1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:06,040 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the short Stuff. It's Josh and 2 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: Chuck here in our scary October rolls on. It's rolling 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: along with the short stuff on the bell Witch. 4 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 2: That's right rolling along the Red River of Tennessee, because 5 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,480 Speaker 2: that's where the Belwitch is now Adams, Tennessee. But that's 6 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:23,759 Speaker 2: where the Belwich story finds its roots, about an hour 7 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 2: north of Nashville. And that was a family, the Bells, 8 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 2: that moved from North Carolina in eighteen oh six to 9 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 2: Tennessee and did pretty well. They were landowners, they were 10 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 2: very respected, they had a pretty good life. And about 11 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,239 Speaker 2: nine uh years after they moved there, they started to 12 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,160 Speaker 2: get haunted by a angry ghost witch. 13 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: Yeah. And before we get too much deeper into I 14 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: want to shout out a historian named Pat fits You 15 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: who runs Bellwitch dot org and wrote the book The 16 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: Belwitch Colon the Full Account Legends of America Victoria Kleine 17 00:00:57,280 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: Peter at the Tennessee State Museum. 18 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 2: Okay, got it, Rocky top baby. 19 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: So the haunting of the Bell family began in eighteen 20 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: seventeen when John Bell, the patriarch of the family sometimes 21 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: called Old Jack Bell. Just remember this is eighteen seventeen 22 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: in Tennessee. Yeah, he was in his fields. He was 23 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: a huge planter in the area and he was in 24 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 1: one of his fields at one point and he noticed 25 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:27,960 Speaker 1: a big animal sitting in his field. So he looked 26 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 1: at it a little closer, and he found that it 27 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: was quite disturbing. This large animal had the body of 28 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: a dog but the head of a rabbit. 29 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 2: Okay. 30 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: John Bell was like, did I eat mushrooms this morning? 31 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: He's like, no, I didn't. And he said, well, I'm 32 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: going to shoot at this because I'm a homesteader in 33 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 1: Tennessee in eighteen seventeen. And when he did, the animal 34 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: either vanished or scurried off to the nearby woods, depending 35 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: on who's telling the story, but either way, John Bell 36 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: let it be. 37 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. So that's dad's first incident. There would also be 38 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 2: successive incidents with kids. Dewy his son, and Betsy his daughter. 39 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 2: Dewree saw and if you're wondering how that's spelled, it's 40 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 2: d E w r Y. I've never seen that name before, 41 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 2: but I think I love it. 42 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: I I'm glad that you love it. I think I 43 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 1: misspelled it. I think it might be Drury because I 44 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 1: also saw him referred to as Drew before. 45 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 2: I like Dowy. 46 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: I like more too, so we're gonna rename Drury Bell. 47 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 2: Yeah. So Dewrey was haunted by a giant bird, supposedly 48 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 2: a bird that he had never seen before. It was 49 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 2: sitting on a fence post, so of course he shot 50 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,839 Speaker 2: at it as well, but it disappeared into thin air. 51 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,960 Speaker 2: And then daughter Betsy maybe the most frightening thing, although 52 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 2: the dog rabbit's pretty frightening. Yeah, but also so is 53 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,360 Speaker 2: a little girl in a green dress hanging from a tree, 54 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 2: and I assume that means by a rope and not 55 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 2: just by her hands. 56 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: I could not get any further uh information about that. 57 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 2: Okay, I mean, if it was haunting, it had to 58 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 2: be like that girl's hand there as a child or 59 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 2: writer and came back. 60 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:06,919 Speaker 1: Yes, So these appearances seem to portend all of the 61 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 1: haunting that followed haunting by the ghost of a witch. 62 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,919 Speaker 1: Don't forget that's the worst kind. Yeah, because I think 63 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: the same night after John Bell saw the rabbit dog 64 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: or the dog rabbit, I guess, depending on your perspective. Yeah, 65 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,079 Speaker 1: the family was awakened by beating noises on the outside 66 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: of the walls of their home like it was being 67 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: pounded on. And that was just the first night. These 68 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: things continued night after night after night. Sometimes they would 69 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: be pounding really hard, sometimes kind of light, but either way, 70 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: Bell and his sons, he had several sons. They would 71 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: get out of bed and try to catch the person 72 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 1: who was pounding on their house. This is basically like 73 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: eighteen seventeen Ding Dong ditch, I guess. But they never 74 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: found a trace of anybody. 75 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, and the hauntings or the sounds continued. Rather, the 76 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 2: children know were haunted by the sounds of what they 77 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 2: thought was rats chewing on their bedposts at night, which 78 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 2: was probably just rats to the other. 79 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 1: Bed post to night. But you gotta toss that one in. 80 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 2: You gotta toss that in because it's scary. The hauntings 81 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 2: would turn physical. Sometimes the sheets were pulled off of 82 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 2: the kids while they slept. Young Betsy was ghost slapped, 83 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 2: apparently hard enough to leave welts and bruises. She was 84 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:23,239 Speaker 2: ghost pinched, she was ghost hair pulled, and it became 85 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 2: pretty clear that Betsy and old Jack the dad, were 86 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 2: the main targets in this family. 87 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,039 Speaker 1: Yes, and we'll see why in a few but I 88 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,280 Speaker 1: think probably what makes the whole thing the most disturbing 89 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: is that the witch began to talk. It's one thing 90 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,400 Speaker 1: for poultry guys activity. Poultry guys don't talk. Everybody ask 91 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 1: your parents. The witch started speaking, the witch ghost, and 92 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: at first it was faint. They were just barely whispered. 93 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 1: You couldn't really make out what the ghost was saying. 94 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: But over time the voice grew louder, clearer, and would 95 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: sometimes hold conversations, like entire conversations with the Bell family 96 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: and their home, so much so that John Junior was 97 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: known to debate the witch voice. Sure, I don't know 98 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: over what nuclear energy maybe, and whether it was safe 99 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: or not. Probably, But he later wrote the conversations down 100 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 1: that he had with the Bell witch and he published 101 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: it I think self published in nineteen thirty four. 102 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:24,040 Speaker 2: That's right. And if you think maybe just this family 103 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 2: had some weird mold in their house, it was driving 104 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,359 Speaker 2: them all to the brinks of sanity, not true, because 105 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 2: you know, unfortunately it was eighteen seventeen and they had 106 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 2: enslaved people on their land, and they also had similar experiences, 107 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 2: the most famous of which was an enslaved man there 108 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 2: named Dean, who encountered the witch multiple times in the 109 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 2: form of a two headed dog man with o sensibly dogheads. 110 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 1: I saw a drawing of it of this Dean being 111 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: met by a two headed dog, and it actually kind 112 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:58,279 Speaker 1: of missed the mark because it looked like it was 113 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 1: hopping up to like play with them. Well maybe it 114 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 1: was because in this picture the drawing, Dean is holding 115 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: a ball, but it's not supposed to be like a 116 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,760 Speaker 1: ball that the two headed dog wants to him to 117 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: toss for it. It was a witch ball that Dean's 118 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: wife made, and that's a real thing. A witch ball 119 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: is a blown glass spear, usually kind of colorful, and 120 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: depending on where you're using this or who you ask, 121 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 1: it's either used to trap witches reward off witches. And 122 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 1: Dean's wife made it for him, I think after the 123 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 1: first time he saw the bell witch to protect himself. 124 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, and he was like, you know, a no, tradition 125 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 2: says it's got to be a ball, but these this 126 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 2: two headed dog just wants to get that ball. Can 127 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:41,600 Speaker 2: we go with something else? 128 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: She's like, sure, how about a witch's dick? 129 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 2: Right exactly? Shall we take a break, all right, We'll 130 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:50,720 Speaker 2: come back and finish up with the Bell Witch right 131 00:06:50,720 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 2: after this, all right, So where we left off, there 132 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 2: were two headed dogs wanting to play with that witch ball. 133 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 2: Betsy's getting ghost pinched, Dad is getting haunted, the whole 134 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,480 Speaker 2: family's getting haunted. And it became pretty clear that Betsy 135 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 2: was getting haunted because this belwitch did not like the 136 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 2: fact that she was engaged to a guy named Joshua 137 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 2: Gardner local kid, and she tried to keep this wedding 138 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 2: on but eventually would break it off in eighteen twenty 139 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 2: one and marry an old guy so old. How old 140 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 2: was he? He was so old that she ended up 141 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 2: nursing the man for eleven years before he eventually died. 142 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, Betsy fell on hardships of her own after she 143 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: moved out of her father's house. She had eight children, 144 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: and four of them. 145 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 2: In that eleven years with the old sick guy. 146 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 1: I don't know if it was during or before. I 147 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: don't know how long they were married before he fell ill. 148 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: I don't know. But yes, they had eight children for sure, 149 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 1: but only four made it to adulthood sadly, so, Betsy 150 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:25,240 Speaker 1: had her own troubles because of the Joshua Gardner thing. 151 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: But John Bell, the Witch saved the worst for him. 152 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: Like she was verbally abusive to him, she was physically 153 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 1: abusive to him. Shortly after she appeared, John Bell was 154 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:40,120 Speaker 1: afflicted by some unknown illness and just kept getting worse 155 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:42,559 Speaker 1: and worse over the next few years. As the haunting 156 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,199 Speaker 1: war on, he would have seizures sometimes Chuck, and as 157 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 1: he came out of the Caesars seizures, the Bell Witch 158 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: would slap him around. 159 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 2: Man. 160 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,320 Speaker 1: She was really mean and ruthless toward John Bell. She 161 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: hated John Bell. 162 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 2: Can you imagine that that? Like he comes out of 163 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:58,199 Speaker 2: a seizure and she's like, hey, what do you think 164 00:08:58,240 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 2: of this? 165 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: Smack smacks, man, I've been waiting for you to come 166 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 1: out of it. O. 167 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 2: He sadly passed on in December eighteen twenty. He believed 168 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 2: that the Witch had poisoned him, and apparently the Witch 169 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 2: confirmed this, and the day before he died said, it's 170 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:16,560 Speaker 2: useless for you to try and relieve Old Jack. I've 171 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 2: got him this time. He will never get up from 172 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 2: that bed again. I put it there and gave Old 173 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 2: Jack a big dose of it last night while he 174 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 2: was asleep, which fixed him. 175 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:30,319 Speaker 1: Nice. There's a nice little preview of our Halloween episode. 176 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:33,839 Speaker 2: Oh, I hope. So the neighbors found out about the 177 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:34,280 Speaker 2: stuff too. 178 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, so he swore his family, John Belswar's family 179 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,079 Speaker 1: to secrecy. This is just kind of not the thing 180 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 1: that you wanted your fellow townsfolk in eighteen seventeen Tennessee 181 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: to know about. But it just became such a big 182 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: deal that it spread and got out, and so some 183 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:53,839 Speaker 1: of the townsfolk tried to catch the witch. They tried 184 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 1: to one guy tried to shoot the witch to no vail. Right, 185 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,079 Speaker 1: No one could do anything to asswage the Bell Witch. 186 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:04,440 Speaker 1: They even came up with their own legends too. The 187 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,080 Speaker 1: one that stood out to me the most was that 188 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 1: at one point, the Bell Witch recited two different sermons 189 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: verbatim that were being given delivered at two different churches 190 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 1: at that moment, miles away from one another. And I mean, 191 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: if that's not an eighteen seventeen Tennessee folk superstition, that 192 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 1: you'd just be like, damn when somebody told you that, Yeah, 193 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:29,560 Speaker 1: I don't know what it is. 194 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:33,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, because that's literally impossible in that time to know 195 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:36,480 Speaker 2: exactly what was being said in two different places at once. 196 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,400 Speaker 1: There's a lot there's a lot of holes in that 197 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:40,400 Speaker 1: legend for sure. 198 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,160 Speaker 2: Thankfully, after John died, maybe taken care of by the 199 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:49,000 Speaker 2: Bell Witch, the hauntings basically stopped. I don't think we 200 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,080 Speaker 2: mentioned that at his funeral the witch even haunted him. 201 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 2: There was like singing, drinking songs and interrupting the wake 202 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 2: in the funeral. But much later, in eighteen forty nine, 203 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:03,520 Speaker 2: the Saturday Evening Post would publish a story that people 204 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 2: basically said, it's like the first commercial publication of this story, 205 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:09,880 Speaker 2: and it accused Betsy of being behind the whole thing, 206 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 2: and she threatened to sue unless they printed an apology 207 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 2: and a retraction, which they did so I guess they 208 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:19,480 Speaker 2: did make that up, and Betsy just, you know, she 209 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 2: never wanted to talk about it, she aged, she never 210 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:23,000 Speaker 2: spoke of the Bellwitch. 211 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 1: Yes, so the Bellwich, I'm pretty sure even at the time, 212 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:31,200 Speaker 1: but certainly shortly afterward. In Tennessee and the parts of Tennessee, 213 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 1: it was attributed to a local woman named Kate Bats. 214 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:37,320 Speaker 1: And there's a couple different explanations for why Kate Bats 215 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: would care about the Bell family so much that she 216 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:43,080 Speaker 1: would hound them beyond the grave. The first one takes 217 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 1: place entirely in Tennessee, because we didn't say but not 218 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 1: just Tennessee, but also North Carolina and Mississippi put some 219 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 1: claim on the Bell Witch even though it all happened 220 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 1: in Tennessee. But in the first explanation, John Bell, remember 221 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:58,200 Speaker 1: we said he was one of the bigger planters. He 222 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:00,559 Speaker 1: had a three hundred plus acre homes dead that he'd 223 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:04,400 Speaker 1: built by acquiring land from neighbors. And there was one 224 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: land deal that he had with the brother in law 225 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: of Kate Bats, a man by the name of Benjamin, 226 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,000 Speaker 1: and Bell is said to have taken advantage of Benjamin 227 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: on the deal, and that in her death Kate hounded 228 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 1: John Bell to the grave and revenge for this land deal. 229 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,120 Speaker 2: Why would he do Benjamin Brant like that, I don't know, 230 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 2: such a fine actor. 231 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:25,839 Speaker 1: Yeah. 232 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:28,720 Speaker 2: The other version, like you said, takes place also in 233 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:31,160 Speaker 2: North Carolina, because they also do lay claim. And this 234 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 2: is that Bell well, seemingly he had sex with Kate 235 00:12:37,679 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 2: Bats and had an affair with Kate Bats and that 236 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 2: is why he left to go to Tennessee because he 237 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,160 Speaker 2: had had this affair broke it off. Kate was really 238 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:50,280 Speaker 2: sore at this, obviously, and threatened to tell everybody, including 239 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 2: the family, and so, as the legend goes, Bell tied 240 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 2: her up in a smokehouse and left her there to die, 241 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,840 Speaker 2: and she haunted him there, and so they had to 242 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 2: pack up and leave the Tennessee and she was like, Oh, no, 243 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:03,559 Speaker 2: I don't think you know how ghost witches work. We 244 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:06,880 Speaker 2: can we can travel interstate Tennessee's and not that far away. 245 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:09,480 Speaker 1: Yep. The whole way. She just kept going, are we 246 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 1: there yet? So one of the things that makes the 247 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: story so unsettling, aside from all the details of it, 248 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:18,959 Speaker 1: and if you really want to dive into it, check 249 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 1: out Pat Fitzhugh's website Bellewitch dot org. Like really has 250 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,720 Speaker 1: a lot of exhaustive research on it. But one of 251 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:29,160 Speaker 1: the things that makes it unsettling, like I was saying, 252 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 1: is that these people like really did live in North 253 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: Carolina and Tennessee at the time. This legend covers like, Yeah, 254 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,960 Speaker 1: genealogists have found Kate Bats in Edgecombe County. They found 255 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:42,680 Speaker 1: Kate Bats and Adams, Tennessee. Apparently Bats is still live 256 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:47,000 Speaker 1: in Adams, Tennessee, and there's Bells as well. That the 257 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,320 Speaker 1: Bell family graveyard has all these people's headstones from the 258 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:54,440 Speaker 1: correct timeframe. So the idea that these people really did 259 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,200 Speaker 1: live and that at the time they believed that this 260 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,440 Speaker 1: was happening to the Bell family, as did the Bell family. 261 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:03,679 Speaker 1: That that, I don't know. I think that makes it 262 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: even cooler. It's not like it's not like the the 263 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: the hitchhiker with the hook hand or something like that, 264 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: Like this actually happened. 265 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:13,679 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean this, I think throws it in there 266 00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:16,320 Speaker 2: with a category of like the Amiteville House and stuff 267 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 2: like that, of these supposed real hauntings that took place, 268 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:22,120 Speaker 2: for sure, but you can still go there. It's like 269 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 2: a tourist destination. Apparently, the town of six hundred and 270 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 2: seventy four people. It's a pretty big boon for their economy, 271 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 2: you think, because they have rebuilt the house has gone, 272 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 2: but they really rebuilt a replica and it's in its place. 273 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 2: It must be so popular. 274 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, you can tour it inside the replica of the house. 275 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: There's also a cave on John Bell's property that they 276 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 1: believe the Bell Witch lives in, and you can tour 277 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: that cave as well. I can't remember how much it was, 278 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 1: but it was reasonably priced. It's not going to break 279 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,760 Speaker 1: you for a family of four and again, it's just 280 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: an hour north of Nashville. It looks quite quite neat. 281 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: They also offer lantern guided tours in the dark, so 282 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 1: if you're really feeling scary, maybe do that one. 283 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, and if they don't have some sort of animatronic 284 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:13,040 Speaker 2: rabbit dog, they're doing it wrong. 285 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 1: That's right. The whole town's saving up for it. Don't 286 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 1: you worry. Tell them, Chuck. 287 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:24,360 Speaker 2: I think that means short stuff is out. 288 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. 289 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 2: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 290 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.