Andrew Jackson Encounters the Bell Witch

A multitude of articles and books have been written about the Bell Witch haunting. This legendary tale is one of America’s most enduring ghost folktales.

M.V. Ingram’s 1894 book Mysterious Spirit: The Bell Witch is an excellent source to read more about this story.

Bell Farmhouse

This legend involves John Bell and his family who experience a frightening haunting on their 1000-acre farm in the 1800s, located in Robertson County in northern middle Tennessee.

The most often told version states that a neighbor of the Bell family, Kate Batts * having been wronged in a land deal that involved John Bell swore as she died that she would return to haunt him.

It is said she did exactly this. Kate known as the “Bell Witch” tormented the family for years. John’s daughter Betsy was a favorite target.

Betsy Bell

This poor young woman was physically abused-- she was pinched, slapped and scratched. Her hair was pulled, and she was even beaten.

The witch eventually prevented her from marrying a neighbor named John Gardner.

In December of 1820, John Bell died. He had suffered a prolonged illness caused by poisoning, which the legend states the Bell Witch caused.

Betsy eventually married her former schoolteacher and settled in Mississippi.

* Mary Catherine “Kate” Batts was married and not a poor woman but since she used “the wrong words” when she spoke many in the county believed a rumor that she practiced “Black Magic” or other forms of the occult.

She did get involved in her brother’s dispute with John Bell, but it was not over the sale of land but the purchase of a slave.

She could not have threatened to get even with John Bell on her deathbed because she outlived him by 27 years--she died in 1847. Several of her descendants still live in Robertson County.

So this means the Bell Family was not haunted by Kate Batts.

If parts of this story are real, it was probably not a traditional haunting but a more evil entity that plagued the Bell family. One recent story states it was a poltergeist connected to Betsy.

A Hero

Andrew Jackson won fame as a Major General during the War of 1812. His victory at New Orleans made him the greatest military hero since George Washington.

He served as a territorial governor and then as a senator representing Tennessee from 1823-25.

He was elected the 7^th president of the United States in 1832. He died at his beloved cotton plantation--The Hermitage near Nashville in 1845.

Andrew Jackson hearing of the Bell Witch haunting like many others decided to travel to northern Tennessee to see for himself.

As he and his men neared the Bell farm legend states one of their wagons got stuck--but not in the mud. Instead, it appeared to be an unseen unfathomable force that caused it.

Jackson’s men then checked the wagon's wheels for damage-- there was none. They whipped the horses, but they refused to budge. The men then tried to push it, but this did not work either.

Jackson's stuck wagon

Frustrated, Jackson then exclaimed, “By the eternal boys, this is the witch.”

To which a disembodied female voice replied, “All right, General, let the wagon move on, I will see you tonight.”

The wagon then started of its own accord, and the party was able to continue their journey.

A Second Encounter

That night their tents pitched the men listened to a man who was a self-proclaimed “Witch layer” or “Witch Hunter.” He had with him a silver bullet.

He regaled the group with stories of how he had hunted and then shot other witches.

Andrew Jackson leaned in and whispered to one of his men, “I bet this fellow is an arrant coward. By the eternal, I do wish the thing would come, I want to see him run.”

Suddenly the gathering heard light footfalls prancing, at the same time the female voice from earlier announced, “Alright general, I am at hand and ready for business.”

The voice then demanded the Witch Hunter shoot but when he tried his gun did not fire.

The braggart was then struck by an unseen force, as he twisted around, he shouted that something was sticking painful pins into him. He then cried out that something had him by the nose.

All were silent as he was forced about then they watched as he ran from the tent.

The witch chimed in once more, “How the devil did run and beg. I bet he won’t come through here again with his old horse pistol to shoot me.”

The gathering then heard, “I guess that’s fun enough for tonight general, and you can go to bed now. I will come tomorrow night and show you another rascal in this crowd.”

It is said that after this Jackson was eager to stay but his men having enough insisted they move on. Jackson’s party then returned to Nashville.

Death Harbinger: Three Knocks

An old superstition states that when a person hears three knocks, it means someone has died.

In many paranormal tales when three knocks are heard at the door, and no one is there this means someone has died or is about to.

Since these knocks are usually heard before someone dies they are a classic omen or harbinger.

This belief is sometimes known as the “three knocks of doom.”

The Irish and the Scots both have traditions that state three knocks on a door or three taps on a window primarily when heard at regular intervals--lasting for two minutes--means death.

According to several Native American tribes when the thumping of a stick 3 times on the ground is heard or the beating of a drum 3 times is heard it means someone will die.

This superstition also pops up in Arab and Jewish traditions.

The Oriate and His Brothers

In Africa, the Yoruba religion of Orisha has a folktale where three knocks play an essential role.

In this tale, three brothers are destined to become Oriates or high priests in their religion, but they must work hard and perform many rituals first.

The two older brothers impatient do not follow this dictate.

Orisha Priest

They become jealous of their younger brother, who does the necessary work and becomes an Oriate before them. They become so incensed they murder him.

Later these two hear three knocks on their door.

Their dead younger brother walks in. One older brother dies of a heart attack immediately, and the other is put to death by the villagers because they now know he helped murder their beloved Oriate.

Paranormal Stories with Death Knocks

In America, people have told tales for years that involve three knocks and death.

Sometimes relatives pass down family “lore” that involves a grandparent who heard three mysterious knocks only to receive word afterward a beloved relative died--sometimes at exactly the time this sound was heard.

These knocks are described as out of the ordinary. Those who have heard them state they were very loud, or that when they were heard, they caused a feeling or sensation of fear or creepiness.

Most often these knocks or taps are heard on doors or windows. But other stories mention knocks on walls or even sounds that seem to come from inside the walls or from every corner of the room.

It is stated that the cause for these knocks is never found. For instance, if a door is opened, no one is there. These stories often occur in winter, and it is stated after the knocks are heard and the door is opened no footsteps are seen in the snow.

In an offshoot of this superstition some believe when three knocks are heard it means the devil or an evil spirit wants to come in.

An example of this would be the Bell Witch haunting in Adams, Tennessee.

At the onset of the activity, this family experienced strange knocks and taps within their home. They were always heard in a series of 3. This story ends with the family’s father John Bell, dying under mysterious circumstances.

Three knocks! Should I Be Scared? This article mentions that 3 knocks are not always a bad omen.