Page 47 - Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained Vol. 3

Ghosts and Phantoms 27

watch at the Bell house all night to try to pla- urge the witch to talk and declare herself and
cate the spirit, but all this accomplished was to her intentions. At last their efforts were
bring about an especially vicious attack on the rewarded. At first the voice was only a
unfortunate Betsy. A number of neighbors vol- whistling kind of indistinct babble, then it
unteered their own daughters to sleep with became bolder—a husky whisper speaking
Betsy, but this only managed to terrorize the from darkened corners. At last, it became a
other girls as well. Nor did it accomplish any full-toned voice that spoke not only in dark-
useful purpose to take Betsy out of the cabin ness but also in lighted rooms and, finally, dur-
into the home of neighbors—the trouble simply ing the day as well as the night. Immediately
followed her there and upset the entire house. the charge of ventriloquism was heard from
the skeptical. To put a halt to the accusations
By now the haunting had achieved wide
notoriety, and the disturbances were thought of trickery, John Jr. brought in a doctor, who
to be the work of a witch, who had set her evil placed his hand over Betsy’s mouth and lis-
spirits upon the Bell family. Each night the tened at her throat while the witch’s voice
house was filled with those who sat up trying chatted amicably from a far corner of the
to get the “witch” to talk or to communicate room. The doctor decreed that the girl was in
with them by rapping on the walls. The distur- no way connected with the sounds.
bances soon became powerful enough to move From the beginning of the witch’s visita-
outside the cabin and away from Betsy. Neigh- tion, it had minced no words in its dislike of
bors reported seeing lights “like candles or John Bell, Betsy’s father. The spirit often
lamps” flitting through the fields, and farmers swore to visitors in the Bell home that she
began to suffer stone-throwing attacks from would keep after him until the end of his days.
the Bell Witch.
To a visitor’s question concerning its iden-
These particular peltings seemed to have tity, the witch once answered that it was a spir-
been more in the nature of fun than some of it who had once been very happy, but it had
the other manifestations of the spirit. Young been disturbed and made unhappy. Later, the
boys in the area would often play catch with witch declared itself to be the spirit of an Indi-
the witch if she happened to throw something an and sent the family on a wild bone chase to
at them on their way home from school. Once gather up all of its skeletal remains. If her
an observer witnessed several boys get sudden- bones were all put back together, she would be
ly pelted with sticks that flew from a nearby able to rest in peace, the entity lied to them.
thicket. The sticks did not strike the boys with Later, the witch told the family with a
much force, and, with a great deal of laughter, merry cackle that she was the ghost of old Kate
the boys scooped the sticks up and hurled Batts, a woman who had been an eccentric
them back into the thicket. Once again, the recluse and who had earned the appellation of
sticks came flying back out. The observer cut “witch” from the citizens of Clarksville. When
notches in several of the sticks with his knife the word spread that it was the ghost of old
before the boys once again returned the Kate who was haunting the Bells, the entire
witch’s volley. He was able to identify his mystery became much more believable to sev-
markings when the playful entity once again eral doubting neighbors.
flung the sticks from the thicket.
The Bell home became crowded, indeed,
The witch was not so gentle with the when the witch’s “family” moved in with her.
scoffers who came to the Bell home to expose Four hell-raisers named Blackdog, Mathemat-
the manifestations as trickery. Those who ics, Cypocryphy, and Jerusalem, each speaking
stayed the night invariably had their covers in distinct voices of their own, made every
jerked from their beds. If they resisted the night party time during their stay with their
witch’s yanking, they were slapped soundly on “mother.” The sounds of raucous laughter rat-
the face.
tled the shingles of the Bell home, and wit-
Spiritists, clergymen, reporters, and curios- nesses noted the strong scent of whiskey that
ity seekers had waged a ceaseless campaign to permeated every room in the house.

The Gale Enc y clopedia of the Unusu al and Unexplained