Ghost
Forget everything you knew about the Bell Witch Haunting
Things you did know about the Bell Witch Haunting may not be accurate. In Adams, Tennessee, in 1817, the family of John Bell began to experience strange manifestations on his 320-acre farm in northern Robertson County.
The claim occurrences started with the family listening to unknown noises, his children being beaten while sleeping, until they began to listen later to an old woman’s voice, singing, quoting scripture, and occasionally talking to the family, physical aggression, and a possible murder.
The Bell Witch Haunting
North Carolina farmer John Bell settled in Tennessee with his family in 1804, where they had a peaceful and prosperous life for 13 years.
In that late summer of 1817, everything changed for the Red River Baptist Church’s deacon and his family. They began to witness some strange shape animals around their land that lay along the Red River.
Then they hear knocking sounds around the house in late night hours. A strange eerie sound, like a rat gnawing on the bedpost, chains being drug through the house, stones being dropped on the wooden floors, then gulping and choking sounds.
“It would take the sugar from the bowls, spill the milk, take the quilts from the beds, slap and pinch the children, and then laugh at the discomfort of its victims” from the Goodspeed Brothers’ book “History of Tennessee” 1886.
Living in fear
For almost a year, the family lived in fear, terrified of what was happening, but told no one about the incidents at their farm.
But with the incidents escalating to his kids being beaten while sleeping in their beds, John Bell shared with his neighbor, James Johnson, inviting Mr. and Mrs. Johnson to spend the night and witness it alone.
The couple witnessed the events for several nights. Without the possibility of finding a solution to help or comfort his neighbor, James Johnson suggested forming a committee to investigate the incidents.
The word spread fast, and soon people were coming from all over the county and the state in disbelief to witness the poltergeist events that tormented the Bell’s property.
With more people, the unseen forces behind the event started gaining enough strength to manifest themselves with a voice.
When inquired what it was, it identified itself with different names, and one of these names belonged to an old Bell’s neighbor.
Who was the allegedly Bell Witch?
It was believed that the voice owner could be the Bell’s deceased neighbor, Kate Batts, who used to torment John Bell while in life and hated him.
Her afterlife missions were to kill John Bell, destroy the Bell’s youngest daughter Betsy’s engagement to Joshua Gardner, and put a curse on the Bell family. She never gave a reason for this mission.
For three years, Kate the Bell’s Witch tormented the family daily with poltergeist events and physical infringements. John and Betsy were her favorite targets.
But Betsy Bell received the most physical abuses, hair pulled, pinched, bloody scratches, stuck with pins to even be beaten.
Her father felt his throat swelling and, in other cases, as if a stick stuck his throat, also the start present signs of strokes; with his face twitching and jerking, the voice of the Bell Witch could be heard blasting him with curses and hideous threats during this strokes.
If from natural causes, for the stream stress involved during the years, or from the curse of the Bell Witch, John Bell became very weak.
The Bell Witch Mission Accomplished
After seven years of torments in the Bell’s Farm, on December 20, 1820, John Bell was found dead, and a vial of poison was located close to his body.
According to witnesses, the Bell Witch laughed throughout John Bell’s funeral.
Three months later, on March 1821, it was Betsy’s turn. The Bells’ youngest daughter broke off her engagement with Joshua Gardner.
The Bell Witch Returns
After this event, the Bell Witch promised to return in seven years, and for a few weeks in 1828, she visited the house of John Bell Jr.
The Witch then talks with him about the past and present, making predictions.
Even saying that had a reason for his father’s death, the Witch’s voice did not explain why.
At the end of this visit, the Bell Witch promised to return in 1935, approximately one hundred and seven years later.
It is believed that she did not leave the area; strange things continue to occur in the town of Adams and the Bell Witch Cave over thru years.
Most of the information above is based on the book from 1894, “An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch” by Martin Van Buren Ingram.
Now let’s look at some proven facts
The facts about the Bell Witch Haunting
Allegedly the blame for what happened in those three years at Bell’s Farm is the ghost of Kate Batts.
But how that can be possible if Kate Bates outlived John Bell Sr. by twenty-seven years, dying in 1847?
Who was Kate Batts?
Was Kate Batts a witch? It is hard to prove, but it said she was eccentric.
Also, know one of her Grandmothers was a Cherokee, and from her, she learned how to use herbs to heal people.
Data from the local courthouse show that possible the two families knew each other.
Cursed Family
Did the Bell Witch kill John Bell Sr. by poison?
It is a possibility, but also Mr. Bell presented clear signs of stress, and some believed he took his own life to stop the haunting and suffering of his family.
Betsy Bell suffered as much as her father from 12 to 16 years old, lived 82 years old, outlived 7 of her nine children, and never slept by herself, always having one of her grandchildren sleeping with her.
It is believed to this day by family members that the curse continues to each firstborn male from each generation, and strange fatal accidents or deaths occurred to validate it, according to witnesses.
A possible reason for the Bell Witch Curse
The evidence points out that the area the Bell family occupied in 1804 was a Native American burial ground.
The story tells that two of Bell Sr.’s sons while digging on the farm, found a skull; they were fascinated with it and took the jaw from the head and took it home.
When John Bell found out, he ordered the boys to return it to the same place. Like any kids, they did not like the idea, and one threw the jawbone on the porch floor, breaking some of the teeth in it.
The father made them collect it and bury it back.
Later in one of the hauntings, the unbodied voice mentioned that they wanted the tooth back. John Bell Sr., with the help of others from the community, tried to find them on the farm ground the tooth without success.
Being related to native Americans is Kate Batts. The one who placed the curse on them, or was her name wrongly dragged into the story for the same reason?
Bell Witch on the media
There have been several movies based on the story, and as with any movie, the facts are distorted, and not much of the real story is left.
These are the cases of The Blair Witch Project in 1999, Bell Witch Haunting in 2004, An American Haunting in 2005, Bell Witch: The Movie in 2007, and most recently, The Bell Witch Haunting in 2013.
The paranormal reality TV shows also dive into the legends time-to-time, including an episode of Ghost Adventures filmed at the Bell Witch Cave.
But who has possibly got very close to the truth was “Cursed: The Bell Witch” in 2005, a five episodes miniseries based on one of the latest members of the Bell family trying to end the curse.
Do you have any evidence or information we did not mention here? We would love to hear from you.
Debunk
The Philip Experiment – The Strange Story Behind the Movie The Quiet Ones
After watching the movie “The Quiet Ones“, on Netflix with my wife, the question came to mind, “is the movie really based on a real experiment, The Philip Experiment?”
A quick research left us with more question than answers.
“The Quiet Ones” is supposedly a film based on the events of the Toronto Society for Psychical Research in the 1970s, where parapsychologists tried to create a ghost to prove they are products of the human mind.
But that’s not what the movie presented.
What is the Movie “The Quiet Ones” About?
According to of the official website, the movie is inspired by true events.
The film stars Jared Harris (Mad Men and Sherlock Homes: A Game of Shadows), Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel).
John Pogue directed and wrote the screenplay with Craig Rosenberg and Oren Moverman and was based on a screenplay by Tom de Ville.
An Oxford Professor Joseph Coupland along with a team of university students conducted an “experiment” on Jane Harper, a young girl who harbors unspeakable secrets.
He invites introspective lad Brian McNeil to film his experimental treatment.
Jane has no memory of her past and she is repeatedly abandoned by foster families, she believes herself possessed by a doll named Evey that gives her telekinetic power.
Keeping her awake in an isolated house, Prof. Coupland intends that she puts her evil energy into an actual doll, thereafter destroying it to heal Jane.
What dark forces they uncover are even terrifying than any of them expected.
Good but was this the story from so called The Philip Experiment?
Watch The Quiet Ones Official Trailer
What is The Philip Experiment?
Dr. Alan George Robert Owen, a self-proclaimed ghost expert, created the Toronto Society for Psychical Research (TSPR) group.
The group consisted of his wife, an industrial designer, an accountant, a housewife, a student of sociology.
A psychologist named Dr. Joel Whitton also participated as an observer.
The Canadian parapsychologist group aimed for an experiment that would create a ghost. They wanted to prove their theory that ghosts are products from the human mind.
Phase 1: Create Philip
The experiments (which became known as The Philip Experiment) began in 1972.
The first objective was to create a fictional historical character.
They created “facts” to relate to the life of this character.
They wrote a biography and called him Philip Aylesford.
In his biography, they claimed that he was a seventeenth-century English nobleman, who was married to a beautiful but cold and hostile woman by the named Dorothea.
Philip then met beautiful gypsy by the named Margo, who made him fall instantly in love. Soon Philip and Margo became secret lovers.
Dorothea found out about Margo and accused her of witchcraft. As a result, Margo was burned alive.
Philip plagued with remorse, in the only way he could handle it was to fight in the battle of Diddington, where he died on the battlefield.
Phase 2: Communicate with Philip
With the help from a biography sketch artist that executed freehand drawing of their newly created man, the group move on to the next phase, communication.
The objective that, with Philip’s portrait, the group would easily believe that Philip Aylesford really existed.
The sessions began in September 1972. The group discussed Philip’s life, trying to visualize it with most details as possible.
For a year the sessions presented no result, apart from the occasional presence in the room feeling.
Until the Toronto Society for Psychical Research decided to take a different approach.
They changed the atmosphere to something more close to a tradition séance, dimming the lights while sitting around the table.
They included elements from Philip’s era.
For the surprise part of the group this technique produced the expected result, Philip manifested himself to the group.
The group got their first message from Philip in the form of a very clear beat on the table.
They asked questions in which he could respond with a tap to “Yes” and two to “No.”
Is This Really Philip?
But how could they be sure it was Philip’s ghost answering the questions.
They decided to directly ask for questions from Philip’s biography.
As a result, Philip was able to give accurate information from his history.
The séances continued with a larger range of unexplained phenomena.
Philip began to assume a personality of his own, with strong points of view on various subjects.
Beside the blows on the table, he began to moving the table, sliding from side to side, even over a thick rug.
During Philip’s manifestation, the group took notice of some singular characteristics.
The table would be “electric” to the touch, and the temperature would drop over the table.
It was as if Philip, in a way, became the table itself.
In front of a live audience, about 50 people, Philip made the lights flicker and even made the table levitate just an inch off the floor. All filmed as part of a documentary.
The Philip Experiment ran according to the initial expectations from the Group.
Although, against the main goal, the ghost of Philip never materializes in front of the group.
The Philip Experiment Conclusion
Even after the long time and strange events documented by the Toronto Society for Psychical Research (TSPR) group the results are inconclusive.
Seems like some concluded that this proved that ghosts do not exist, that they are simply creations of the minds. Others theorized that it may not have been Philip but another Ghost playing with researchers.
Outsiders just believe that all was a hoax.
It was not possible to confirm the events were produced by the ghost of a fictional character by the name Philip.
Is The Movie “The Quiet Ones” Based on The Philip Experiment?
Is there any truth between the film and The Philip Experiment to inspired it?
The connections are too slim.
Aside from the idea of an experiment with paranormal activities the movie produced by Lionsgate and Exclusive Media is a fiction movie inspired but not based on true events.
Besides the fact that the Script was heavily rewritten for budget reasons.
Learn more about other supposedly Based in True Story movies.
Resources
Ghost
You Won’t Believe the Stories Behind this Haunted German U-Boat
Built in 1916, a German U-Boat, a submarine U-65, became notorious for being haunted by an unexplained number of events, from accidents to deaths. Even an exorcism took place inside the ship.
From 1871 until 1919, the German Empire built a strong military naval fleet.
It became known as ‘Kaiserliche Marine’, or the Imperial Navy, created with the intentions of German’s Kaiser Wilhelm II, to surpass the British fleet power.
By 1916, in Hamburg’s shipyards the U-Boats, U-60’s and U-65, were assembled, twenty-four submarines especially designed to operate out of the ports of Belgium.
U-boat is the English version of the German word U-Boot. The “U” refers to the German word “Unterseeboot” translating to “Underwater boat.”
Strange and Unexplainable Deaths in the U-Boat
By 1917, most of the fleet were complete. But since its construction, one of them, a U-65 became a legend on his own, but not of the good kind.
Construction workers from the U-65 were struck by a heavy girder that slipped from the crane killing one instantly in 1916.
Another worker was also injured in the accident and died days later at the hospital.
Months later, on January 26, 1917, the U-Boat was moved to the open sea for final tests.
During the tests, three crewmen became stranded in the engine room when the door supposedly got stuck or locked.
All three died of asphyxiation, but when rescue arrived at the scene the door opened without any problem.
The Haunting of the U-Boat
During joint maneuvers with two other U-Boats, days later, the captain ordered an Auxiliary to inspect the hatchways and the deck before submerge.
An operation witnessed terrified the Auxiliary Officer, he calmly and quietly walked across the deck and was swept overboard close by the U-boat’s propellers.
The ocean was reported to be calm and glassy.
Informed by the event, the captain ordered to stop the submerging process and stop the engines but the submarine continues to sink.
It dropped to the bottom of the sea with a crack in the forward ballast tank.
The U-Boat remained for 12 hours stranded at the bottom. The terrified crew spread the belief of a curse for the recent tragedy history.
Close to lack oxygen, the U-Boat surfaced by itself. The entire U-65’s crew became violently ill, including two sailors who died in a hospital from poisoning.
The German submarine returned to the shipyard for repairs from the collision with the bottom and to detect any problem with the engines.
Nothing abnormal was found and was cleared to be back to service.
But while re-arming the U-Boat, a warhead exploded taking the life of a Second Officer and eight sailors.
Nine other crew members were seriously wounded.
Ghost on Board
To calm the crew, in February 1917, Oberleutnant Karl Honig was appointed to command the U-65.
He was a regular officer with experience and had a high reputation serving on submarines.
A terrified crew boarded on the U-Boat to soon some of them claimed to have witnessed the dead officer with arms crossed standing on deck.
The fear took over upon arriving in Dover, England, during combat. The crew preferred to land under heavy bomb fire rather than to continue safely on board.
It was just after some steps on land the captain was hit by machine-gun bullets and died.
The rest of the U-65’s crew refused to re-embark against a War Council order, claiming that they will be doom for getting inside a haunted submarine.
To appease the crew the War Council sent in an exorcist.
But the curse or bad luck continued on board.
On that same night, the artillery operator fainted, when he woke up, he told he witnessed seeing the dead officer again with his arms crossed on the deck.
By the morning the sailor committed suicide and was found by the crew.
In the engine room, another sailor was involved in an accident that resulted in a broken leg.
The Weird and Mysterious End of the U-65
With only four months to end the WWI, on July 18, 1918, the Haunted U-Boat legend was already known throughout the German fleet.
About this time, an American submarine, USS L-2, patrolling off the coast of Ireland, at periscope depth, locked its target on the German U-Boat.
According to the American Captain’s transcriptions, he spotted a man with arms crossed on the deck of the German U-65.
But before he could confirm the order to release the torpedos the German U-Boat exploded in the mid air.
He tried to find the person responsible for firing without his orders, only to discover that all torpedoes were still on board.
The German Imperial Navy would have reported thirty-four lives were lost in that explosion.
after the end of the WWI, several sailors from the U-65 confirmed that they deserted and more stories from the inside of the submarine became public.
Many crew members and officials witnessed strange lights inside the boat. Another witness told a disembodied hand touched his face.
When the stories reached the other side of the Atlantic, an American journalist, Edgar Cayce made an investigation. He added more incredible unconfirmed paranormal stories.
What Officially Happened to the German U-65?
Not many records can be found from that era, especially after the WWII.
The “Kaiserliche Marine” issues and alternate report about the submarine, denying some of the events surrounding their U-Boat.
Most of the report’s actions had never existed. Though they admitted that “at some point, the submarine had carried out unexplained maneuvers that were beyond the control and knowledge of its experienced crew.”
The U-65 was built in Kiel rather than Wilhelmshaven in 1915, instead of 1916.
The German U-Boat sank 52 enemy ships on 11 patrols, while stationed in Pula during the WWI.
By the end of the war, on Oct. 28, 1918, U-65 was scuttled at Pula during the evacuation.
What really happened to that German U-Boat is still a mystery. With the years and lack of official documents, the legend continues to grow.
Would you like to know more Haunted Ships and Boat stories? Or send us a message on Twitter or Facebook.
Reference
Ghost
What You Didn’t Know About The Ghosts From the Silent Movie Theatre
The Silent Movie Theatre dedicated only to present “silent” films is also haunted by the ghosts from two former owners.
The Beginning of the Silent Movie Theatre
John Hampton and his wife Dorothy started the Silent Movie Theatre in 1942, on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Fifteen years after silent films became obsolete.
The theater, built in vintage 1940s Art Deco design with 158-seats, had the purpose designed by Mr. Hamptonad, to the preservation, and continuity of screening and enjoying silent movies.
Movies with stars like Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd, Felix The Cat, Rudolph Valentino and the Keystone Cops could be appreciated by young generations.
The legend tells that Clara Bow and Charlie Chaplin would come disguised with dark glasses and big hats, sat in the back of the theater, to watch their respective own movies.
The End of the Gold Age
John Hampton projected the films and created his own soundtracks by simultaneously playing records from his large collection of 78 records.
Mr. Hampton dedicated himself to preserve his huge library of 16mm prints, even if that meant he often placed his new finds into a tub full of chemicals above the theater.This is where he tinted and toned the pieces himself.
But his dedication had a price…
The exposure during the years to this high-level toxins was lethal to Mr. Hampton.
He was diagnosed with cancer in the 1970s and John Hampton passed away in 1990.
The couple closed the theater while battling the disease. He sold his silent film collection to the UCLA Film and Television Archive, in 1988.
Tragedy Strikes again at the Silent Movie Theatre
In 1991 a family friend, Laurence Austin, reopened the Silent Movie Theatre, renovated the building and added live music.
Laurence Austin ran the theater with the help of his lover, for seven years and also the projectionist, James Van Sickle also the projectionist.
But on January 17, 1997, while the Silent Movie Theatre was showing the 1927 film, “Sunrise” and proceeded by two short films
there were about 60-70 people in the theater at the time.
Among them, 19-year old wearing a golf hat, Christian Rodriguez entered the theater and was greeted by Laurence Austin as all customers.
Then he waited patiently in the back for the films to begin.
As soon as the second short movie started, “School Days”, Rodriguez asked Mary Giles, at the lobby, if was possible to buy advanced tickets.
She pointed him to see Austin at the ticket booth.
Rodriguez armed with a .357 Magnum Revolver demanded money, Austin turned the money over, but Rodriguez ignored the money and shot him in the face.
He turned to Mary and shot her twice in the chest.
People in the theater fled the building thru the backdoor while the murderer turned back to Austin’s body, shooting him two more times.
Laurence Austin died from the first shot, with 74 years old. Giles survived and described the shooter to investigators.
Conspiracy at the Silent Movie Theatre
LAPD arrested Rodriguez in the next month. He told police that he was hired for $25,000.00 to kill Austin. An additional $5000.00 to kill Giles and make it look like a robbery by James Van Sickle, 34.
Van Sickle was reported to be heavily in debt, he was listed as the sole beneficiary of Austin’s estate, valued at more than $1 million
Christian Rodriguez and James Van Sickle was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life without parole.
Two years later Rodriguez was also convicted of the attempted murder of Mary Giles.
Silent Movie Theatre Rebirth, Thanks to a Ghost
Charlie Lustman was riding by the Silent Movie Theatre when he believed he heard the original owner, John Hampton, speaking to him.
On Halloween of 1999, he re-opened the place, new wooden floors, a new screen and projection booth and a neon marquee.
The films were still accompanied by piano or organ music. But the changes couldn’t go too far.
Lustman attested that in case he try to make things different from the original purpose of the theater the paranormal activity would increase.
He received a black eye from a display case while preparing for a 3-D movie presentation in 2000. Minutes before the presentation the projector broke before the first 3-D session started.
It was clear, for him, the ghost that haunted the Silent Movie Theatre were not happy with his decision.
In 2006, Lustman sold the theater to the Harkham brothers.
The theater was again renovated and re-opened as a rival house called the Cinefamily, with an eclectic mix of Classic Sound and Silent Movies.
The Ghost from Silent Movie Theatre
Lustman and a former publicist for the theater heard the repeated jingle of keys while alone in the building.
The jingling of keys was a nervous habit from the prior owner Laurence Austin.
By the lobby, witness testifies to be shocked near the place Laurence Austin was shot.
At the same area, a red blood stain appears and disappears where Laurence Austin’s body felt to the floor.
A crimson-red blood stain has been known to appear and disappear in the approximate spot where a former owner, Laurence Austin, was gunned down by a hired hit man.
Austin’s ghost has also been seen, after hours, lingering by employees in the lobby over the years.
The projection booth is believed also to be haunted, not sure if by a former projectionist or one of the owners.
The first owner and creator of the concept of the Silent Film Theatre, John Hampton, regularly haunts the upstairs lounge. Which used to be his and his wife, Dorothy’s, apartment for over 45 years.
The Ghosts From the Silent Movie Theatre
The Silent Movie Theatre is located on the west side of Fairfax Avenue just north of the Farmers Market.
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