Research Trips & Writing Process of Bell Witch Book

I spent two years of my life researching and writing the story of the Tennessee Bell Witch from 1993 to 1995.

I visited courthouses and libraries in 4 states: Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia, & North Carolina.

I interviewed direct descendants of Frederick and Cate Batts (often spelled Kate).

I even consulted with psychics.

Afterward, I donated much of my research materials to the Gorham-MacBane Public Library in Springfield, Tennessee.

An Overview of my Research & Writing Process:

• October 1993 - 1st Visit to Bell Witch Cave in Adams, TN
  
• November 1993- Gorham-MacBane Public Library in Springfield, TN
  
• November 1993 - Courthouse Archives in Springfield, TN
  
• November 1993 - Met with 3 direct descendants of Cate & Frederick Batts. (Please note that according to the archives, no such people could possibly exist.)
  
• January 1994- Gorham-MacBane Public Library in Springfield, TN
• March 1994- Courthouse & Library in Raleigh, North Carolina
  
• March 1994- Courthouse & Library in Rocky Mount, North Carolina
  
• March 1994- Courthouse & Library in Surry County, Virginia
  
• June 1994- Courthouse & Library in Spartanburg, South Carolina
  
• July 1994- Gorham-MacBane Public Library in Springfield, TN
  
• July 1994- 2nd Visit to Bell Witch Cave in Adams, TN (Got a recording of a double heartbeat just inside the mouth of the cave.)
  
• 8-14-94 - Finished Draft 1 of Book
  
• 10-22-94 - Finished Draft 2 of Book
  
• . . .
  
• 12-01-94 - Finished Draft 5 of Book
  
• 8-20-1999 - Interviewed by author Pamela Petra for her future book. The Interview was featured in Pamela Petra's 2002 book called SITTING UP WITH THE DEAD: A STORIES JOURNEY THORUGH THE AMERICAN SOUTH, pages 341-349.
  
• October 2007 - Finished Final Draft of Book and submitted book to PublishAmerica. Accepted for publication on Halloween Day.
  
• Completed last edit of book on New Year's Day of 2008
  
• March 3, 2008 - Book was officially published and available for purchase.
  
  

For more details about the Bell Witch and author or to purchase the book using Pay Pal, please visit http://askdjlyons.com.

The Tennessee Bell Witch & The Bell Witch Cave

There are nine main rumors and facts about the Tennessee Bell Witch, a poltergeist who haunted the family of John and Lucy Bell from 1817 to 1821.

Here are the details about Rumor #9 of 9:

Rumor: All the haunting that took place in Adams, Tennessee, was perpetrated by the Tennessee Bell Witch.

Fact: According to the owners of the Bell Witch Cave, the Trail of Tears crossed portions of their property. Some of the supernatural activity was perpetrated by some of those deceased Cherokee Indians. The other supernatural activity was actually perpetrated by some other entities. Read my book to find out more details about them. In fact, several of those spirits followed me home after my first visit to the Bell Witch Cave and created a bit of mischief.

For more details, please read my book entitled “The Bell Witch Unveiled At Last! The True Story Of A Poltergeist” written under my pen name of DJ Lyons. You can purchase a copy using Pay Pal on my website or from my publisher. Visit http://askdjlyons.com for the links. Or you can purchase the book from Amazon.com. See the links below.

The Bell Witch Cave

There are nine main rumors and facts about the Tennessee Bell Witch, a poltergeist who haunted the family of John and Lucy Bell from 1817 to 1821.

Here are the details about Rumor #7 of 9:

Rumor: If you try to take a picture of the outside of the cave known as the Bell Witch Cave in Adams, Tennessee, the picture will not come out. Also, some people would find that their camera would malfunction.

Fact: I was able to take several pictures inside the cave; however, I too was NOT able to take a picture of the entrance of the cave. Visit this website to arrange for your own visit to the Bell Witch Cave at http://www.bellwitchcave.com/.

To find out further details about the Bell Witch Cave, read my book entitled “The Bell Witch Unveiled At Last! The True Story Of A Poltergeist” written under my pen name of DJ Lyons.

The Invisible Hand

There are nine main rumors and facts about the Tennessee Bell Witch, a poltergeist who haunted the family of John and Lucy Bell from 1817 to 1821.

Here are the details about Rumor #4 of 9:

Rumor: A storyteller confided that a famous storyteller had been regularly performing her rendition of the Tennessee Bell Witch. At many of those performances, she would feel an invisible hand pulling on her arm during her performance.

Fact: Sometime in the late 1990’s, I was performing at the Oak Ridge Children’s museum in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This famous storyteller was performing there as well. When I delicately tried to ask that famous storyteller about this rumor, she clammed up. Just in case, I proceeded to tell her that Cate Williams Batts, often spelled Kate, was not the perpetrator of the haunting. I also told her several other details that are revealed in my book entitled “The Bell Witch Unveiled At Last! The True Story Of A Poltergeist” written under my pen name of DJ Lyons. I was hoping that she would either cease telling her version of the story in which she gives Cate the blame or that she would revise her story altogether. I don’t know whether or not she made any changes to her performance. At least, I know I tried.

Is the Rumor True? Are You Cursed If You Attempt To Write The Story Of The Bell Witch?

There are nine main rumors and facts about the Tennessee Bell Witch, a poltergeist who haunted the family of John and Lucy Bell from 1817 to 1821.

Here are the details about Rumor #2 of 9:

When the Storytelling Professor at ETSU in Johnson City, Tennessee, assigned me to write the story of the Tennessee Bell Witch for a Halloween Storytelling Journal, various librarians and storytellers told me the following rumor:

Rumor: Anyone who attempts to write the story of the Tennessee Bell Witch is cursed.

Fact: Researching and writing a short story about the Tennessee Bell Witch back in 1990 did not curse me; however, it did give me the willies as I felt some kind of presence around me as I conducted my research at the Kingsport Public Library in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Do you want to read the short story I wrote from the perspective of the teenage daughter named Betsy Bell? Go to my FREE GIFTS page at 

Free Gift & Other Fun Stuff.
Click on the FREE GIFT button. I will e-mail you the PDF attachment of the Bell Witch short story written from the point-of-view of Betsy Bell. Other stories are included in this attachment as well. 

Three years later, in 1993, I began writing the book that you see listed below. For more details about this book, visit the Bell Witch section of my Ask DJ Lyons website at 
Bell Witch Book, Show, & Secrets.