I happened to be flipping through channels one evening and came across a movie titled "The American Haunting" in the beginning of the credits "Based on a true story". Not one to watch horror flicks (don't care for the gore) I was interested in the idea the events may be true. The movie was not that great, but I became very interested in the Bell witch, and found this book.
The story begins present time when a manuscript is discovered that has never been open, the recipient turned it over to the Brent Monahan who converts the manuscript to book form. The manuscript is written by a school teacher who witnessed some of the events and later matter the daughter of John Bell. The story then begins in central Tennessee in 1811 John Bell has been taken in front of the church members by a citizen, Kate who tells him that his family will suffer.
John took no heed Kate's statements. The family begins to hear faint noises of tapping, rats chewing wood but are unable to locate the sources of the sounds. The noises begin to get more intense and soon his daughter Elizabeth is dragged from her bed and slapped, but no one there. The family believes somehow Kate is behind this strange happenings. The family begins to loose sleep and are unable to prove what is happening. The begin to open their home to close friends to assist in finding the source of what is going on, which they are unable to do.
As time goes on they begin to hear voices, and start calling this ghost "Kate's Witch". The witch begins to communicate with the members of the family and say she is there until John Bell dies, which will be very soon. The witch tends to disturb Elizabeth more then other members of the family. Many friends and outsiders come to home to uncover this mystery, but have no luck.
I was really into the beginning of the story, but then it begins to drag. It was not written for entertainment, but more of the events that took place in the home. Eventually the last few chapters become interesting and the storyteller uncovers the mystery of the bell witch that left me in total shock.
Very interesting, not a thriller or bestseller but worth the read. If you enjoy mystery and actual events then I recommend the read.
2 comments:
Yes, I second everything you said!
It's a fun read around Halloween, but not the best! The ending truley is errie!
The book did not uncover the mystery of the Bell Witch; far from it, in fact. This is one of the most un-serious books about the Bell Witch in print today.
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