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"Keeping the Story Real"
Copyright © 1998 - 2008
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The Early Accounts
A look at two books that helped shape the legend
The two earliest accounts of the legend are “Authenticated History of the Bell Witch,” by M.V. Ingram, and “The Bell Witch – A Mysterious Spirit,” by Charles Bailey Bell. Known as the “Red Book” and the “Black Book,” respectively, these accounts form the basis of many modern-day accounts.
Published in 1894, “Authenticated History of the Bell Witch” was penned by Martin Ingram, a Clarksville, TN newspaper editor who grew up in the Red River area. He became friends with Joel Egbert Bell, the youngest son of John Bell, later in life. This is where he reportedly first learned of the Bell Witch. Ingram did not release his book until the last of John Bell’s immediate family had died, pursuant to an agreement with other family members. It was the first commercially published account of the Bell Witch legend.
At the heart of Ingram’s book is a manuscript entitled, “Our Family Trouble,” purportedly written by Richard Williams Bell, in 1846. It is believed to be the only written eyewitness account of the legend.
Ingram’s book is written in Victorian prose and is difficult to read. In some cases, a whole paragraph – or even an entire page – is dedicated to describing some small detail that is of little significance, leaving the reader to think out loud, “just get on with the story!” A good, vivid backstory is a must for any book of this type, but too much background detail distorts the reader’s focus and detracts from the main story.
The Ingram book contains many short stories about the family’s trials and tribulations with “Kate,” and goes to great lengths in describing the people and places involved. What I find odd, however, is that despite such wordy character introductions, very little is done to develop the characters throughout the book. And moreover, when comparing Ingram’s descriptions to official historical data, such as church, court, military and census records, one realizes that Ingram was human like the rest of us, and made mistakes – plenty of them. I will not fault Ingram because 1) historical research is, for the most part, a hit-or-miss game – a “paper chase,” if you will – and no researcher is 100% correct 100% of the time, and 2) Ingram did not have the advantage of technology.
But notwithstanding, the Ingram book (aka "The Red Book") is not very accurate, historically.
The massive collection of anecdotes in M.V. Ingram’s “Authenticated History of the Bell Witch” makes for an entertaining read, but the Victorian prose and historical errors leave a big void. The book also contains no research footnotes or endnotes, which diminishes its credibility and research value, to an extent. Its entertainment value and its distinction of being the first commercially published account of the legend makes it noteworthy despite the absence of key elements (Bell's excommunication, for example) and the abundance of historical errors.
The Ingram book makes a great read for entertainment purposes, even with the Victorian prose, but the reader should seek a more thorough and authoritative publication if interested in conducting serious research.
The other early account, “The Bell Witch – A Mysterious Spirit,” was published in 1934 by Nashville physician, Dr. Charles Bailey Bell, a great-grandson of John Bell. This book is basically a rehash of the Ingram book, but it is more readable. Victorian prose had become obsolete by 1934, and Dr. Bell’s prose conveys the story in more detail and with fewer words. There are two major differences between the Charles Bailey Bell book and the M.V. Ingram book.
From the beginning, Dr. Bell goes on and on about his great-grandfather’s good deeds and wonderful reputation. It is true that John Bell had a wonderful reputation – I won’t argue with that – but Dr. Bell overemphasizes it, as if trying to clear his great-grandfather’s name in connection with some past event, possibly the Red River Baptist Church ordeal, which was never mentioned in any Bell Witch book prior to "The Bell Witch: The Full Account," in 2000. While Ingram also pays tribute to Mr. Bell's reputation, he does so in a more conservative manner, only mentioning it when mention is necessary, and not overdoing it. In my opinion, this is a major difference between the two early publications.
The other major difference is the inclusion of a series of “conferences” that purportedly took place between John Bell, Jr. and “Kate” in 1828, which dealt with the past, the present, and the future, as well as nature, time, and civilizations. It was during these conferences when “Kate” made several predictions that would turn out to be true – well, almost. My take on these alleged conferences can be found on the FAQ page.
“The Bell Witch – A Mysterious Spirit,” like all other Bell Witch books, has its fair share of fans and critics alike. Old-timers say that Bell’s family was outraged by the publication. I heard one story about a woman who, after reading the book, exclaimed, “it’s a big pack of lies!” and tossed it into her fireplace. I have also heard that some people tried to purchase every copy they could, just to keep it off bookstore shelves. Why? The Ingram book was not the subject of such outrage, so why would this book be – it is basically the same thing, only better written. I suspect that the “conferences,” which were not discussed in Ingram’s book, had something to do with it.
Bottom line, although mostly a rehash of the Ingram book, “The Bell Witch – A Mysterious Spirit” is a fascinating read. And like the Ingram book, it contains no research footnotes or endnotes and contains its share of historical errors. I find it hard to decipher the author’s true intent regarding the overemphasis of John Bell’s good reputation and the introduction of “conferences” between John Bell, Jr. and “Kate.”
That's my opinion.
Pat Fitzhugh, Author / Historian
The Bell Witch Web Site
www.bellwitch.org