The Bell Witch
A farming family in Tennessee said an invisible presence knocked, whispered, and finally talked to them out loud.
What was reported
The story says that from 1817 the family of John Bell, a farmer near Adams, heard knocking and scratching in their house, then whispers and finally a voice that sang, argued and held conversations, and named itself after a neighbour. Visitors came to hear it.
In the legend it tormented John Bell until his death in 1820, and promised to return. A nearby cave is now a tourist site.
Explanations offered
There are no records of the haunting written at the time; the first full account appeared in 1894, more than seventy years later, in a book by M. V. Ingram. Historians think the story grew in the telling. Some suggest a family member was behind the voice.
- When
- 1817–1821
- Where
- Adams, Tennessee, USA
- Witnesses
- The Bell family and their neighbours, according to later accounts
- Status
- Legend
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