An American Haunting: The Bell Witch (Paperback)

by Brent Monahan (Author)
Key Phrases: Red River, Old Kate, John Bell (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"America's greatest ghost story." -Dennis William Hauck, Haunted Places

"Too compelling to put down." -Fangoria

Product Description

Known throughout Tennessee as "Old Kate," the Bell Witch took up residence with John Bell's family in 1818. It was a cruel and noisy spirit, given to rapping and gnawing sounds before it found its voices.

With these voices and its supernatural acts, the Bell Witch tormented the Bell family. This extraordinary book recounts the only documented case in U.S. history when a spirit actually caused a man's death.

The local schoolteacher, Richard Powell, witnessed the strange events and recorded them for his daughter. His astonishing manuscript fell into the hands of novelist Brent Monahan, who has prepared the book for publication. Members of the Bell family have previously provided information on this fascinating case, but this book recounts the tale with novelistic vigor and verve. It is truly chilling.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 2nd edition (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312363532
• ISBN-13: 978-0312363536
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #144,875 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome true story, April 15, 2008

By	J. C. Mayor "bigtimereader" (Monroe, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I grew up near the Bell Witch area and was quite familiar with the story; when I learned that an authenticated account previously unpublished was available, of course I got it. This account tallies with the hundreds of eye-witness events, and has a stunning ending.

Remember that this book was written in the early 1800's and will have the style of the day; also, the writer was not writing a fictional account for amusement--he was writing FACT. To my mind, it's an excellent read, and fascinating because, frankly, if it's not true, then literally hundreds of people were wrong. A must read for all students of the unknown!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Deftly Written and Compelling, November 24, 2008

By	JordanJasper - See all my reviews

I am a bit surprised that there are no more than three reviews for the paperback version of this book, thus far--I do believe it emerged in tandem with the rather lackluster screen adaptation starring Sutherland and Spacek. Thus, I would have imagined that this printing of the book would have prompted more response from Amazon customers. However, since the movie was really bad, it may be that viewers were not motivated to seek out the book upon which the film was based.

If so, that's a shame, because the book itself is actually one of the more compelling and well-written ghost stories in recent years. It is not scary in an overtly superficial way. Rather, it is a deliciously disturbing novelization of the famous "Bell Witch" incident and that strain of American folklore attached to the so-called haunting. Here, the story is told from the perspective of the local schoolteacher, who carries a torch for young Elizabeth "Betsy" Bell (object of the invading spirit's wrath). The novelization of a tenuously "true" story is fraught with difficulties in principle, but the reader wouldn't know it, from this rendition. Monahan truly manages to conjure a gripping account told from the first-person standpoint of the narrator, almost (but not quite) in a journalistic sense. It reads like an "olde worlde" investigative piece, which makes for a page-turner and holds the interest with admirable ease. The result is gripping material in the best sense. Monahan's narrator paints a very vivid picture of a mysterious and complex supernatural entity that afflicts the household of John and Lucy Bell and their family, as well as their entire community of Red River. "Old Kate's Witch" (as the offending spirit is called) comes alive with significant literary verve due to the author's careful, convincing style and craftsmanship of just the right words and atmospheres needed to delineate a tale like this. The Bell Witch herself is the star of the book--part ingratiating imp, part malevolent demon. The dialogues carried on between the spirit and the other characters are spine-tinglingly realistic at times. The whole effort basically "rings true" because of the author's method. The story has a definite aura of veracity, here, and for this reason it is highly recommended to all fans of well-written horror or ghost-story material, or even to fans of 19th century Americana, Southern Gothic tales. Quite smart and sharp...just like the mercurial "Bell Witch" herself/itself.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Scary, but very interesting to read, October 20, 2008

By	Ravenskya "Princess of Horror" - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I have only done minimal research on the Bell Witch or "Old Kate" so I really cannot vouch for the accuracy of this novel. True the introduction implies that this book is from a long lost document, a first hand account written by Richard Powell, for those of you who are familiar with the tale of the Bell Witch, Richard Powell was the school master who eventually married Betsy Bell. Betsy was the Bell Daughter who was most violently attacked by the witch.

Though many of the accounts in this book mirror those that have been documented, there appears to be some creative license taken. So go into this book viewing as an interesting story BASED on events that may have happened. Some of the events that have not been verified but that occur in this book are the presence of Andrew Jackson and the rather questionable ending. Still this was a very interesting read, and I'm glad I finally sat down and committed to it. I have not seen the movie made from this book, but have been told it is a descent film.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Bell witch tale, it takes place in Tennessee during the settlements. The Bell family found themselves in a financial dispute with Kate Batts, an eccentric neighbor who then proceeded to curse them in public. Soon after the curse, strange events began happening, first starting with noises then as the supernatural occurrence gained strength it began attacking Betsy Bell, the youngest of the daughters. As the poltergeist activity heightened, the towns people were brought in, many who witnessed events and even spoke with the "witch" which they referred to as "Old Kate" after the woman who they assumed had conjured the demon. The ghost or witch could at times be friendly and helpful and at other times deceitful and dangerous.

The idea of using the teacher as the voice was a good choice because he was not a part of the family, so he was not privy to all of the ghost's deeds, but since both his home and the schoolhouse were on the Bell's property, he was present for much of the drama, and witnessed many of the events. Add into this the fact that although she was much younger than he - he was in love with Betsy Bell. This gave him a level of concern beyond that of curious neighbor.

The voice of the book felt genuine, and as a reader, you do feel genuine concern for those involved. And at times you can't help but be enamored by Old Kate with her devilish attitudes and whimsical nature. I felt this was actually a more well written novel than "Amityville Horror" which was also supposed to be a "true" account of a haunting. This one was a far more enjoyable read and was extremely interesting. Though I'm not a believer or dis-believer in the Bell Witch or any other supernatural phenomenon, I would not hold this book up as accurate. Entertaining - yes, enlightening - no. Either way, it was fun to read.