In the early 1800s, John Bell
moved his family from North
Carolina to the Red River
bottomland in Robertson County,
Tennessee, settling in a community
that later became known as
Adams. One day in 1817, John
Bell was inspecting his cornfield
when he encountered a strange-looking
animal sitting in the middle
of a cornrow. Shocked by the
appearance of this animal,
which had the body of a dog
and the head of a rabbit,
Bell shot several times to
no avail. The animal vanished.
Bell thought nothing more
about the incident--at least
not until after dinner. That
evening, the Bells began hearing
"beating" sounds
on the outside walls of their
house.
These
mysterious sounds continued
with increased force each
night. As time went on, the
Bells began to hear more strange
noises. Only this time, they
sounded like faint, whispering
voices--too weak to understand--but
sounded like a feeble old
woman crying or singing hymns.
The encounters escalated,
and the Bells' youngest daughter,
Betsy, began experiencing
physically brutal encounters
with the entity. Eventually
the wrath of the poltergeist
settled on John Bell and the
"witch" severely
physically assaulted him for
two years.
