAS WRITTEN BY COLIN WILSON. GOOD BOOK.
THE UNUSUAL THING ABOUT THE BELL WITCH WAS THE FACT THAT IT ACTUALLY KILLED
SOMEONE. POLTERGEISTS, ACCORDING TO THE BOOK, DO NOT USUALLY DO THAT. I
THINK THAT THERE WAS SOME QUESTIONS RAISED IN THE BOOK THAT JOHN BELL MAY
HAVE BEEN INTERESTED IN HIS DAUGHTER IN NON FATHERLY WAYS - BUT I COULD BE
WRONG.
OLD AGE AND ITS EFFECT ON ONE'S MEMORY AND ALL.:-)
PETRA
_--_|\ | Launceston
/ \ | Tasmania
\_.--._/ | Australia
v <-- Petra...@admin.utas.edu.au | The World
Karen Johnson Morgan
>The reason that I remember this is because I
>used to know a descendant of the Bell family and we used to make jokes
>about the witch coming to get her.
>--
>chip woods
>athens, ga
>regular at Waffle House #48
*I* am a descendant of the Bell Witch! My father's mother was a Bell.
At a family reunion a couple of years ago, one of my cousins (who works
in the Miss. St. Archives or something like that) was telling us about
the research he had done on the subject. I never followed up on it, but
yall have my curiosity aroused now! I think I'll make a trip to the
library this weekend.
Creepy....
Karen
--
Karen J. Morgan -- U Texas Ctr for Space Research, Austin, Tex
ph: (512) 471-5573 fax: (512) 471-3570
email: ka...@louise.ae.utexas.edu alternate: joh...@emx.utexas.edu
Dusk
Randall W. Partin <par...@taweret.Colorado.EDU> wrote:
>
>Hey! I recognize that legend! When I was in high school in
>Clarksville, TN, we had some similar superstitions about the
>Bell Witch. Some of the better ones were that if you were
>on the road to the Bell Witch House (in Adams, TN) and saw an
>animal cross the road, you would see blood
>further down the road (actually supported by a story about
>a tragic car accident that followed a rabbit's foray into
>the road). Other stories included those about weird results
>of playing with an Ouija board on the Bell property. When
>I was in middle school, we were even treated to a movie
>about the legend of the Bell Witch. Great stuff
>
>
>See ya,
>RPX
>
>************************************************************************
*****
>
du
>Department of Political Science
>University of Colorado RPX
>Boulder, CO 80309-0333
>
>************************************************************************
*****
The title of this thread caught my eye. My grandmother from
TN had a book called The Bell Witch, about this entity that
haunted a family. Is anyone familiar with this book? Who is
the author? I never realized she was similar to Bloody Mary
and other such creatures.
Thanks in advance!
cbusylol
Mark Prince Molina
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f33dsjL9zM&list=UULFMqyv6NpcNHXUQhzkkKiPfw
W6ZX
ISBN 1-5707-008-8 and "the Bell Witch" ISBN 0-312-26292-2.
There is a theory that the origins of the Bell Witch relate to
a backwoods family that had some incest issues going on and the victims
used the "Bell Witch" persona to try to frighten off their predators.
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In the Kingdom of Nye
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