The Bell Witch : The Full Account [Paperback]

Pat Fitzhugh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

From the image of a lifeless body hanging from a tree to the relentless torture of a rural Tennessee family, all-powerful Kate was the personification of evil. She tortured children, sang hymns, cursed like a sailor, and predicted the future. Kate's missions were to break off Elizabeth Bell's engagement and kill her father, John Bell. She accomplished both. Even today, almost 200 years later, people still report mysterious happenings in the area. After more than two decades of exhaustive research, Bell Witch researcher Pat Fitzhugh for the first time shares everything. This 406-page literary work includes not only the epic tale of terror, but pictures of the area, footnotes that document the author's sources, thought-provoking discussion notes, appendices, an index, and detailed biographical sketches of those who figured into the legend. Pleasant dreams.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...sheds new light on one of the oldest and most popular pieces of American folklore...Well-researched, authoritative, and compelling." -- Southern Legends and Folklore Review

"Mr. Fitzhugh doesn't resort to hocus-pocus or speculation, but relates the facts much as a criminal investigator would view a current crime.

"If you are a fan of history, lover of a good mystery, or interested in supernatural phenomena, The Bell Witch: The Full Account will provide an insightful and interesting read." -- The Memphis Pages, February 2001

From the Publisher

After more than two decades of exhaustive research, author Pat Fitzhugh for the first time shares everything - the legend of the Bell Witch, the history of the Bell family and Robertson County, common myths about the legend, biographies of those who figured prominently into the legend, and discussions about how he reaching his own conclusion about the origin and purpose of this maligned entity known as the “Bell Witch.” Backed by detailed footnotes, thought-provoking endnotes, and illustrative charts, Fitzhugh presents not only the legend, but also his findings of historical fact in this 406-page literary work.

From cover to cover, readers will delve into the terrifying occurrences that tormented the John Bell family and altered their lives forever as author Pat Fitzhugh brings this epic tale of terror on the early-American frontier to life in the most comprehensive account written to date.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 406 pages
• Publisher: Armand Press (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097051560X
• ISBN-13: 978-0970515605
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,382,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born and raised in Tennessee, Pat Fitzhugh developed an appreciation for Southern folklore and ghost stories at an early age. As a child, his favorite story was the legend of the so-called "Bell Witch," which he began seriously researching a few years later.

Fitzhugh's extensive research of the mystery culminated in "The Bell Witch: The Full Account," a 406-page literary work that introduced to the world many previously unpublished facts surrounding the case. Filled with historical footnotes and endnotes, Fitzhugh's well-documented analysis has become an essential tool for those seriously interested in researching the case. Revised editions were published in 2003 and 2009, and a fully reworked version of the book is due out in 2010.

As a student of Southern ghostlore, Fitzhugh is also the author of "Ghostly Cries From Dixie," a collection of ghost stories from the American South. The book covers stories such as Waverly Hills TB Sanatorium, The Curse of Lorenzo Dow, The Greenbrier Ghost, The Bell Witch, Voodoo on the Bayou, The Spirits of Sloss Furnaces, and many more classics, all researched by Fitzhugh and written in his own words.

Fitzhugh was also a contributing author for "Weird U.S.," published by Barnes and Noble Press, and he has written numerous newspaper and magazine articles.

Fitzhugh enjoys spending time with his family, playing guitar, going on roadtrips, photography, and fishing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything You Wanted to Know About the Bell Witch, April 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bell Witch : The Full Account (Paperback)

"The Bell Witch-The Full Account" lives up to its name in that the author, Pat Fitzhugh, tells not only the classic folktale of Tennessee's infamous "Bell Witch," but provides the reader with in-depth and well-researched information about the people who were involved, their lifestyles, and religious convictions. The book doesn't stop there either.

Fitzhugh provides a detailed "then and now" discussion of the area where the story took place, including its Native American roots and how the area as a whole has evolved over the years. In the latter part of "The Bell Witch-The Full Account," Fitzhugh gives a detailed and well-documented discussion about many previously published material concerning the story, as well as numerous accounts of fairly recent paranormal phenomena in the area.

Rounding out the book is a superb and informative collection of appendices dealing with everything from true-life biographies of the story's characters to detailed and organized discussions of Fitzhugh's paranormal and religious beliefs, which ultimately formulates his opinion about what the Bell Witch really was.

The only negative aspect I found about this book was that a small number of the pictures appear to be light and somewhat hard, but not impossible, to discern. But, the fact that this book contains real pictures that the author/researcher took himself easily makes up for the few pictures which came out fuzzy.

Nothing more substantive has been written about the Bell Witch, and based on the heavy research of extant records and other data, I doubt anything more substantive will ever be written about the Bell Witch.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Source of Information and Good Reading, January 28, 2001

By 

Paul Nix (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bell Witch : The Full Account (Paperback)

My wife and I have been students of the paranormal for almost 10 years and have found Bell Witch in Tennessee to be one of most authentic hauntings we have found and investigated. We visited the Bell Witch cave back in 1999 to see what it was all about, and that just made us want to learn even more. We read many books on the Bell Witch.

We got "The Bell Witch Full Account" for Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed it. The author does a superb job of joining together historical fact, folklore, religion, and the supernatural to provide a frightening and thought provoking read.

The book contains all of the old and familiar stories that have appeared in other books and been passed down through generations, but Pat Fitzhugh has taken the time and effort to retell them in such a way that the characters seem authentic in this long overdue retelling of the older accounts. He completes the book with accounts all the way up to this last year and in amazing detail. The book is well written and presented in a clear and easy to read format.

We found Fitzhugh's clever weaving of fact and fiction to be the book's strongest point. He separates fact from fiction in the form of footnotes citing his sources of information in meticulous detail all throughout the book, even down to the exact page numbers and publication dates of the sources. He also suggests several possible reasons behind the haunting and discusses them in detail including topics that have been associated with the story for years but not adequately covered in the past. "The Bell Witch Full Account" is also very well indexed and contains 3 pages of detailed endnotes with further discussion and sources of information.

The story (fiction) part of the book is clear and easy to understand. Our favorite story was the one about one of the slaves being turned into a mule. Fitzhugh did an excellent job of putting us right in the middle of the action and compelling us to read his book up until the wee hours of the morning. We had trouble sleeping even after putting the book down!!

We don't fully agree with Fitzhugh's views on religion and spirituality but respect his right to an opinion. We admire his willingness and ability to share and discuss his spiritual views in detail.

This is a great book about a great haunting, and we highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the paranormal or the story of the Bell Witch. Thumbs up!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Well-Written, March 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bell Witch : The Full Account (Paperback)

I have heard the legend of the Bell Witch all my life and collected over twenty books and articles about it. I found The Full Account to be the best written and best documented of all.

I was pleasantly suprised by Fitzhugh's footnoting his sources and providing interesting and relevant discussions in the final chapters of the book. The story part of the book is also well-written and made me feel like I was right there in the room with the family as they discussed the haunting.

This book covers both the old and new stories of the Bell Witch, and covers much ground that the others don't. This is a thumbs-up read and a necessary addition to anyone's collection of books on the paranormal.