Haunebu Test Flight, 1939

1939 Haunebu Test Flight (Video)

Declassified video showing the 1939 Haunebu test flight, allegedly in Nazi Germany. The Nazis were developing saucer-shaped aircraft using spinning disc technology before WWII. American forces first encountered Nazi UFO aircraft in WWII, terming them "foo fighters." It was not until 1947 that the term "flying saucer" became a staple in American households, thanks to a sighting by Kenneth Arnold. 

The video appears to have been removed but may be avilable elsehwere.

© The Weirding, 2016

The Bell Witch and "Stonewall" Jackson

One of the things that confounds the average researcher of The Bell Witch of Tennessee is all the lore surrounding it, some of which is completely made-up. A good example is the story regarding The Bell Witch and President Andrew "Stonewall" Jackson.

As the story goes, Andrew Jackson visited the Bell family during the time of the Daemonic infestation to bear witness. Upon his arrival by carriage, the horses stopped without warning and refused to go any further despite all attempts to persuade them. This happened three times before Old Kate was said to have been heard, saying, "Alright, you may pass." In some versions of the story, The Bell Witch compliments Jackson on his persistence or any number of distinguishing traits; in others, she says he is destined for great things; and so on.

The truth is a bit more historical: Andrew Jackson got his nickname for a Civil War battle in which he lead forces defending a literal stone wall against which his enemies sent no fewer than three battalions (I do not know military numbers, so that may be incorrect) to topple, all of which failed. Jackson was even said to have pitied the men and admired their persistence.

Andrew Jackson went on to become the seventh President of the United States.
 
© The Weirding, 2015

Crude, Crass, and Historically Accurate: The Saga of the Bell Witch

Where I live is the armpit of the nation. That is assuming that you agree that Los Angeles is the asshole.

Decatur County, TN is run by corrupt, prejudiced, and thoroughly ignorant people. Pretty much everyone in or around it has been to jail and many of those have been somehow graduated to felons, even if their original crime was a simple matter of "jaywalking." It is mere miles from Johnson County, TN - the site of the happenings involved in what we might call The Strange Case of the Bell Witch (largely because I love HP Lovecraft and am drunk).

But this is not a case to be taken lightly. There are few, documented cases of True Elemental activity and, of them, the Bell Witch remains first and foremost. It is the most well-documented, the most acclaimed, and brings with it the most eyewitnesses.

I am going to personally testify on the case of the Bell Witch in a manner unprecedented to now:

Having lived in this region for the past three years, I have personally experienced things and collected stories that are certain to stun you as a reader. None are related to the paranormal, though all will certainly shed some light on what I am individually certain is a bonafide case of Elemental activity.

Did you know that God told The Black Man certain things which made him run, screaming madly, from The Garden of Eden into the Great Beyond, thus hitting branches and so forth along the way which flattened his nose, beat down his brow, and flattened his feet? Nor did I.

Did you know that a woman can mix her menstrual fluid in a jar of brown whiskey to create a love potion which will ensorcel a man forever? Me neither.

Somewhere between what I am going to tell you and what actually happened, you will (I hope) discover that the Saga of the Bell Witch is very, all too, real. But let us not mistake that I am no psychologist, I am no modern parapsychologist; I am simply a folklorist in search of what I have believed, since childhood, to be the truth behind a series of inexplicable events which gripped a young state in its infancy.

As attested to by dozens, if not hundreds, of eyewitnesses - many of whom have been personally verified, as to their existence, by myself at the time of the events reported.

The things I am going to tell you are, well? Basically racist. Largely jaw-dropping. And completely true.

Lest we forget, I am risking my freedom, safety, and sanity to bring these things to you. So, donations are accepted.

And discussion is warranted.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

The Many Faces of the Bell Witch

This is one of the accounts of the Bell Witch that is often overlooked or underplayed - even I had forgotten about this part of the tale until reading about it earlier:

Some time after the events began, the Bell Witch decided to claim that she was, in fact, Kate Batts' "witch," saying, "It was she, dancing around a pentagram, who conjured me here."

Shortly thereafter, The Spirit claimed to be four, seperate entities: Black Dog (after John Bell's first encounter with the Spirit - the black "dog" he shot at on his property), Cypocryphy, Jerusalem, and Mathematics.

Of these, Black Dog was the most heinous and violent and took charge of the other voices, but according to the school teacher, they were all one and the same. Even though they each were slightly different, they were all strongly feminine in quality.

Sometimes, all four voices would get into "drunken brawls" and alternate. Often, beyond the cacophony, could be heard the sound of pots and pans clanging and dogs barking.

All of this behavior is far beyond what is normally associated with poltergeist activity.

Historical Accuracy and the Bell Witch

I really want to bring you some of the accounts I am coming across as they are written. I mean, it's one thing to tell you the story, but direct quotes are always stronger.

The problem is that these events occurred back in the early 20^th-Century. Things were a lot different back then. And I don't say that to insult anyone's intelligence; I say that to make the point: things were very different back then. Nowadays, the way people talked, the way certain people were treated, the very issues-at-hand, are far from politically correct.

Now, this goes every which way. I mean, it isn't just about white people using "The N-Word." In fact, the very quotes I wanted to bring you are from black people using "The N-Word." But that isn't the extent of it; there is a lot of disparaging talk about Native Americans because these events occurred not long after Red River was settled. Red River has a long and violent history of Indian attacks, which are key to Tennessee's history, and to leave that portion of the story out is detrimental all the way around.

Even more, there are some religious issues as to denomination: John Bell was "excommunicated," or banished, from the local Baptist Church (even though many of the congregation - including the pastors - continued to associate with both him and the family) and began attending the local Methodist chapel. While the specific language involved isn't necessarily derogatory to either denomination, Southern Baptists are... well, it's hard for me to even discuss them without my blood rising. If you are a Southern Baptist who gets drunk and beats his children, you "have problems"; if you are of any other denomination and act the same way, you are "possessed by The Devil." But it isn't just that I worry that my personal issues and experiences with such people will tarnish my coverage, it is also that I would be forced to dredge-up a lot of religious history and personal experiences in order to put things in perspective.

So, I put it to you: how would you prefer I handle these things?

We rarely get comments here - in fact, we don't even get that many visitors, in general - so I don't want to offend anyone. On the other hand, I also don't wish to whitewash this historical event or bow down to self-appointed PC "peace officers."

The story of the Bell Witch really is one of the best-supported cases of an entity infestation in American history. And since I am mere hours from the site where it happened and have access to a host of important information concerning the events, people, places, and history surrounding it, I feel it incumbent upon myself to bring you what I can. But I want to do so the right way: not "tone it down" or modernize it - nor do I wish to sensationalize it.

Of course, I am truly not looking to offend anyone. So I'm a little confused as to where I should go from here.

A Hymn from the Bell Witch

As I mentioned, one of the recurring phenomena reported in conjunction with the Bell Witch was its recitation of hymns, songs, and prayers with which no one who heard them was familiar. It is said the entity sang in the sweetest voice - a voice which would bring listeners to tears, in fact - and the selections (“all agreed,” according to Charles Bailey Bell) were of the finest quality.

This is one such hymn the Bell descendant reported and attributed to the Spirit:

Come, my heart, and let us try
For a little season
Every burden to lay by
Come and let us reason

What is this that casts you down?
Who are those that grieve you?
Speak and let the worst be known.
Speaking may relieve you.

Christ by faith I sometimes see
And he doth relieve me,
But my fears return again,
These are they that grieve me.

Troubled like the restless sea,
Feeble, faint, and fearful,
Plagued with every sore disease,
How can I be cheerful?

The Bell Witch: A Revised Introduction

I found yet another book on the Bell Witch the other day - the one on which the movie, American Haunting, was based - and in the introduction, the author notes that while many authors refer to the case as being “world-famous,” it is not as well-known outside the area as those writers claimed. This had never really occurred to me, since the concepts involved have been drawn upon by just about every pop-culture poltergeist-based work I can think of.

Poltergeist used the whole Indian burial ground concept; King Diamond (who is not even American) has made at least 3-4 albums based on the case; parts of the account can be found throughout several books on American history (usually in relation to Andrew Jackson’s encounter); and so on. But this doesn’t make the case “world famous.” Of course, being born and raised in Tennessee, I have always heard of the case and, as the author said, a lot of writers who have covered the events have said it was world famous, so I guess it was somewhere between an assumption and misinformation that led me to simply accept this was the case.

Being better-informed now, I suppose I need to go back and restate the general story so that everyone has some idea why this whole thing is so important. I also realize that a cursory history of Tennessee is in order for you to get a good understanding of all the concepts involved - particularly the Indians, Red River, and so forth.

Of course, whether world-famous or not, the case has gotten ample coverage by many better writers and researchers, but the facts remain that many of them either distorted accounts or downplayed them for various reasons; some people fictionalized certain facets of the story in order to sensationalize them, while others tried desperately to “explain-away” the phenomena so as to remain “trustworthy.”

My intentions are to get as much of the story correct as I can, working from the various sources on the topic itself, along with the myriad local history resources I have at my disposal, being in the area. This is especially important in this time and age, as so many people became interested in Genealogy recently, so a lot of other “independent researchers” have done much of the important work for me.

Suffice it to say, the Bells, the Gardners, Adams, TN, the Red River, and many of the other facts involved can be readily verified. And regardless of what parts of the story have been sensationalized or fictionalized, a thorough reading of the available materials is going to give me a very good idea as to what exactly happened. But I’m not fooling myself; between the Bells’ and neighbors’ reluctance to discuss the subject, the many years that have passed since it happened, and the facts having become occluded by their passing into folklore and campfire stories, we will never know exactly what happened in those terrible years.

But being so close to the location of this historical, and truly Supernatural, event, I would be remiss not to take advantage of this opportunity to delve into one of the most celebrated hauntings of all time.

What Is/Was the Bell Witch?

Much has been made of what, exactly, the Bell Witch was. Obviously, many of the contemporaries thought her to be a witch, but this wasn’t long after the whole witch-burning thing that swept through the Western world, so that is understandable. With advances in parapsychology, it has often been referred to as a poltergeist, or “noisy spirit,” but this is not accurate, either. There have been several poltergeists recorded over the years and they do not possess the powers the Bell Witch did - or, if they do, they never show them.

I have said before that the Bell Witch was/is an Elemental and have gone to some lengths to explain what, exactly, an Elemental is. In case you don’t feel like doing the reading, an Elemental has never lived in the way we know it; it has never been human and has never experienced life or death the way we know these things.

Even many of the contemporaries dismissed the witch theory and considered it to be a “spirit from Hell” or “Greater Spirit.” The family itself referred to the Bell Witch as the “Spirit.”

And while reports conflict (at least one claims the Spirit identified itself as an Indian, while the name “Kate” came from an incident in which the Spirit claimed it was the spirit of a woman with whom John Bell had been involved in a court dispute over land [and won]), this particular quote comes from Charles Bailey Bell’s The Bell Witch of Tennessee, when the witch was speaking to James Johnston:

“I am a spirit from everywhere, Heaven, Hell, the Earth; am in the air, in houses, any place at any time; have been created millions of years; that is all I will tell you, Mr. Johnston.”

Bell Witch Agenda

I hate that this whole town rolls up by noon on Wednesdays! I will likely be up, but I’m not rushing right down there to get in a whole hour or two before noon - I won't really be up and going until about 10:30 or 11:00, anyway. It’s going to be hot and supposed to be storming and even though I got the car going, the battery is basically on its last leg. It may take a charge if I can get someone with a battery charger to hook it up, but since I don’t have one, I’m at the mercy of God’s good graces as far as transportation goes right now and I’m not going to risk getting stuck in the middle of a 90° thunderstorm without so much as a radio or hazard lights!

But I did come across a few other Tennessee ghost tales today that I will share with you tomorrow, as well as Ghost Hunters and Destination Truth. Can’t believe those two shows have both reached their season finales already!

Still, there’s plenty to come, there will just be a short break in the Bell Witch Project. I’m turning in for the night, though.

Bell Witch Project - Day 1

Today was the first day I really got into the research I said I was going to do. I spent most of the day at the library and was pleasantly shocked at just how effective my slipshod efforts were.

For one thing, I have no specific route or methodology to my research - never have had and likely never will - for this or any other project. I found two books on the subject, including the main one I had been looking for (written by a descendant of the family) so I sat down and started reading it.

A little ways through, I decided to check out some of the other books on Tennessee history, just to see how many of them included an account. Like I thought, not too many; of those that do, it is nearly always little more than a quick overview, along with one of those good-ol’ Southern Baptist, “This here’s a campfire tale the ol’ cowpokes used ta swap when they was partakin’ o’ the Devil’s liquor,” admonitions. But I did come across two more books on the subject that were out of order and not in the computer, so there’s that much.

What I did find today was an official 1830 Census of Robertson County. I verified Lucy Bell, several John Bells (the eldest was dead by this time), two Gunns (one of which is certain to be the minister), and not one, but two Joshua Gardners!

The legends beneath them are cryptic and even though a key exists at the front of the book, it is not easy to follow. I didn’t get that far into it today and I’m not really sure if this will actually aid me at all in my research anyway; after all, no one disputes that the Bells lived where they did at the time this phenomena is said to have occurred.

Introduction to The Strange Case of the Bell Witch

One of the things about living in Tennessee - one of the only things - is that I have access to all sorts of historical resources you aren’t likely to find in any other state. Amongst these are actual accounts of the “Bell Witch,” whom many called “Kate,” but the Bell family insisted on referring to simply as The Spirit. The family resented the use of their family name in conjunction with the Spirit, who terrorized all but two of the family: the mother and John Bell, Jr. The former for her piety; the latter for his intelligence and courage.

For some reason, the witch took particular glee in tormenting John Bell, the father and eldest of the household. She even said she would kill him and eventually, she did exactly that.

Of course, the problem with this classic tale of the paranormal - much as with all the others - is that many of the historical books in which an account appears (for it is one of the most sensational tales in the state’s history, and the world, in fact) take a dim view of it and include only for completeness. One historian in particular, a Hugh Walker, makes a brief, two-page mention of it in his book, Tennessee Tales, and states, “Perhaps the tale more properly belongs in the category of folklore.”

Someone should have taken Mr. Walker aside and explained to him that the case of the Bell Witch is possibly the most well-documented and best authenticated of all hauntings, and its “performances,” as many in the Bell family refer to them, were witnessed by many prominent Americans and Englishmen (the Bells were originally from England).

Over the next several months, before I move (as I still intend to do), I will delve very, very deeply into the history of this phenomenon. I live only a few hours away from Johnson County and can visit the very land and caves on which the events took place (the structures have long since been torn down), but I am more concerned with visiting the libraries there and peering into their microfilms. Of course, I don’t know that I will be able to do that, so I may have to be content with doing what research I can do from where I am.

I found out today that the microfiche here goes back to at least 1893, which is many years after these events occurred, but the Tennessee resources room is chockful of historical data which, as I noted, usually contains at least a mention of the events.