Between the years of 1817 and 1821, the Bell Family was
terrorized by some sort of entity, mostly said to be a woman, who became known
as the Bell Witch or, more personally, "Kate." She is said to have
perturbed and tortured John Bell (the father of the family and victim of a
nervous system disorder) so much that it lead to his inevitable death. He was
unable to sleep or recuperate and the ghost's antics worsened his condition. It
is also said that a vile with a strange black liquid was found at John Bell's
deathbed and that Kate herself claimed she gave it to him. Supposedly, in order
to test the liquids validity, a drop was placed on the family cat's tongue and
it immediately killed the animal. Though the haunting of the Bell Farm has been
sensationalized many times over, it is still inarguable that something happened
there during those three years. A family and a community were terrorized by an
entity of some kind, and residents still believe Kate is up to no good.
Most recently the events at this small Tennessee farm were dramatized in the 2005 movie An American Haunting.