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Cultural Background |
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Storyteller's Cabin |
"Well, a long time ago, there used to be this old farm out there. That's where the Bell family used to live back in the 1800s. They were pretty successful farmers - had a nice house, slave quarters and all. They went to church every Sunday and all that, so everybody in town liked 'em.
But one day, they started getting haunted by this weird spirit. It started out looking like an old buzzard sitting out on the fence. Then it turned into this dog-like creature. Then they saw this mysterious old woman walking around in the orchard. Then one day, she just vanished into thin air.
But then she came back as a ghost. At night, they could hear her flyin' 'round the house making these horrible sounds. She'd keep 'em up all night, knocking on doors and windows, making these sounds like wings flapping against the roof and animals fighting and scratching. Then she started getting physical - pulling the blankets off their beds, punching 'em, pinching 'em and pulling their hair.
One day, she started talking to 'em. She'd make fun of 'em, argue with 'em about the Bible, sing these nasty drinkin' songs. They asked her over and over again why she was bothering 'em. She told 'em lots of things, like she was the ghost of an Indian whose grave had been disturbed, or a dead settler who'd come back looking for buried treasure.
But most folks believe she was a witch conjured up by this crazy old woman named Kate Batts. Kate Batts lived next door to the Bells. And she hated the father, John Bell, 'cause he ripped her off in a slave deal one time. In fact, the witch said several times that she was gonna kill John Bell one day.
Not long after that, John Bell got real sick and was taken to bed. The next morning, they found him dead. The witch started laughing and said she'd poisoned him. Sure 'nough, when they looked in the medicine cabinet, they saw that his medicine had been switched with a vial of poison.
The witch laughed and carried on all during John Bell's funeral. Then she told everybody she was leaving, but would come back one day. No one heard from her again for a long time.
But some folks in town believe that the Bell Witch has come back. They say if you make fun of her, or tell folks you don't believe in her, that bad things will happen to you. And some say you can hear her laughin' in that cave on the old Bell property, just waiting to put a fright into anybody who dares to go in there. "
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