In the early 1800s, the Bell farm in Adams, Tennessee became ground zero for one of America’s most famous hauntings. The family reported phantom knocks, strange animals on the property, disembodied voices that argued theology, and physical attacks focused on young Betsy Bell. Some said the entity called itself Kate, and that it hated John Bell enough to claim his death as its own work.
This episode of 50 States of Folklore walks through the Bell Witch case using first person accounts, neighbor testimony, and stories of a future president who was supposedly driven from the farm by the unseen force. Was it a clever hoax, a rare and violent case of poltergeist activity, or something older that used the Bell family’s troubles as an opening? Tennessee’s most enduring ghost still whispers across the fields, and the question of what really happened there refuses to stay buried.
