Bell Witch: Difference between revisions

|image = WmPorterBurnWitch.jpg|center
|alt=William Porter carrying the Bell spirit in a blanket to try and burn her.

|MythologyFolklore = [[Folklore of the United States|American folklore]]

|First_ReportedFirst_Attested = 1817

|HabitatDetails = [[Cave]]Found in caves

|Similar_creaturesSimilar_entities = [[Poltergeist]], [[Jinn]], [[Demon]], [[Goblin]]

The '''Bell [[Witch]]''' or '''Bell Witch Haunting''' is a legend from [[Southern United States]] [[Folklore of the United States|folklore]], centered on the 19th-century Bell family of northwest [[Robertson County, Tennessee|Robertson County]], [[Tennessee]]. Farmer [[John Bell (farmer)|John Bell Sr.]] resided with his family along the [[Red River (Cumberland River)|Red River]] in an area currently near the town of [[Adams, Tennessee|Adams]]. According to legend, from 1817 to 1821, his family and the local area came under attack by a mostly invisible entity that was able to speak, affect the physical environment, and [[Shapeshifting|shapeshift]]. Some accounts record the spirit also to have been [[clairvoyant]] and capable of crossing long distances with superhuman speed (and/or of [[Bilocation|being in more than one place at a time]]).

In his book ''An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch'', author Martin V. Ingram published that the [[poltergeist]]'s name was Kate, after the entity claimed at one point to be "Old Kate Batts' witch," and continued to respond favorably to the name.<ref name="blackdog"/> The physical activity centered on the Bells' youngest daughter, Betsy, and her father, and 'Kate' expressed particular displeasure when Betsy became engaged to a local named Joshua Gardner.<ref name="FeeWebb2016">{{cite book|first1=Christopher R.|last1=Fee|author-link1=Christopher R. Fee|first2=Jeffrey B.|last2=Webb|title=American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore (3 Volumes)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXnEDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA99|date=31 August 2016|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|location=Santa Barbara, California|isbn=978-1-61069-568-8|pages=99–}}</ref>

The haunting began sometime in 1817 when John Bell witnessed the apparition of a strange creature resembling a dog with the head of a rabbit. Bell fired at the animal but it disappeared. John's son Drew Bell approached an unknown bird perched on a fence that flew off and was of "extraordinary size." The daughter Betsy observed a girl in a green dress swinging from the limb of an oak tree. Dean, a person [[Slavery in the Unitedslave States|enslaved]]belonging byto the Bell family, reported being followed by a large black dog on evenings he visited his wife. Activity moved to the Bell household with knocking heard along the door and walls. The family heard sounds of gnawing on the beds, invisible dogs fighting, and chains along the floor. About this time John Bell began experiencing [[paralysis]] in his mouth.<ref name="chapter2">{{cite web|last1=Ingram|first1=Martin|title=An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch: Chapter 2|url=http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_2.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030307101405/http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_2.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 March 2003|website=Bell Witch Folklore Center|access-date=26 May 2018|date=1894|publisher=Phil Norfleet}}</ref> The phenomena grew in intensity as sheets were pulled from beds when the children slept. Soon the entity pulled hair and scratched the children with particular emphasis on Betsy who was slapped, pinched and stuck with pins.<ref name="Brown2009">{{cite book|first=Alan|last=Brown|title=Haunted Tennessee: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Volunteer State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mSLiFwJzOH4C&pg=PA72|date=26 February 2009|publisher=[[Stackpole Books]]|location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania|isbn=978-0-8117-4648-9|pages=72–}}</ref>

At times, the spirit displayed a form of kindness, especially towards Lucy, John Bell's wife, "the most perfect woman to walk tothe earth." The witch would give Lucy fresh fruit and sing hymns to her, and showed John Bell Jr. a measure of respect.<ref name="Price1994">{{cite book|author=Charles Edwin Price|title=The Infamous Bell Witch of Tennessee|url=https://archive.org/details/infamousbellwitc00pric|url-access=registration|date=January 1994|publisher=The Overmountain Press|location=Johnson City, Tennessee|isbn=978-1-57072-008-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/infamousbellwitc00pric/page/38 38]–40}}</ref>

{{quoteblockquote|text=Whether it was witchery, such as afflicted people in past centuries and the darker ages, whether some gifted fiend of hellish nature, practicing sorcery for selfish enjoyment, or some more modern science akin to that of [[Animal magnetism|mesmerism]], or some [[hobgoblin]] native to the wilds of the country, or a disembodied soul shut out from heaven, or an evil spirit like those {{sic|[[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]]}} drove out of the man [[Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac|into the swine]], setting them mad; or a [[demon]] let loose from hell, I am unable to decide; nor has anyone yet divined its nature or cause for appearing, and I trust this description of the monster in all forms and shapes, and of many tongues, will lead experts who may come with a wiser generation, to a correct conclusion and satisfactory explanation.<ref name="chapter8part6"/>|author=Williams Bell |source=''An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch: Chapter 8''}}

Military officer [[John R. Bell (military officer)|John R. Bell]] joined the [[Stephen Harriman Long]] expedition in 1820 to explore the central [[Great Plains]]. Due to lack of provisions, Long and Bell led divided parties after they reached the [[Rocky Mountains]] and rejoined in [[Fort Smith, Arkansas]].<ref name="long-bellok">{{cite web |last1=Nichols |first1=Roger L |title=Long-Bell Expedition {{!}} The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=LO010 |website=www.okhistory.org |access-date=6 December 2020}}</ref> Bell kept a detailed journal of his travel. His return trip, on October 19, 1820, crossed the Red River at [[Port Royal, Tennessee]]. Later that day, Bell stopped at the Murphey residence in Robertson County to eat [[dinner]]. During the stay, Bell was told of a young woman accompanied by a voice. The voice wished for the woman to marry a local man, and thousands had traveled to hear it.<ref name="CaptJohnRBellJournal">{{cite book |last1=Bell |first1=John R. |title=The journal of Captain John R. Bell |date=1957 |publisher=Glendale, Calif., A. H. Clark Co. |page=314 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.32106000650017&view=1up&seq=320&q1=port%20royal |access-date=6 December 2020}}</ref> The journal's connection to the Bell Witch legend was discussed by local historian David Britton during a television broadcast produced for the [[Discovery Channel]] in November, 2020.<ref name="discoverybell">{{cite web |title=Terror of the Bell Witch |url=https://www.discovery.com/shows/expedition-x/2a1a/terror-of-the-bell-witch |website=Discovery Channel |access-date=6 December 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

{{quoteblockquote|text=Rather a singular circumstance was here related to me, of a young girl of about 15 years of age, residing but 3 miles from Murphey, a voice accompanies her which says she should marry a man a neighbor - thousands of persons have visited her to hear this voice, in many instances, it will reply to questions put to it, the visitors have left as little satisfied in their curiosity as before they heard it, many are under the impression, that it is {{sic|[[ventriloquism|ventrelequism]]}} imposed upon the hearers either by the girl or her brother - who it seems is generally in her company, her family is respectable.|author=John R. Bell |source=''The Journal of Captain John R. Bell''}}

{{quoteblockquote|text=About 1849 the ''Saturday Evening Post'', published either in Philadelphia or New York, printed a long sketch of the Bell Witch phenomenon, written by a reporter who made a strenuous effort in the details to connect her with the authorship of the demonstrations. Mrs. Powell was so outraged by the publication that she engaged a lawyer to institute suit for [[Defamation|libel]]. The matter, however, was settled without litigation, the paper retracting the charges, explaining how this version of the story had gained credence, and the fact that at the time the demonstrations commenced Betsy Bell had scarcely advanced from the stage of childhood and was too young to have been capable of originating and practicing so great a deception. The fact also that after this report had gained circulation, she had submitted to any and every test that the wits of detectives could invent to prove the theory, and all the stratagems employed, served only to demonstrate her innocence and utter ignorance of the agency of the so-called witchery, and was herself the greatest sufferer from the affliction.<ref name="chapter9">{{cite web|last1=Ingram|first1=Martin|title=An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch: Chapter 9|url=http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_9.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030310060450/http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_9.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 March 2003|website=Bell Witch Folklore Center|access-date=23 November 2016|date=1894|publisher=Phil Norfleet}}</ref>|author=Martin V. Ingram |source=''An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch: Chapter 9''}}

{{quoteblockquote|text=The Bell Witch was, and is still, a great [[Scapegoating|scapegoat]]. Every circumstance out of the regular order of things is attributed to the witch. It has not been long since a man claiming to be the witch was waylaid and murdered by two men who were cleared, on the plea that the murdered man had bewitched them.<ref name="chapter 12">{{cite web|last1=Ingram|first1=Martin|title=An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch: Chapter 12|url=http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_12.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030307100755/http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_12.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 March 2003|website=Bell Witch Folklore Center|publisher=Phil Norfleet|access-date=30 November 2016|date=1894}}</ref>|author=Lucinda Rawls |source=''An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch: Chapter 12''}}

{{quoteblockquote|text=Smith came into the community a stranger, and was employed by Mr. Fletcher, where Clinard and Burgess were also engaged on the farm. Smith professed to be something of a wizard, or rather boasted of his power to hypnotize and lay spells on people, subjecting anyone who came under his influence to his will, and it was reported that he claimed to have derived this power from the mantle of the Bell Witch. However, the writer interviewed Hon. [[John Ford House|John F. House]], who was council for the defense, on the subject, who says that no such evidence was produced in the trial, but that the lawyers handled the Bell Witch affair for all that it was worth in the defense of their clients, presenting the analogy or similarity of circumstances with good effect on the jury.<ref name="chapter 12">{{cite web|last1=Ingram|first1=Martin|title=An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch: Chapter 12|url=http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_12.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030307100755/http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_12.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 March 2003|website=Bell Witch Folklore Center|publisher=Phil Norfleet|access-date=30 November 2016|date=1894}}</ref>|author=Martin V. Ingram |source=''An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch: Chapter 12''}}

On April 24, 1880, an article was published regarding a '[[haunted house]]' in [[Springfield, Tennessee]] where knocking underneath the floor was heard. The fourth night of knockings began at 10:30&nbsp;p.m. and ended at 4 :00{{nbs}}a.m. with the home surrounded by 10-12 persons working in an effort to discover the origin of the sound.<ref name=springfieldghost>{{cite news|title=A Real Ghost Story: Springfield Terribly Excited Over Mysterious Manifestations|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20900489/the_tennessean/|newspaper=[[The Tennessean|The Daily American]]|date=April 27, 1880|page=3|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = June 12, 2018 }} {{Open access}}</ref> In a follow -up report from April 26, 1880, the writer reported that several hundred people had visited the home attempting to witness the phenomenon with many camped out overnight despite the homeowners asking them to leave.<ref name=springfieldghost2 /> On Wednesday night, April 28, 1880, the family were reported to have left the home for the night and a smaller group of investigators around the home heard knocking from fifty yards away.<ref name=springfieldghost3>{{cite news|title=The Springfield Spook Sensation|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22107816/the_tennessean/|newspaper=[[The Tennessean|The Daily American]]|date=April 30, 1880|page=1|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = July 22, 2018 }} {{Open access}}</ref> During the events, the journalist took the opportunity to mention the Bell Witch legend:

In the Ingram account, attributed to Richard Williams Bell, John Bell was already suffering from an unknown affliction and bedridden for some time. John Bell's son, John Bell Jr., found the vial in the cupboard after his father did not wake. The family called for Dr. Hopson, while the Bell Witch exclaimed she had fed the poison to John Bell. Alex Gunn and John Bell Jr. tested the poison on the cat with a straw, which "died very quick." John Bell died the next day on December 20, 1820.<ref name="chapter8part6">{{cite web|last1=Ingram|first1=Martin|title=An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch:Chapter 8, Part 6|url=http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_8_-_part_6.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030117142245/http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_8_-_part_6.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 January 2003|website=Bell Witch Folklore Center|access-date=26 November 2016|date=1894|publisher=Phil Norfleet}}</ref>

An article was published on February 3, 1890, describing a series of events from Adam's Station, Tennessee. At dusk, January 27, 1890, Mr. Hollaway reported watching two unknown women arrive at his home and dismount from their horses as he was feeding cattle. When he arrived at the house, the horses and women were gone. Mr. Hollaway's wife reported seeing the women in the yard as well. That week, Mr. Rowland attempted to place a sack of corn on his horse's back and it fell off. He again attempted to place the sack of corn on the horse's back several more times, but each time the sack fell off. Joe Johnson arrived and held on to the sack as Mr. Rowland mounted his horse. They witnessed the sack floating away for 20 yards where it settled down at the fence. When the men went to retrieve the sack, a voice was heard, "You won't touch this sack anymore."<ref name=weird1890>{{cite news|title=A Rural Fake: A Mulhattanism from Adam's Station Creating Some Excitement|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11990352/the_tennessean|newspaper=[[The Tennessean|The Daily American]]|date=February 3, 1890|page=2|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date =June 28, 2017 }} {{Open access}}</ref>

Born near [[Guthrie, Kentucky]], June 20, 1832, Martin Van Buren Ingram took over responsibility of the family farm at the age of 17. A member of Hawkins' Nashville Battalion during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], he was discharged for disability after the [[Battle of Shiloh]].<ref name="bioquestion">{{cite news|title=Drop Stitches|work=The Nashville Tennessean|issue=41|date=July 20, 1924|volume=16}}</ref> Ingram began his editing and publishing career in April 1866 with the ''Robertson Register'' with no previous experience. October 1868, Ingram moved the paper to Clarksville and began issuing the ''Clarksville Tobacco Leaf'' in February 1869.<ref name="ingramlife"/> Ingram continued an ownership association with the ''Leaf'' until about 1881. The consequences of poor health, family tragedy and fire limited his continuing interest in the newspaper industry.<ref name=IngramObituary>{{cite news|title=Veteran Journalist Dies in Clarksville|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7675496/the_tennessean/|newspaper=[[The Tennessean]]|date=October 6, 1909|page=9|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=December 1, 2016 }} {{Open access}}</ref>

{{quoteblockquote|text=We doubt exceedingly if there ever lived a man who performed as much self-sacrificing labor to further the interests of the community in which he lived. He became a citizen of Clarksville forty years ago and from that time practically until the day of his death his greatest concern was the advancement and welfare of his adopted town and county ... A man of true mold, he despised all deceit, trickery, and littleness, and with a courage which nothing could daunt, he laid on the journalistic lash unsparingly whenever he thought the occasion required. Naturally, his was not a pathway strewn with roses – his was an aggressive nature, a fact which often brought him into serious collision with those with whom he took issue. Time, however, usually justified him in the positions which he assumed.<ref name="ingramlife">{{cite web|title=Martin Van Buren Ingram|url=http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/martin_van_buren_ingram.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029091205/http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/martin_van_buren_ingram.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 October 2014|website=Bell Witch Folklore Center|publisher=Phil Norfleet|access-date=3 December 2016|date=1894}}</ref>|author=W. W. Barksdale |source=''Clarksville Leaf Chronicle''}}

The week of January 24, 1890, Ingram was suffering from a "severe case of [[1889–90 flu pandemic|la grippe]]."<ref name=IngramHealth>{{cite news|title=Ingram Health Report|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21043140/leafchonicle_weekly/|newspaper=[[The Leaf-Chronicle]]|date=January 24, 1890|page=1|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = June 17, 2018 }} {{Open access}}</ref> In February 1890, Ingram resigned as editor of the ''Clarksville Chronicle''.<ref name=resign>{{cite news|title=Clarksville Retirement|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7645115/the_tennessean/|newspaper=[[The Tennessean|The Daily American]]|date=February 19, 1890|page=4|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = November 29, 2016 }} {{Open access}}</ref> A month later, the ''Chronicle'' was purchased by the ''Leaf'', and Ingram joined the new editorial staff.<ref name=anewbeginning>{{cite news|title=Newspaper Announcement|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21038149/the_leafchronicle/|newspaper=[[The Leaf-Chronicle]]|date=March 6, 1890|page=2|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = June 17, 2018 }} {{Open access}}</ref> On July 13, 1892, a report in the [[The Leaf-Chronicle|''Leaf-Chronicle'']] was published of Ingram's travels to Adams Station and [[Cedar Hill, Tennessee|Cedar Hill]] with John Allen Gunn, "for the purpose of viewing the grounds where historic and most intensely thrilling events were enacted seventy-five years ago," and interviewing individuals, who "were then living and familiar with the wonderful phenomena that awakened such a widespread sensation." In the report, Mahala Darden, age 85, related memory of [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Lafayette's]] visit to Clarksville in 1825.<ref name=gunntravel>{{cite news|title=An Interesting Trip an Its Incidents|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20804315/the_leafchronicle/|newspaper=[[The Leaf-Chronicle]]|date=July 13, 1892|page=2|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = June 9, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> A follow -up report was published July 19, 1892, recording a visit to Nancy Ayers, daughter of John Johnston.<ref name=ayersvisit>{{cite news|title=Tobacco Season Over-The Old People and Their Hospitality|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20804286/the_leafchronicle/|newspaper=[[The Leaf-Chronicle]]|date=July 19, 1892|page=4|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = June 9, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> Ingram left the editorial position with the ''Leaf-Chronicle'' the same month.<ref name=announcement>{{cite news|title=Ingram Announcement|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21029804/leafchonicle_weekly/|newspaper=[[The Leaf-Chronicle]]|date=March 21, 1893|page=2|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = June 17, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref>

{{quoteblockquote|text=Now, nearly seventy-five years having elapsed, the old members of the family who suffered the torments having all passed away, and the witch story still continues to be discussed as widely as the family name is known, under misconception of the facts, I have concluded that in justice to the memory of an honored ancestry, and to the public also whose minds have been abused in regard to the matter, it would be well to give the whole story to the World.<ref name="chapteroneletter">{{cite web|last1=Ingram|first1=Martin|title=An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch: Chapter 1|url=http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_1.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030303121243/http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_1.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2003|website=The Bell Witch Folklore Center|publisher=Phil Norfleet|access-date=29 November 2016|date=1894}}</ref>|author=J. A. Bell |source=1891 Letter, ''An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch''}}

According to [[Brian Dunning (author)|Brian Dunning]] no one has ever seen this diary, and there is no evidence that it ever existed: "Conveniently, every person with firsthand knowledge of the Bell Witch hauntings was already dead when Ingram started his book; in fact, every person with secondhand knowledge was even dead." Dunning also concluded that Ingram was guilty of falsifying another statement, that the ''Saturday Evening Post'' had published a story in 1849 accusing the Bells' daughter Elizabeth of creating the witch, an article which was not found at the time.<ref name="Dunning">{{Skeptoid|id=4118|number=118|title=Demystifying the Bell Witch|access-date=2012-10-28}}</ref> [[Joe Nickell]] argues the chapter includes the use of [[Freemasonry|Masonic]] themes and [[anachronism]] which impacts credibility.<ref name="nickell2015"/> Jim Brooks, a native of Adams, writes in his work ''Bell Witch Stories You Never Heard,'' that Bell family descendants report that Ingram did not return the manuscript to the family. Brooks explores the possibility that Ingram would have had an enhanced opportunity to modify the story by not returning the papers.<ref name="brookswork">{{cite book|last1=Brooks|first1=Jim|title=Bell Witch Stories You Never Heard|date=2015|publisher=McClanahan Publishing House|isbn=978-1934898543|page=80}}</ref>

The Bell household was strained of resources from visitors and Jackson brought a wagon load of supplies with his men. Nearing the Bell homestead, the wagon stopped and appeared fastened to its position despite considerable effort by Jackson's men to free it. Jackson exclaimed, "By the eternal, boys, it is the witch." A metallic voice was heard in the vegetation, "All right General, let the wagon move on, I will see you again tonight." The horses began moving again. Instead of camping out, the party stayed at the Bell home that evening. Among the Jackson party was a 'witch layer' who boasted of his supernatural exploits. Tiring of the bravado, Jackson whispered, "By the eternals, I do wish the thing would come, I want to see him run." The entity arrived and taunted the witch slayer to shoot her. The man's gun would not fire. The witch countered, "I'll teach you a lesson," and appeared to beat the man and led him out the door by his nose. Jackson exclaimed, "By the eternal, boys, I never saw so much fun in all my life. This beats fighting the British." The witch told Jackson she would uncover another rascal the next night. That morning Jackson's men chose to leave for home as they were apprehensive as to who was next.<ref name="jacksonyancey">{{cite web|last1=Ingram|first1=Martin|title=An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch: Chapter 11|url=http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_11.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021003225306/http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/chapter_11.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 October 2002|website=Bell Witch Folklore Center|publisher=Phil Norfleet|access-date=29 November 2016|date=1894}}</ref>

==Legend in the 20th Centurycentury==

Attorney Charles Romaine Willett (1886-1963), son of Sarah Elizabeth Bell, began an interest in the newspaper business at the age of 16. After some time playing professional baseball and working at other newspapers, Willett became the first managing editor of the ''[[The Tennessean|Nashville Tennessean]]'' in 1907 while teaching himself law. A mayor of Adams, and member of the State legislature, Charlie Willett was known for his reliability. Every Sunday, Willett would accompany his sweetheart, Miss Jerry Cullom Gardner, for ice cream in Clarksville and dinner at Richardson's Restaurant on the return home. According to community lore, the couple never married so as not to tempt fate as they descended from the Bell and Gardner families respectively.<ref name="willettbio">{{cite news |last1=Patch |first1=Rubya |title=REMEMBER WHEN: The inimitable Charlie Willett |url=https://www.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/local/communities/2014/10/26/remember-inimitable-charlie-willett/17966011/ |access-date=14 June 2018 |work=[[The Leaf-Chronicle]] |date=October 26, 2014 |language=en}}</ref> Jim Brooks relates that a family member detailed familial obligations as the likely explanation. Brooks inquired what the couple thought about the rumor in the early 1960s. Jerry Gardner explained if Charlie Willet ever asked her to marry him, she would assent. When Brooks related this to Charlie Willett, he immediately smiled, pulled his thumbs through his suspenders and said, "Oh, she said that, did she?"<ref name="brookswillet">{{cite book|last1=Brooks|first1=Jim|title=Bell Witch Stories You Never Heard|date=2015|publisher=McClanahan Publishing House|isbn=978-1934898543|pages=175–176}}</ref>

In 1986, staff writer David Jarrard for ''The Tennessean'' and photographer Bill Wilson, the latter also a member of the [[National Speleological Society]], were given permission to sleep in the cave over night. While in the first cave room they heard a noise from deeper in the cave Jarrard estimated at 30 yards. Subsequently, an "unwavering groan" repeated again with greater volume and accompanied by several loud thumps. When it began a third time, the men retreated to the gate entrance. They explored the wiring to the lights looking for a reason for the noises. They went back to the first cave room but heard a rumble near the entrance. Walking back to the entrance they discovered the rumble was noise from a jet. As they reached the gate, a loud, high pitched scream emanated from inside the cave. The journalists left and did not spend the night.<ref name="stafferretreat">{{cite news|last1=Jarrard|first1=David|title=Bell Witch Cave too much 'story' for brave staffers|work=[[The Tennessean]]|issue=222|date=October 27, 1986|volume=81}}</ref>

Joe Nickell has written that many of those who knew Betsy suspected her of fraud and the Bell Witch story "sounds suspiciously like an example of "the poltergeist-faking syndrome" in which someone, typically a child, causes the mischief."<ref name="nickell2015">{{cite web|last1=Nickell|first1=Joe|author-link=Joe Nickell |title=The 'Bell Witch' Poltergeist|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_bell_witch_poltergeist|website=Skeptical Inquirer|date=January 2014 |publisher=Center for Inquiry|access-date=September 16, 2015}}</ref>

Amy Fluker, a researcher of the Mississippi version of the legend while affiliated with the [[University of Mississippi]], has expressed the Bell Witch legend has other value. "As a historian of [[collective memory]], it matters very little to my research if hauntings are real or not. It does matter that people believe they are. As a result, they can help us understand the perspectives, in this case, of 19th and 20th century Americans."<ref name="flukerperspective">{{cite news|last1=Swartzfager|first1=Megan|title=Visiting professor to deliver lecture on 'The Bell Witch of Mississippi'|url=http://thedmonline.com/professor-bell-witch-lecture/|access-date=24 May 2018|work=The Daily Mississippian|date=31 October 2017}}</ref>

There have been several moviesfilms based, at least in part, on the Bell Witch legend. Roger Clarke, former film critic for ''[[The Independent]]'', argues the legend has also had a measurable influence on cinema such as in the ''[[Poltergeist (film series)|Poltergeist]]'' film series, the found footage ''[[Paranormal Activity (film series)|Paranormal Activity]]'' film series, ''[[The Witch (2015 film)|The Witch]]'' released in 2015, the [[Trope (cinema)|trope]] of burial ground disturbance in ''[[The Amityville Horror]]'', and the [[Apport (paranormal)|apport]] of cherries to the children in ''[[Mama (2013 film)|Mama]]'' released in 2013.<ref name="clarke2017">{{cite magazine |last1=Clarke |first1=Roger |title=An American Haunting: in search of Tennessee's Bell Witch |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/fortean-times/20171201/281535111243250 |access-date=9 June 2018 |magazine=www.pressreader.com |publisher=[[Fortean Times]] |date=Dec 1, 2017}}</ref>

| 20032007 || ''[[Bell Witch: The Movie]]'' || Supernatural horror || Shane Marr || <ref>{{cite web |last=Lefevre |first=Tracey |title=TTU student featured in Bell Witch film |url=https://www.tntech.edu/news/archive/ttu-student-featured-in-role-in-qbell-witch-the-movieq |date=16 September 2005 |access-date=23 May 2018 |publisher=Tennessee Tech University |location=Cookeville, TN |work=Tech Times }}{{Dead link|date=June 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Nashville music group The Shakers released ''Living In The Shadow Of A Spirit'' in 1988 on [[vinyl record]] [[Extended play|EP]].<ref name="shakers">{{cite web|title=The Shakers – Living In The Shadow Of A Spirit|url=https://www.discogs.com/Shakers-Living-In-The-Shadow-Of-A-Spirit/release/2158900|website=Discogs|date=1988 |access-date=5 December 2016}}</ref>

Murfreesboro Little Theatre performed ''Who Killed John Bell'', written by Jess Townsend, at Oaklands Mansion in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in August 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who Killed John Bell; A Bell Witch Experience {{!}} Murfreesboro Little Theatre |url=https://www.mltarts.com/who-killed-john-bell-a-bell-witch-experience |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=Murfreesboro Little |language=en |archive-date=2022-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827162637/https://www.mltarts.com/who-killed-john-bell-a-bell-witch-experience |url-status=dead }}</ref>

| 2013 || ''The Bell Witch'' || Taff, John F. D. || Books of the Dead || 1927112192 || Novel. [[St. Louis]] based horror author.<ref name="taff">{{cite web|last1=Garrison|first1=Chad|title=Meet John Taff; St. Louis Horror Writer with "Weakest Stomach Imaginable"|url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2012/07/26/meet-john-taff-st-louis-horror-writer-with-weakest-stomach-imaginable|website=Riverfront Times|access-date=22 May 2018|language=en|archive-date=23 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523095355/https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2012/07/26/meet-john-taff-st-louis-horror-writer-with-weakest-stomach-imaginable|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* [https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/McClure_s_Magazine/TPksKEjg7f8C?hlid=en&gbpv=1TPksKEjg7f8C&pg=PP26&printsec=frontcover "A Witch As Was A Witch"] Article by [[Irvin S. Cobb]] for ''[[McClure's]]'', published in 1922. Includes a family anecdote that his great -grandfather witnessed the haunting and was convinced of the legitimacy.