Martin Ingram’s An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch

When I start researching a new topic, I usually look for the book that has had the biggest effect on the public’s opinion of that topic rather than the book that contains the most accurate information. Books like Michelle Remembers, The Mothman Prophecies, Helter Skelter, Communion, and Behold A Pale Horse, are almost worthless as descriptions of reality, but if you’re interested in the Satanic Panic, cryptozoology, the Manson Family, alien abductions or conspiracy theories, you have to read these books. I do this with books about hauntings too. Neither Harry Price’s book on the Borley Rectory and Jay Anson’s book about Amityville are considered accurate or truthful, but in many ways, these are the definitive books on the topic. I have been coming across references to the Bell Witch for many years, but it was only a few months ago that I decided to take a closer look at the topic. A few minutes research pointed to Ingram’s Authenticated History of the Bell Witch. as the source of most of the lore surrounding the Bell Witch Case. I started reading it in January, but I’ve been so busy with work and school that it took me 3 months to get through it. This is a nightmare of a book.

So the Bell Witch is more of a ghost than a witch. It’s sometimes referred to as a goblin. The spirit showed up in the house of the Bell family in 1817, and terrorized (some of) them until the father died in 1821. It’d pull off their blankets and say mean things to them. It was quite nice to the mother of the house, reciting poetry and bringing her treats when she was sick. Some local people suspected it was the spirit of another local woman named Kate Batts. Kate was a bit of a weirdo, and people seemed happy to blame her for their misfortunes. She probably just had autism or something. The Bell family did not think it was her. Some of them thought it may have been the spirit of a Native American. One of the Bell family members supposedly kept a diary of these events, and it ended up in Ingram’s hands with the stipulation that he wouldn’t publish it until everyone in the family who had been directly affected by the spirit had died.

While this book is where most of the tales of the Bell Witch come from, it’s suspected that Ingram wrote some, most or all of the book. He did so in a horrible manner too. You would be far better off reading the wikipedia page than wasting your time on this awful, awful piece of writing. The author seems to think that readers will believe these ludicrous stories if he heaps enough praise on the characters involved.

Never, in all the land, was as devout a Christian as Master Chubbs found, and even today you’ll see a twinkle in the eyes of the older residents of Roberston County who still remember this jovial and most generous man whose handsome appearance and gentle hands gave relief and solace to all who beheld them. It was on his 22nd birthday that the young master had the pleasure of encountering the most perfect and exquisite lady Bell, but their most pleasant encounter was ruined when Old Kate appeared and shoved a pin up his supple and tender anus…

Honestly, every single character gets this kind of treatment. It’s truly excruciating.

Even worse is the books depiction of black people. This was written in Tennessee the 19th century. There are entire chapters written in… I don’t even know what you’d call it… slave-speak?

I find it very difficult to read stuff like this without saying it out loud, and as I read most of this book in a community center, I wasn’t able to do so. An author’s racism generally won’t stop me from reading their books, but in this case, it literally made the book difficult to read. It was so unnecessary too. It seems like the “Negro Stories” chapter was included for comic relief. While the witch mainly just teases white people, she actually turns a black person in a donkey.

Ingram’s book is the source material for much of the legend of the Bell Witch, but there has to be better written books on the topic. I think at this point, this book has become more regarded as an interesting early study and source of folklore than as an accurate account of anything. Personally, I have no further interest in this topic. Ingram has ruined it on me. It’s clearly all a load of bullshit.