1 00:00:04,639 --> 00:00:38,079 You're listening to the Paranormal UK Radio Network and this is Seventh Sanctum. This 2 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:44,520 is Carry Anne and you're listening to Seventh Sanctum on the Paranormal UK Radio Network. 3 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:54,200 Thank you for joining me this evening. Following on from my previous podcast, 4 00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:00,920 I have looked and explored the stories of witchcraft and applied them to true 5 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:07,879 crime cases of which that can be observed in newspapers and media outlets, and 6 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:14,120 you can go back and see these things for yourself, and a lot of 7 00:01:14,159 --> 00:01:17,719 them are mysteries. Some of them are unsold, but a lot of them 8 00:01:17,799 --> 00:01:25,959 kind of talk about what's happening in those areas at that time to perpetuate the 9 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:32,359 fear of witchcraft and how that becomes entwined in what essentially is a terrible, 10 00:01:32,519 --> 00:01:38,680 terrible, terrible thing that's taken place, steeped in superstition. So I'm not 11 00:01:38,799 --> 00:01:42,799 steering too far off of that topic when I talk about this one. However, 12 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:49,959 we're no longer in the UK, I mean theatrically theoretically should I say 13 00:01:49,799 --> 00:01:53,280 we are going where A lot of the cases that are spoken about in previous 14 00:01:53,359 --> 00:01:57,359 podcasts have been within the UK. The reason for that is because I find 15 00:02:00,079 --> 00:02:04,519 that there is so much history and so much lots of things that have gone 16 00:02:04,519 --> 00:02:07,199 on within the UK, but we often talk about things that go on in 17 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:13,400 America, and you know, when we talk about infamous hauntings and the people 18 00:02:13,439 --> 00:02:21,199 that are involved, they tend to be heavily linked to America. And as 19 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,280 much as I've ever said that, I don't I'm coming away from that or 20 00:02:23,319 --> 00:02:29,120 I've steered away from that focus on those stories and things that have gone on 21 00:02:29,159 --> 00:02:35,719 in the UK. This particular story is in America. I have been on 22 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,400 and off fascinated with it over the years, and it's the story of the 23 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:50,280 Bell which now my interest is not just the haunting that is alleged to be 24 00:02:50,319 --> 00:02:54,080 there now, but what happened, Where did it happen, what was a 25 00:02:54,159 --> 00:02:58,400 build up to it, How was this able to take place? These are 26 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:02,639 the kind of questions that I asked when I talk about witchcraft linked to hauntings, 27 00:03:02,759 --> 00:03:13,080 and yeah, politicoise activity and paranormal research. I like to look at 28 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:19,879 the environmental factors and that the environment that's happening in the context of that community, 29 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:23,319 in the context of that home, within the context of that person, 30 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:28,000 rather than the context of the haunting, if that makes sense. So that's 31 00:03:28,039 --> 00:03:30,520 where we're at. We're going to look at what happened and where it happened, 32 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:37,759 and how it happened and who was involved. But one of the main 33 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:43,719 things, or the main kind of titles I don't know that I've found linked 34 00:03:43,719 --> 00:03:46,919 to the Bell, which is often that it's called Americans Greatest ghost story. 35 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:53,319 And I think that is because and I can't say for definite, but it 36 00:03:53,439 --> 00:03:58,680 is alleged that it is the first known haunting that has been linked directly to 37 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:03,199 a homicide or murder. We since then, we've seen, you know, 38 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:10,000 for example, Charles Wharton's case, when we've done the ghost on the Mystery 39 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:16,759 of Hagleywood's again you know, talking about witchcraft and stuff, but the direct 40 00:04:16,879 --> 00:04:23,360 linked to murder to a ghost. But then I'll ask I challenged this because 41 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,680 one in one essence, they say that this is the act of witchcraft, 42 00:04:27,759 --> 00:04:30,480 so therefore it would be something that's connected to witchcraft, and it is linked 43 00:04:30,519 --> 00:04:35,879 to witchcraft. In fact, there is a two characters in particular that I've 44 00:04:35,959 --> 00:04:40,759 come across that there has been alleged to be the witch that sent this force, 45 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:46,079 and in some instances it's been referred to as So whether it was a 46 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:48,920 ghost that's been linked to it, or whether it's a witchcraft has been linked 47 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:55,040 to it, I'll leave it up to you to decide, but it is 48 00:04:55,160 --> 00:05:00,319 safe to say it has been decades since the the entity the witch or the 49 00:05:00,319 --> 00:05:05,120 spirit first manifested around their Bell family on their farm in Robinson County, and 50 00:05:05,519 --> 00:05:14,040 it was early nineteenth century. Now, like I said, the Bell Witch 51 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:18,120 story has been something that has fascinated me for years, so I know that 52 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:23,240 this is I've watched documentaries on it. I've watched documentaries that I've looked at 53 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:27,839 ancestors that still say they have been affected by the curse of the Bellwitch. 54 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:32,240 I've looked at different theories of how that come about from all sorts, and 55 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:38,160 we go over some of that in this. But also there was an inform 56 00:05:38,199 --> 00:05:42,800 of the film that would come out the American Haunting that kind of come away 57 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:46,399 from the fact that it was from something outside of the house, but a 58 00:05:46,439 --> 00:05:50,160 manifestation of the young person and the young girl that was being directly affected it 59 00:05:50,199 --> 00:05:56,040 because of her innocence has been robbed. So yeah, there's lots and lots 60 00:05:56,040 --> 00:06:03,160 of different perceptions and concepts and theories of to what had taken place. But 61 00:06:03,639 --> 00:06:09,920 to say the least, it has caught a lot of attention of paranormal researchers 62 00:06:09,959 --> 00:06:16,439 and skeptics, supernaturalists, religious believers, storytellers, authors, historians, and 63 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:23,439 curious people from all over the world have had some kind of interest in this 64 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:31,600 story. So when we look at the context within the community that no no 65 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:38,120 no name name, and the context of that time. When you think about 66 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:44,600 the earlier sources of the world which legend, I mean, it was at 67 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:48,639 a time where reading and writing wasn't paramount. There was only a few that 68 00:06:48,759 --> 00:06:56,480 really could do it academically, I guess, so being able to get a 69 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:01,560 good understanding of what was happening at that time. We haven't got resources from 70 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:06,199 direct resources that could give us an insight. What we do have, though, 71 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:15,079 is storytelling, and the prevalence and the perpetuation of this has gone through 72 00:07:15,519 --> 00:07:21,720 the years and the progression of the story as well. There is two famous 73 00:07:21,759 --> 00:07:27,000 sources that are linked to us. An authenticated history of the Famous Bell Witch 74 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:32,160 by mv. Imrand And that was published in eighteen forty nine. The second 75 00:07:32,279 --> 00:07:38,959 is a mysterious spirit the Bell Witch of Tennessee by Charles Bailey Bell, and 76 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:45,839 they kind of have the same narrative. It's just a different style of storytelling, 77 00:07:45,879 --> 00:07:55,560 I guess. However, I will say that both really draw from the 78 00:07:55,600 --> 00:08:01,560 Bell Witch folklore and it's the basis of a lot of the stories that went 79 00:08:01,639 --> 00:08:05,600 forward. So I could have a chance and you fent you a little bit 80 00:08:05,639 --> 00:08:11,240 of light reading assume to suggest you go and have a look at those to 81 00:08:11,279 --> 00:08:18,839 get a deeper kind of understanding of them. I think for me, it's 82 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,839 about understanding what was happening at that time. And although it gives you the 83 00:08:22,879 --> 00:08:26,600 story of the Bell, which does give you an insight of everything else that 84 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:31,480 was happening with the different components that come together that kind of created that perfect 85 00:08:31,519 --> 00:08:37,159 storm somewhat. So it does kind of give you that as well. But 86 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:43,840 I will tell you a bit about the Bell family just for kind of reference. 87 00:08:45,639 --> 00:08:48,679 So he had John Bell who was born in Haifex County, North Carolina, 88 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:52,679 and that was in seventeen fifty. He was the son of William Bell 89 00:08:52,960 --> 00:09:00,240 and of Anne Jones. And in seventeen eighty two John Bell married lu See 90 00:09:00,279 --> 00:09:09,840 williams. Lucy was a daughter of a prominent farmer called John Williams in North 91 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:13,000 Carolina, So that's where Lucy was from. And what happened was they got 92 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:16,919 married and they decided that they wanted to start a family and have a farm 93 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:22,720 of their own. So they brought a farm in Edgecombe County and it was 94 00:09:22,879 --> 00:09:31,480 a great success. They started accumulating a lot of wealth and in turn they 95 00:09:31,519 --> 00:09:37,679 had a lot of influence in their area as well, which when we talk 96 00:09:37,759 --> 00:09:39,480 about the wealth and the kind of land that they had. There was a 97 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:43,320 story that I've not really been able to find much. I'm going to go 98 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:46,399 into it a little bit later, but in terms of research, I've not 99 00:09:46,519 --> 00:09:50,360 really been able to come across much about it. I'm not actually sure where. 100 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:56,200 Like I said, I've watched so many documentaries from different perspectives concerning this 101 00:09:56,240 --> 00:10:01,440 particular haunting. I'm not actually sure of the the origins of where I found 102 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:05,919 this story or what I where it come from. But I'm going to give 103 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:11,399 you that information on the basis that I don't know the origin, and again 104 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:13,919 I suppose that gives you an insight of how these stories get perpetuated, I 105 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:18,960 guess, and how they get built up over time and added to and how 106 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:24,240 they managed to managed to live for so long, the stories themselves within the 107 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:28,559 communities in the world, in the wide world as well. This was at 108 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:33,879 a time where we didn't have globalization, so the sharing of information wouldn't have 109 00:10:33,919 --> 00:10:37,559 been that great at that time. So understanding that, let's understand or put 110 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:43,639 into perspective, how this word of this story in this one family that didn't 111 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:46,559 move about very much as well. I'll go on to what happened to the 112 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:54,480 children now rather than at the end, So you have an idea of they 113 00:10:54,519 --> 00:10:58,440 didn't move very fast, It didn't go very far. They kind of just 114 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:05,039 say, within their area. And a lot of them married into the same 115 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:11,639 family as well. So how did this story move around so quickly? And 116 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:18,279 it reminds me of the story of Sarah Moore in Essex in leon c. 117 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,840 Not so much that the story has traveled far and wide. It has not. 118 00:11:22,679 --> 00:11:28,480 It's not one that has done that. However, it is the idea 119 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:33,759 of a community being able to not only keep a story alive, but then 120 00:11:33,759 --> 00:11:39,600 perpetuating it into other communities. At that time, we didn't have globalization, 121 00:11:39,879 --> 00:11:41,519 you know it, So like I said, it didn't travel very far. 122 00:11:41,639 --> 00:11:48,120 However, what we do see is this common theme in psychology. For those 123 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:52,200 that haven't watched my podcast before, I do enjoy a psychology. But we 124 00:11:52,279 --> 00:11:58,679 have this this ideology, this theory called the false collective memory. What this 125 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:11,039 is essentially says is that a story that doesn't lack in evidence or facts can 126 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:18,279 be perpetuated and added to within the context of a community because it is linked 127 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:22,679 to stereotypes. So that's how people remember a story. It's because it's linked 128 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:28,799 to a stereotype. Now what happens is because it's linked to a stereotype, 129 00:12:28,919 --> 00:12:37,600 it's prone to being adapted to other themes linked to the same stereotype. And 130 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:46,039 it is something that is then perpetuated with the movement of people traveling and stuff. 131 00:12:46,279 --> 00:12:50,639 And I will go through with this story about how the story travels within 132 00:12:50,919 --> 00:12:58,440 that larger wider community of the southern and Midwestern states, because that's part of 133 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:05,000 the story. But for it to be perpetuated and outlive a lifetime. It's 134 00:13:05,039 --> 00:13:09,039 an idea that might kind of give an understanding to how that takes place. 135 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:15,879 And I link it to Sarah Moore because Sarah Moore is alleged witch that lived 136 00:13:15,879 --> 00:13:22,360 in Neon Sea and there was a great flood and she was it was said 137 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:24,759 that she was the causation of that flood. However, she had died seven 138 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,799 years prior. Now, even though the facts were remained that Sarah Moore was 139 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:33,240 not alive when this took place, there is a number within the community and 140 00:13:33,879 --> 00:13:37,559 within the wider context. I believe that I believed that she was the reason 141 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:43,039 why it happened because it links to the fact that this happened through witchcraft. 142 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,960 There was a witch in the area. She is the person that had done 143 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:52,879 that, and the stereotypes that attached above marry each other. So therefore it 144 00:13:52,919 --> 00:13:56,799 makes sense where the facts are kind of removed from the situation, is that 145 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:01,600 she actually had passed away at that point. So yes, so that is 146 00:14:01,159 --> 00:14:05,120 kind of understanding why that might take place. But I'm going to tell you 147 00:14:05,159 --> 00:14:11,279 a little bit about now at the beginning, what happens to the family or 148 00:14:11,279 --> 00:14:20,480 the children? Should I say in the end? So of the children Benjamin, 149 00:14:20,639 --> 00:14:26,879 So he died as a young child. So I will say that I'm 150 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:33,279 unsure whether Benjamin passed away when the disturbance has happened, or whether this happened 151 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:43,600 before they'd moved into the Robinson County farm. I will say the documentary that 152 00:14:43,639 --> 00:14:48,960 I watched regarding the bell which and the curse that was still affecting the families. 153 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:54,879 The ancestors of the Bells years and years years after, stated that he 154 00:14:54,960 --> 00:15:00,960 affected the firstborn sons, and there was a theme of bad things happening to 155 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:07,000 the firstborn sons of the family. So I'm not sure whether that is something 156 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:13,240 that's connected. Zadoc become a lawyer and he moved to Mississippi, where he 157 00:15:13,519 --> 00:15:20,159 also died relatively young esther moved and married Bennett Porto. In eighteen seventeen. 158 00:15:20,799 --> 00:15:26,360 Jesse married Martha Gunn, who's the daughter of Reverend Thomas Gunn, and later 159 00:15:26,399 --> 00:15:31,279 moved to Mississippi. John Bell Junior married Elizabeth Gunn, also daughter of reverend 160 00:15:31,799 --> 00:15:37,519 Reverend Thomas Gunn, and become a successful farmer in Robinson County and Drewy. 161 00:15:37,559 --> 00:15:39,039 Again, I don't know if I'm pronounced his name correctly, so I'm sorry 162 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:43,879 if I'm not. Never married, but did own a farm on the north 163 00:15:43,919 --> 00:15:48,399 side of Red River. Elizabeth, who the story really does focus on as 164 00:15:48,399 --> 00:15:54,000 we got into the nitty gritty of it, or Betsy Bell is what she 165 00:15:54,080 --> 00:16:03,799 was known as, married her former teacher Robert who was Richard Powell, and 166 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:08,879 they moved together and missed to Mississippi. She was actually eleven years younger than 167 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:15,000 him. Well, I'm sure we'll get into that later. And Richard Williams 168 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:19,240 Bell was married three times, so Sally Gunn, daughter of Reverend Thomas Gunn, 169 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:23,840 Susan Gunn, daughter of Reverend Jane daughter of Reverend Jane's Gunn, and 170 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:30,480 Eliza owned Off. He lived out his life in Robinson County, and the 171 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:34,679 youngest child, Joel Egbert, married twice and moved to Springfield. So again, 172 00:16:34,799 --> 00:16:42,399 like I said, they stayed remaining within them kind of southern Midwestern states. 173 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:48,200 And despite what the family had gone through, and they referred to this 174 00:16:49,679 --> 00:16:56,240 our family troubles, the family did continue to flourish and some of the descendants 175 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:59,799 of the Bells, as I said before, they still live in Tennessee and 176 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:06,480 some other southern and Midwestern states. Let's talk about where the disturbances began. 177 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:18,000 It's such a mystery, the origins of the spirits, the witch's there's no 178 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:25,400 real one theory that kind of gives credence to how or why or what took 179 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:32,359 place. Again, the earliest accounts was storytelling. There's not a lot of 180 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:41,640 documentation, but it is said that although the origins are officially unknown, the 181 00:17:41,799 --> 00:17:49,960 spirit itself did provide an origin. Story is stated, I am a spirit. 182 00:17:52,039 --> 00:17:56,319 I once was a very was very happy, but I have been disturbed 183 00:17:56,359 --> 00:18:00,480 and made unhappy. I am the spirits of a person who was buried in 184 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:04,480 the woods nearby, and the grave has been disturbed. My bones have been 185 00:18:04,519 --> 00:18:10,799 scattered, and one of my teeth was lost under this house. I'm here 186 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:15,119 looking for that tooth. Of course, it can't really be verified. However, 187 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:21,119 a number of Indian burial mounds can be found in that region. And 188 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:33,279 when you think about some of our most loved fictional stories and as well, 189 00:18:33,319 --> 00:18:37,400 when we think about the bigger hauntings, alleged hauntings, especially in America, 190 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:48,039 even the Amityville horror was linked to this. And when they spoke about the 191 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:55,440 Charles Munson crimes in the Hollywood Hills, they were apparently, you know, 192 00:18:55,680 --> 00:19:06,880 influenced by disturbing the American the Native American burial site sets. So it's not 193 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,559 something that's new. This isn't a new theory of how how a spirit might 194 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:18,440 appear or or why there might be alleged poltographs activity in another event, the 195 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:23,119 witch claimed to be a spirit from everywhere heaven held the earth, from the 196 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:33,279 air, the houses and place at any time I have been created millions of 197 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:42,160 years. I jump from the spirit being alleged spirit or alleged witch, because 198 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:47,000 that literally is what's happening in the research that I'm doing around this story. 199 00:19:47,599 --> 00:19:52,359 So it's yeah, I'm not saying it's either or, but I'm acknowledging that 200 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:59,880 it. In the context of this story, it seems that they are both. 201 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:03,079 It's one of the same, even though they are separated a lot of 202 00:20:03,079 --> 00:20:11,000 the time. Now, when we look as well at the first appearance or 203 00:20:11,079 --> 00:20:15,079 the you know, the first unusual disturbance around the Bell family, there is 204 00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:22,759 a number of it being reported as an incident that happened on the farm where 205 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:27,599 John Bell fired a shot at a dog like creature which vanished. Now, 206 00:20:27,599 --> 00:20:32,480 when I did some research around this, it was alleged that this was a 207 00:20:32,519 --> 00:20:36,640 big black dog. And when we look at the Charles Walton case and the 208 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:41,119 Hagney Hills, the Cotswolls, you know that's seen from us, you're the 209 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:47,519 big black dog that were seeing a hellhand, the creature that would disturb sermons 210 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:53,240 and attack people while they were praying. So again we're looking at a theme 211 00:20:53,519 --> 00:20:59,759 that is quite common when we look at hauntings, especially when they're looking at 212 00:20:59,799 --> 00:21:07,240 one that are linked to witchcraft, especially witchcraft linked cases. It said that 213 00:21:07,279 --> 00:21:12,039 in one instance, I read that he shot the dog, the rabbit head 214 00:21:12,079 --> 00:21:19,279 and the dog body, that he shot the creature and even though three of 215 00:21:19,279 --> 00:21:23,920 these shots, you know, landed, the creature didn't flinched, didn't it 216 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:30,079 wasn't harmed and just disappeared. And others have said that he fired a shot 217 00:21:30,519 --> 00:21:36,839 and the creature disappeared. Drewy and Betsy also began to see strange creatures around 218 00:21:36,839 --> 00:21:41,160 the property, and the sightings were accompanied by strange sounds around the house. 219 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,480 There was an instance where they were all in the house and they started hearing 220 00:21:45,519 --> 00:21:48,400 what they sounded like banging on the walls, and when they went outside there 221 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:56,880 was nothing there. And as well as other peculiar noises in the woods that 222 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:02,799 kind of surrounded the farm. Let's see, during John began to hear unaccounted 223 00:22:02,799 --> 00:22:07,000 for knocking on the doors and windows, and their sounds of wings flapping against 224 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:11,319 the ceiling and a sound of rats gnawing on bed posts. They were actually 225 00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:15,240 woken up to this. The children were woken up to the sound of gnawing 226 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:18,200 on the bed posts, expecting to see rats, and there was nothing there. 227 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:22,559 I also know there or I've read, I don't know personally. I 228 00:22:22,559 --> 00:22:26,599 will say that I read that John went outside and he saw this huge bird, 229 00:22:26,759 --> 00:22:33,559 absolutely huge, a peculiar looking bird, and as it were closer, 230 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,799 it took flight and the wingspan was huge. I want to say that these 231 00:22:37,839 --> 00:22:41,799 people have clearly lived on part of these people, the Bell family, had 232 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:47,680 lived on farms, two separate farms in particular, all of their life. 233 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,559 So seeing animals in these local areas isn't going to be new for them. 234 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:55,920 This isn't something that's you know, they're just turning up somewhere and they're experiencing 235 00:22:55,960 --> 00:23:00,240 this kind of wildlife that's native to this area for the first time. So 236 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:08,680 they're seeing new creatures in an area they're familiar with and at this point as 237 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:14,640 well, other than we know what's happened, and we know what's happening that 238 00:23:14,759 --> 00:23:19,200 happened after in terms of the writings and stuff, but at this point they're 239 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:25,519 not aware of what's happening next. So these are things that they're experiencing without 240 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:33,079 the context of what's happening. Further down the line, more disturbingly, the 241 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:37,759 sound of choking and strangling could be heard, with chaine dragging and heavy objects 242 00:23:37,839 --> 00:23:44,240 hitting the floor. The sounds would sound like they're coming from the bedroom, 243 00:23:44,279 --> 00:23:49,680 as if the beds were suddenly and roughly being pulled apart. Apart to which 244 00:23:51,319 --> 00:23:56,559 was added the sounds of fighting dogs that were chained together and making the most 245 00:23:56,599 --> 00:24:02,920 definitely noises, So these sounds were almost like they were inside the house with 246 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:06,880 them as well. At some point. In all cases, a source of 247 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:08,920 the noise was never ever found. There was no rats found in the home, 248 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:15,720 and despite looking rather thoroughly, there was no damage on the furniture either. 249 00:24:17,759 --> 00:24:23,079 These demonstrations, the family refused to speak of the events to their neighbors 250 00:24:23,079 --> 00:24:32,759 whilst this was happening. It's believed that this was because John Bell it was 251 00:24:32,799 --> 00:24:37,160 only I say only, it's three hundred years since the Salem witch trials, 252 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:41,440 which is a lot of time, but it isn't when you think of how 253 00:24:41,519 --> 00:24:48,480 far at that point, how far they hadn't really moved away from that strong 254 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:56,079 Christian religious backbone of the community. It was believed that if he was to 255 00:24:56,160 --> 00:25:04,039 experience any kind of entity spirit energy, then it's because you've basically been dubbling 256 00:25:04,079 --> 00:25:07,039 with something that you shouldn't so therefore you've brought you on yourself. So it's 257 00:25:07,079 --> 00:25:11,200 this fear of being accused of doing something they haven't been doing. It's the 258 00:25:11,279 --> 00:25:18,319 fear of being ostracized from the community. It's the fear of because he was 259 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:22,240 massive, like he was a church elder, John Bell. John Bell was 260 00:25:22,279 --> 00:25:26,759 a church elder, so he was massive from the community, and he had 261 00:25:26,799 --> 00:25:32,960 the family. Him and his wife had quite an influence in the community as 262 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:38,839 well. So it was that reputation of this and also having the fear that 263 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:45,200 maybe they would be perceived like maybe there was something wrong with them in their 264 00:25:45,279 --> 00:25:48,799 understanding of their reality and being able to interpretate that properly, and the fear 265 00:25:48,839 --> 00:25:53,759 of being ostracized for that reason as well. So there was lots of reasons. 266 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:59,279 He says always been alleged that he says that he didn't tell anyone about 267 00:25:59,319 --> 00:26:04,000 these this activity that was taking place in the family home. Lucy Bell and 268 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:12,680 John Junior were left relatively unharmed by the witch. The entity Lucy was proclaimed 269 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:18,720 by the spirit to be the most perfect woman living, and the witch showed 270 00:26:18,799 --> 00:26:22,440 a great deal compassion towards her, even caring for her and singing to her 271 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:26,079 while she was ill. John Junior had the long intense conversation with the witch, 272 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:30,839 but he never fell to show animosity for it, declaring it to be 273 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:37,799 the spirit of the damned. So, before I go on to the interactions 274 00:26:37,839 --> 00:26:45,319 between the alleged the alleged haunty and activity with Betsy, who suffered the worst 275 00:26:45,839 --> 00:26:51,160 in terms of interaction with the spirit, and there's a couple of other interactions 276 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:56,160 that I'm just going to go over. This will give you an overview of 277 00:26:56,200 --> 00:27:00,640 the things that were happened within the context of this situation. These are just 278 00:27:00,799 --> 00:27:07,079 examples an alleged example. This happened on more than one occasion, allegedly. 279 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:10,920 However, this will give you a kind of a little bit of a window 280 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:19,519 into that. So one of the alleged activity that happened was sermons where the 281 00:27:19,839 --> 00:27:27,160 spirit the witch would recite sermons, would sing hymns to anyone that listened. 282 00:27:27,319 --> 00:27:30,200 There was a build up to this. I will say that when the first 283 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:36,160 this first started happening, after the noises and after all the sounds and the 284 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,480 dogs and the rats and the birds and all the other things that were happening. 285 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:42,519 They began to hear whispering. They weren't quite sure what was being said. 286 00:27:42,559 --> 00:27:47,039 That you could just hear that something was being said. Over time, 287 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:53,839 that got to where they were able toward hear it quite well. And it 288 00:27:53,880 --> 00:28:03,279 would recite sermons, it would sing hymns, it would yeah to recite passages 289 00:28:03,319 --> 00:28:07,240 within the Bible. It would do this on a number of occasions. However, 290 00:28:07,279 --> 00:28:11,440 there was one example where the spirit. But as I said before, 291 00:28:11,759 --> 00:28:15,119 the witch says that it's in all the houses and all the places at once, 292 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:19,319 and has been here many many times, and was created using years ago. 293 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:27,880 But an example of that being documented was that in one instance the entity 294 00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:36,200 was able to recite perfectly a sermon that was given by Reverend James Gunn of 295 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:42,599 the Methodist Church, and then also a sermon that was given by a sub 296 00:28:42,759 --> 00:28:48,839 fault, And despite that there had been twelve miles apart, the spirit had 297 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:53,279 been in both of those sermons at the same time and was able to recite 298 00:28:53,319 --> 00:29:00,240 both of them. There was a family friend called William Porter, and he 299 00:29:00,319 --> 00:29:03,839 claimed that the witch climbed into bed with him, allowing him the opportunity to 300 00:29:03,839 --> 00:29:08,279 seize the spirit in the bedclothes and attempt to throw it into the fire, 301 00:29:08,519 --> 00:29:14,000 saying only the immense weight and terrible smell of it prevented him from succeeding. 302 00:29:14,319 --> 00:29:19,519 So in this particular example, what happened was it got so bad John Bell 303 00:29:19,799 --> 00:29:26,119 finally gave in and spoke to a neighbor that he trusted. He this, 304 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:33,680 William Porter and his wife actually encouraged John Bell to go to the church and 305 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:37,079 seek for help and speak to the elders. And John again, room Bell 306 00:29:37,759 --> 00:29:41,920 didn't want to do it. Didn't want to go through that and expose his 307 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:45,920 family for what was happening because he was worried about how his family would be 308 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:51,480 reprimanded for it. So he William Porter and his wife decided that they were 309 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:56,160 going to stay over one night, and the wife got woken up originally by 310 00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:00,640 her hair being pulled really tightly and then wrapped around bed posts and held down, 311 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:06,119 and William Pauter jumped up and said, in the name of Jesus Christ, 312 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:08,480 I don't mind you tell me your name. And this is when he 313 00:30:08,559 --> 00:30:14,720 had the opportunity to wrap the spirit in bedsheets and try and throw it into 314 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:22,279 the fire, and after this William Pauters again said he believed that it was 315 00:30:22,279 --> 00:30:26,599 the spirit of the damned, or spirit that he likened to those that were 316 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,480 in a Bible, and suggested that he went to the church. John Bell 317 00:30:29,519 --> 00:30:33,720 would go to the church and speak to someone and ask for some advice. 318 00:30:34,519 --> 00:30:38,599 At this point he did. He went to a preacher, and the preacher 319 00:30:38,799 --> 00:30:45,119 agreed that he would keep the conversation private. However, rumors began to spread 320 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:49,640 within the village and the community, and we get a little bit of an 321 00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:56,440 insight of how people began to be aware of the spirit. However, we 322 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:02,960 will go into that further a little bit later on. So now this is 323 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:06,160 a I will talk about a theory that I've come across and I've not actually 324 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:11,279 been able to find anywhere else. But at the time that John Bell had 325 00:31:11,279 --> 00:31:18,519 the farm, it was the time where families did have slaves, and it 326 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:22,960 was alleged that the witch had a dislike for the family slaves and tormented them 327 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:27,240 relentlessly, beating them and refused them to allow them into the house. A 328 00:31:27,279 --> 00:31:33,400 particular gentleman called Dean stated Dean counted the witch several times, and he appeared 329 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:38,279 frequently in form of a large black dog or wolf, sometimes with two heads, 330 00:31:38,319 --> 00:31:44,920 sometimes with no head. Dean also claimed to have been turned into a 331 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:49,640 mule and attacked several times by the witch. He carried with him all times 332 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:53,960 his axe and a witch ball made by his wife as protection from the witch's 333 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:57,880 influence. Now, I will say I did some research into it, and 334 00:31:59,039 --> 00:32:02,119 the only thing I can think that this might be is a form of a 335 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:08,559 witch's bottle, which in paganism, in Wickanism, a witch's bottle, which 336 00:32:08,599 --> 00:32:15,480 is ball, is something that a witch creates to protect themselves from the influences 337 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:21,720 of others. However, back in the day, back when this happened, 338 00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:27,960 what would happen is people would create witches balls or creature witches bottles. And 339 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:31,920 we're talking about those that felt like they were being afflicted by witchcraft because they 340 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:37,519 felt if they made the witch's bottles they will then burn in fire. They 341 00:32:37,519 --> 00:32:40,799 would it would be more like a like like a junk thing and put all 342 00:32:40,839 --> 00:32:47,480 the ingredients in and contain it and then burn it in the In the case 343 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:52,039 that the witch would feel so uncomfortable, the one that had afflicted the person 344 00:32:52,039 --> 00:32:57,039 woul feel so uncomfortable, they would bring themselves to them and they will be 345 00:32:57,079 --> 00:33:00,000 able to form a deal. So I think this is what they're talking about, 346 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:05,839 because again this is a story that did come up before when we were 347 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:13,319 talking about I think it was Charles Woolton. But yeah, so this is 348 00:33:13,359 --> 00:33:15,680 what I think they're referring to. So his wife had created or watched his 349 00:33:15,759 --> 00:33:27,200 bottle to keep him safe. The witch didn't like visitors and neighbors, and 350 00:33:27,759 --> 00:33:32,960 in one instance, the witch that three dogs, Caesar, Taj and Bulger 351 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:40,119 on traveling shakers who never traveled by the farm. Again, in the instance 352 00:33:40,119 --> 00:33:45,160 there's a there's an instance with a silver bullet, a neighbor and husband of 353 00:33:45,279 --> 00:33:51,920 Vestibule Bennett Porter fired a shot at a knotty log that had been conjured upon 354 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:57,519 by the witch. She struck the bark and cut into it, but the 355 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:05,880 conjuration vanished, only the bentry and bullethole remained. So again we have lots 356 00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:09,960 of So what we have here is the community story went far and wide, 357 00:34:10,559 --> 00:34:16,639 and we started having people come to the home to experience the spirit themselves, 358 00:34:17,559 --> 00:34:27,280 conjuring the biblical performances, the sermons that were taking place. Everyone were coming 359 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:36,960 far and wide through the Midwest States, to see for themselves this biblical spirit 360 00:34:37,119 --> 00:34:45,000 that had manifested or which that had manifested in the Bell home. Even a 361 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:52,320 exorcist had come, Doctor Myers, a conjurer from Simpson, Kentucky, had 362 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:59,239 come to exercise the witch and was mocked and frightened away. So everyone, 363 00:34:59,599 --> 00:35:04,320 for if lots of different agendas come to have a look at the Bell's home. 364 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:13,800 But what is the most interesting aspect of the story is how and I 365 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:22,719 say interesting just because of the interactions and the progression of the attacks that were 366 00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:28,400 taking place. It was focused on Betsy Bell. John Bell Senior and Betsy 367 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:34,159 Belle seemed to be the two most frequently abused by the witch or spirit. 368 00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:37,800 However you want to view the alleged haunting, and it was really unclear. 369 00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:46,719 However, there is a theory that Betsy was at the brunt of it because 370 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:54,480 the energy was against the union of the childhood sweethearts Betsy Bell and Joshua Gardner. 371 00:35:55,440 --> 00:36:00,079 It seemed that Betsy would have any used to get out of the house 372 00:36:00,159 --> 00:36:05,440 and whenever she would spend time with Joshua. When she got back, the 373 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:14,159 what she experienced amplified massively. It was in terms of like ruthless taunts and 374 00:36:15,239 --> 00:36:17,280 physically being harms. She shed her hair pulled, and she was scratched, 375 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:21,920 and she was pricked with invisible pins, but it would make her skim bleed, 376 00:36:22,119 --> 00:36:25,000 she would be bitten. These are all things that would happen to her 377 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:30,480 anyway, but it got worse whenever she would spend time with him. Joshua 378 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:36,280 and Betsy remained attached, but she was put off marriage and fear of the 379 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:44,480 spirits response. It wasn't always related to their relationship, However, the effects 380 00:36:44,559 --> 00:36:51,559 that this had on her would be that she would become prone's fainting and smothering 381 00:36:51,679 --> 00:36:58,320 sensations. She would often be really exhausted and lifeless. Her experiences were not 382 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:05,000 confined to the Bill property Eva. Betsy later described one instance, this is 383 00:37:05,039 --> 00:37:08,920 what she said, or when the spirit becomes so tantalizing and filling my mind 384 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:15,159 with horror and causing me to become so nervous, my parents often sent me 385 00:37:15,199 --> 00:37:19,320 to a neighbor's to rest for the night. My first night away from the 386 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:23,760 house was spent with Bernie Fawn. When we retired, there came a loud 387 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:30,559 knocking on our outside door, which seemed to fly open, and a great 388 00:37:30,639 --> 00:37:35,440 gust of wind was felt. Thaney sprang up once with lick handle, and 389 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:38,400 to our surprise, the door was not open. Then a voice so spoke 390 00:37:38,639 --> 00:37:45,679 softly, Betsy, you should not have come over here. You know I 391 00:37:45,679 --> 00:37:50,119 can follow you anywhere. Now get a good night sleep. A soft hand 392 00:37:50,159 --> 00:37:53,599 patted my cheek, and the voice again assured me that we would not be 393 00:37:53,639 --> 00:38:00,679 disturbed anymore that night. The rest of the family often attempts to give Betsy 394 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:06,320 relief and family from Frank. Miles promised to protect Betsy from any further abuse 395 00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:10,400 from the spirit. Basi said Frank was the most powerful man of any of 396 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:15,480 us ever saw, and just as fearless as any living man. One time 397 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:20,559 he said to me, come sit by me, little sister. Nothing will 398 00:38:20,599 --> 00:38:23,920 bother you while I'm here. The Witch responded, you go home. You 399 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:29,800 can do no good here. The witch then began abusing Betsey, slapping her, 400 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:34,000 pulling her hair, before turning the Miles, knocking him over and enraging 401 00:38:34,079 --> 00:38:37,800 him. Betsy continued to endure the spirit's abuse, and after calling off the 402 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:44,079 marriage to Gardener, Betsy was eventually caught it and married to a former school 403 00:38:44,079 --> 00:38:51,079 teacher, Richard Powell. Despite the apparent bratement of the witch's torments. In 404 00:38:51,159 --> 00:38:54,239 eighteen twenty, she left the area of her husband and settled in Mississippi. 405 00:38:57,039 --> 00:39:00,039 Now again, when I talk about her old school teacher, he was eleven 406 00:39:00,119 --> 00:39:06,599 years older than her. And when you actually look at how the relationship has 407 00:39:06,639 --> 00:39:10,400 documented in other ways, he is seen to be the one that documents her 408 00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:16,480 story as well. Yeah, I mean that itself is a bit, but 409 00:39:16,519 --> 00:39:22,519 then they all as well. When you look at anyway, it's gonna say 410 00:39:22,599 --> 00:39:28,639 the fact that some of the brothers of Betsy married I think one person married 411 00:39:28,679 --> 00:39:36,480 the same woman as another brother, and one married one sister after another sister 412 00:39:36,719 --> 00:39:39,480 after. Yeah, it's just yeah, of different families, of course, 413 00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:45,440 but they were sisters of the same family. So we get to the death 414 00:39:45,679 --> 00:39:50,800 of John Bell, and one of the central goals of the Bell, which 415 00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:54,159 seemed to be the death of him. Old Jack Bell, as a spirit 416 00:39:54,199 --> 00:40:00,840 called him, was blasted with curses, heinous frets, and serious physical torment. 417 00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:07,920 As abuse continued, it actually affected his psyche. Bell took it to 418 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:13,320 his bed and was cared for by John Junior. And on December nineteenth, 419 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:17,280 eighteen twenty, John Bell failed to leave his bed and John Junior went to 420 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:22,239 the cupboard to retrieve his medicine for his care. Instead of the free medicine 421 00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:28,360 vows, he only found one vial. It was one third full of a 422 00:40:28,519 --> 00:40:31,239 dark, smoky liquid of unknown origin. The voice of the witch gloated, 423 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:36,880 iss useless for you to try to relieve old Jack. I have got him 424 00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:40,920 this time. He will never get up from that bed again. She claimed 425 00:40:42,519 --> 00:40:46,360 of the vial that she gave old Jack a big old dose of it last 426 00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:51,960 night while he was fast asleep, which fixed him. The contents of the 427 00:40:52,039 --> 00:40:58,639 vial were thrown into the fire and erupted into blue blaze. On December twenty, 428 00:40:59,079 --> 00:41:05,320 eighteen twenty, John Bell had died the bell which had crashed the funeral, 429 00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:12,880 disrupting the service and singing drinking songs whilst it all took place. The 430 00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:16,719 interactions with the bell, which did not stop there the origins is really unclear. 431 00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:22,960 One story in particular was that he made someone homeless and she put a 432 00:41:23,039 --> 00:41:29,840 coat curse on his land. Another was that a slave had put a curse 433 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:34,119 on him and his land. There's lots and lots of theories. However, 434 00:41:34,639 --> 00:41:37,719 the experiences with the bell which did not stop with John Bell or his family. 435 00:41:38,559 --> 00:41:44,400 It's alleged that the future President Andrew Jackson also owned a property on the 436 00:41:44,400 --> 00:41:51,000 Red River and desired to visit the Bell Farm after hearing the stories. Whilst 437 00:41:51,039 --> 00:41:57,280 there, it is alleged that his cut his wagon sorry become stuck and could 438 00:41:57,320 --> 00:42:04,239 not be thought moved in this unseen substance. And it was, you know, 439 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:09,599 the cart was pushed by men. The horses were whipped to get them 440 00:42:09,639 --> 00:42:15,000 moving. They checked the wheels, if there's anything from the wheels, and 441 00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:19,920 yeah, there was no reason for this to be taking place. It was 442 00:42:20,039 --> 00:42:22,639 alleged that he said, by the eternal boys, this is the witch, 443 00:42:24,159 --> 00:42:28,880 to which the witch replied, all right, General, let the wegon move 444 00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:32,559 on. I will see you again tonight. And with that the weagon allegedly 445 00:42:32,599 --> 00:42:37,920 started moving on its own accord and continued on their journey. When they were 446 00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:43,000 at the camp that evening, a witch layer or witch hunter self proclaimed like 447 00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:50,159 which finder General of the UK, He shared his stories with all that would 448 00:42:50,199 --> 00:42:58,719 listen, and it would be it would be Jackson, and would whispered to 449 00:42:58,800 --> 00:43:02,840 his colleague, I'll bet this fellow is an errant coward by the eternals. 450 00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:07,280 I do not wish that thing to come. I want to see him run, 451 00:43:08,320 --> 00:43:13,480 followed with silence, But that was not for very long, because suddenly 452 00:43:13,519 --> 00:43:17,440 you would hear the light sound of footsteps on the floor. All right, 453 00:43:17,559 --> 00:43:22,000 General, I am on hand and ready for business. Of where stated, 454 00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:28,880 it was alleged that the spirit, the entity the witch baded the witch hunter 455 00:43:29,119 --> 00:43:32,639 to shoot a gun, but he did not fire. The hunter was struck 456 00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:40,519 by an invisible, unseen force. He then claimed that he could feel they 457 00:43:40,840 --> 00:43:51,079 prick of unseen needles, then alleged that he had been grabbed by the nose, 458 00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:55,440 and he fled from the tent, and the witch exclaimed how the devil 459 00:43:55,519 --> 00:44:00,000 did run and beg I bet he won't come through here again with this old 460 00:44:00,039 --> 00:44:04,440 horse pistol to shoot me. I guess that was fun enough for tonight, 461 00:44:04,559 --> 00:44:07,440 General, and you can go to bed too. I will come tomorrow night 462 00:44:07,559 --> 00:44:13,719 and show you another rascal in the crowd. Jackson was eager to stay, 463 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:16,639 but his party had had enough. It would be shortly after this that they 464 00:44:16,679 --> 00:44:25,960 returned to Nashville. As I said, there is no real knowing who the 465 00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:31,199 bell witch or the spirit was, but there is one person that does keep 466 00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:37,800 propping up, and that is Mary Katherine Kate Bates. She is the wife 467 00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:44,440 of Frederick Bates and was believed to have been the culprit behind its services known 468 00:44:44,559 --> 00:44:50,760 as the Bell Witch. She wasn't a poor woman. She was often mocked 469 00:44:50,800 --> 00:44:55,800 by others throughout the Red River settlement in Robinson County. She had the improper 470 00:44:55,920 --> 00:45:00,880 use of words, and she sometimes had strange ways about her, which made 471 00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:07,360 others believe that she was practicing black magic or other fault forms of occultism, 472 00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:10,000 which, let's be honest, that didn't take very much. Back in the 473 00:45:10,119 --> 00:45:15,840 day. It was believed that any early years, Benjamin Bates, who was 474 00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:20,840 the brother of Frederick, had a dispute with John Bell over the cell of 475 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:28,000 some slaves. The dispute or were later tangled and become the source of a 476 00:45:28,079 --> 00:45:31,639 rumor to affect that John Bell and Kate Bates had the quarrel and that the 477 00:45:31,679 --> 00:45:37,320 Bell which was created by a Kate to get revenge on Bell. There are 478 00:45:37,400 --> 00:45:42,559 plenty of stories that do connect to Bell, which to Kate Bates and some 479 00:45:42,719 --> 00:45:47,280 sort of disagreement that existed between her and John. There is recent evidence that 480 00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:51,400 suggests she had nothing to do with it. In fact, contrary to reports 481 00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:55,119 of her claiming she would get even with John Bell on her deathbed. Kate 482 00:45:55,159 --> 00:46:00,280 Bates actually outlived John Bell by many years. Again, we go back to 483 00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:07,199 the story of Sarah Moore, and you know how we have this false collective 484 00:46:07,239 --> 00:46:17,920 memory and the different stories. So the Cell of land is something that I 485 00:46:19,559 --> 00:46:25,239 saw him short changing someone or making someone homeless because he was putting up the 486 00:46:25,320 --> 00:46:31,280 rent of the lad up that she was renting. Again, the Cell of 487 00:46:31,480 --> 00:46:35,880 Slaves, Like, there's a lot, but they all seem to have us 488 00:46:36,400 --> 00:46:44,159 a reoccurring Yeah, it seems to have a real carr of theme. So 489 00:46:44,679 --> 00:46:50,840 for all the paranormal researchers and those that have an interest in looking for the 490 00:46:50,920 --> 00:46:57,239 paranormal. In terms of the Bell Which there is the well Which Cave, 491 00:46:57,440 --> 00:47:05,639 which has a very relatively one role in the actual story of the early nineteenth 492 00:47:05,639 --> 00:47:09,920 century. The cave is on John Bell's property and has since become quite a 493 00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:15,280 focal point for visitors they do hope to go and grab themselves a bit of 494 00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:21,800 a haunting experience. It has been added to the National History Registreet in two 495 00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:25,079 thousand and eight, and it's the only feature from the legend that can be 496 00:47:25,119 --> 00:47:30,559 still seen today that hasn't really changed from the way the Bell family would have 497 00:47:30,559 --> 00:47:37,039 seen it back then. There are a couple of eerie events that have been 498 00:47:37,079 --> 00:47:44,400 reported by visitors to the cave Cave, which include difficulties in taking photos at 499 00:47:44,480 --> 00:47:51,079 the site. There's nothing really on the scale in terms of what was actually 500 00:47:51,119 --> 00:47:55,480 experienced by the Bell family at all, and the actual property itself has long 501 00:47:55,559 --> 00:48:01,599 gone. It's been it was torn down, and that was had been reported 502 00:48:01,639 --> 00:48:07,440 to have taken place in the early eighteen hundreds. Following the death of John 503 00:48:07,519 --> 00:48:15,679 Bell, the witch activity and the spirit activity significantly dropped. It was alleged 504 00:48:15,719 --> 00:48:20,760 that the spirit was still active through the winter and spring of eighteen twenty one, 505 00:48:21,719 --> 00:48:25,119 but it was just to say farewell to the family as they left. 506 00:48:28,079 --> 00:48:31,960 Lucy, Richard, William and Joel claimed that the witch did return in February 507 00:48:32,039 --> 00:48:37,360 eighteen twenty eight, reappearing in much the same way as it had originally appeared, 508 00:48:39,039 --> 00:48:45,639 with shaking birds and unexplained noises. Basically vanished again kind of returned to 509 00:48:45,679 --> 00:48:52,159 haunt the Bell descendants once again in nineteen thirty five, which according to documentaries 510 00:48:52,199 --> 00:48:59,960 that I've mentioned on a number of occasions, this happened. So yeah, 511 00:49:00,079 --> 00:49:04,400 yeah, so that is the story of the Bell Witch. The information that 512 00:49:04,480 --> 00:49:08,480 I found interesting, there is so much more. Like a lot of the 513 00:49:08,719 --> 00:49:15,679 podcasts that I've done previously, there is always so much more to the stories 514 00:49:15,719 --> 00:49:20,840 and that can be fitted into one podcast. I always recommend doing your own 515 00:49:20,880 --> 00:49:28,920 research into the cases you find interesting and always having an open mind to the 516 00:49:29,039 --> 00:49:35,159 alternative theories that you were once brought or was the reason why you was interested 517 00:49:35,280 --> 00:49:39,480 in the case in the first place, because it's always good to learn other 518 00:49:39,559 --> 00:49:45,400 perspectives. This gives you a best for understanding of what was happening at that 519 00:49:45,480 --> 00:49:50,320 time for something like this to take place or for it to occur anyway. 520 00:49:50,440 --> 00:49:54,360 And I haven't mentioned this, but when you look at again, you have 521 00:49:54,719 --> 00:50:04,679 a similar case of the haunting being associated with a young girl who was at 522 00:50:04,679 --> 00:50:07,800 school. I know I didn't mention that, but she was at school. 523 00:50:07,400 --> 00:50:13,360 So you have that young person that he is going through development, that is 524 00:50:14,519 --> 00:50:20,119 having all those all the things that happened to a teenager at that time. 525 00:50:21,559 --> 00:50:27,800 And you see this in fictional stories, for example the Exorcystem, but you 526 00:50:27,840 --> 00:50:35,559 also see them in alleged hauntings like the end Filled Haunting as well as Pontifract 527 00:50:36,519 --> 00:50:43,039 thirteen strive again fixates on a young girl that's you know, going through all 528 00:50:43,079 --> 00:50:49,360 the teenage stuff that they go through. There is that reoccurring theme of a 529 00:50:49,559 --> 00:50:54,599 young person being at the center of hauntings, and there is lots and lots 530 00:50:54,639 --> 00:51:00,039 of research around this. I always recommend you do your own research again and 531 00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:06,920 why this happens, and it is to do with the biological changes and the 532 00:51:07,039 --> 00:51:12,559 projection, the manifestation or amplification, however you want to look at it. 533 00:51:12,639 --> 00:51:17,760 There's lots of different reasons and lots of different arguments where it takes place, 534 00:51:17,880 --> 00:51:22,199 depending on your stance. So I would say have a look at that as 535 00:51:22,239 --> 00:51:29,880 well. So that's the end of me sharing the bell which I have so 536 00:51:29,960 --> 00:51:34,960 much more, but I haven't enough time. Maybe I will have a discussion 537 00:51:35,000 --> 00:51:37,880 about this again. Maybe next time it would be good to be able to 538 00:51:37,880 --> 00:51:42,760 do it with a guest, because again it's always great to have different perspectives 539 00:51:42,960 --> 00:51:49,440 and a conversation. But yeah, I hope you enjoyed it and I look 540 00:51:49,519 --> 00:52:37,960 forward to seeing you next time. M h five five five five