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Authenticated History of the Bell Witch And Other Stories of the World's Greatest Unexplained Phenomenon
Paperback
Published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 1, 2024
This is my second reading, always an interesting tale for Halloween! The book is a reprint from 1894, within a generation of the haunting near Adams, TN. M.V. Ingram, the author, uses the journal of one of the Bell children, who was afflicted by the witch, and many other witness accounts from the area. He asserts that the witnesses are so numerous and above reproach that they are like the many witnesses of Solomon's great wealth, which includes the Queen of Sheba. If they are to be believed as they are to this day, then these numerous and upstanding witnesses of the Bell Witch manifestations can be believed as well.
The writer writes like they did back then, a bit florid and overblown. Examples: "the orifice of articulation" and every witness and family of the period had integrity beyond rebuke, magnificent in citizenship, and highly esteemed by all. (I lost my notes or could give even better examples.) Some sections are repetitious. He likely should have started with the journal of Williams Bell and done away with some of his introduction which the journal repeats and is a better telling as well.
Ingram says that witches and devils do exist and, in one chapter, offers as proof the Witch of Endor, other biblical examples from both the New and Old Testaments, the Epworth Ghost (think John Wesley, the founder of Methodism), and the numerous reputable ministers of the main period of the witch hauntings of the Bell family (about 1817-1824?). I leave it to you whether to believe the tale or not. It's quite interesting and frightening, and one speaker I recently listened to said that when she went to Adams, TN, just recently--many folks do not take kindly if you don't believe. Keep in mind that many of the people there are descendants of the Bells and the witnesses, and besides, there is a bit of a tourism industry there as well! Some even say the Bell Witch cave is worth a visit. I haven't been myself.
The writer writes like they did back then, a bit florid and overblown. Examples: "the orifice of articulation" and every witness and family of the period had integrity beyond rebuke, magnificent in citizenship, and highly esteemed by all. (I lost my notes or could give even better examples.) Some sections are repetitious. He likely should have started with the journal of Williams Bell and done away with some of his introduction which the journal repeats and is a better telling as well.
Ingram says that witches and devils do exist and, in one chapter, offers as proof the Witch of Endor, other biblical examples from both the New and Old Testaments, the Epworth Ghost (think John Wesley, the founder of Methodism), and the numerous reputable ministers of the main period of the witch hauntings of the Bell family (about 1817-1824?). I leave it to you whether to believe the tale or not. It's quite interesting and frightening, and one speaker I recently listened to said that when she went to Adams, TN, just recently--many folks do not take kindly if you don't believe. Keep in mind that many of the people there are descendants of the Bells and the witnesses, and besides, there is a bit of a tourism industry there as well! Some even say the Bell Witch cave is worth a visit. I haven't been myself.
September 4, 2023
I read the 1961 reprint of Ingram's 1894 book examining the phenomenon of the Bell Witch and its interaction with a family and its neighbors in Robertson County, TN. Ingram compiles a number of 1st and 2nd hand accounts of the Bell Witch as well as offering some theory and analysis. The book was first published in 1894, and is very much a product of its time.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews