LClark+NF

Lauren Clark's homepage

Lauren Clark Mrs. Laurencot Non-Fiction Essay **__ The Bell Witch __**  ** By: Sharon Sigmond Shebar and Judith Schoder **

Proving witches exist isn’t easy; do you think these paranormal creatures are real? The book “__The Bell Witch__” by Sharon Sigmond Shebar and Judith Schoder is about a mysterious witch that comes out of no where and begins haunting the Bell family in Robertson County, Tennessee. The story of the Bell Witch really happened, but people weren’t sure if it was an actual witch, they just knew that there was some spiritual creature making their lives a whole lot harder. But the people that experienced this, just called this paranormal thing, a witch. This story explains how society used to be and how it affects our history.

This book relates to society in many ways. Many people in the town of Robertson County wanted to be with the Bell family because they heard about a spirit lingering around in the house. Some people wanted to protect the family and some people just wanted to be in the house so that they could witness a spiritual being. The whole community was involved in this, the witch was affecting everyone. The witch started to actually talk to people and was even putting spells on members of the family. The witch was not a fan of the daughter named Betsy Bell. “It began to cast spells on the girl. Betsy’s breath came hard and she would begin to pant. Suddenly, she would gasp again for air and then faint.” (p.22) The family had to tell people because it was getting too bad. A preacher came to their house to try and get rid of the spirit but it only went away for a couple of weeks. In the real world, people have to ask their friends and neighbors for help when they are in danger. When people are dealing with the paranormal, they usually need professional help so that they don’t harm themselves. In the story, some of the neighbors around them began accusing other people as being the witch. Some people thought the witch was dead (like a ghost), and some people thought that she was alive. The witch heard everyone talking and began tricking people by giving them hints about someone she was not. One of the Bells’ neighbors said “It’s Kate Batts, remember when you bought your land from her, john? Old Kate always said you cheated her.” (p. 37) The witch then said that she was not Kate Batts but people still called this spirit, Kate. People were just accusing each other of being this witch without any proof. This relates to our society today because people judge others and say things about others that may or may not be true. Many people just say anything they want about someone without having any proof. Another example of this is when people in Salem, Massachusetts were being accused of being a witch. Back then, random women were always being accused of being a witch even without any proof. Even some men were being accused as being a witch. Sometimes, women were killed if they were accused even if there was no proof. This real world situation connects to the real story of the bell witch because these witch problems were occurring in the 1600’s - 1800’s so people living in a society during those years had to deal with these spiritual beings all the time and it must have made their lives very hard. The story of The Bell Witch can also relate to history. The people of today are very fascinated with the thought of witch craft or being able to cast a spell, that is why many books and movies are based on the topic of witches. “In 1934, the Federal Writers’ Project came to Tennessee. They were there to study The Bell Witch story. In that same year, a man named Charles Bell wrote a book. He called it ‘__The Bell Witch, A Mysterious Spirit__.’ He wrote about the witch’s predictions.”(p.60) So, people still wanted to find out more information about The Bell Witch even 100 years later. Witches are a part of our history because they used to be a part of some people’s lifestyles; some people believed they were a witch, some people were accused of being a witch, and some people were just trying to live a normal life while others were being killed for either being able to cast a spell, or just being accused of being a witch. The Bell Witch in the story was supposedly able to predict the future, it warned people in the past to beware of trouble that was to come in the future. “The witch foretold that America would become a world power. It spoke of the First World War. It also told of the start of the Second World War and gave its date. The timing was off on World War Two by only 4 years.” (p.60) This is part of our history because these two events really did happen in our country and it changed many people’s lives. This witch was able to predict events that have actually happened and there are people in our country today that are called “psychics”, who can predict the future as well. So, things that have happened way back then, are still a part of our history today.

This book “__The Bell Witch__” gives the reader an example of a true event that has happened in the past with a witch and explains that maybe paranormal spirits do exist. It also shows how society was back then and how witches have affected our history. Even though the problems with witches were generally in the 1600’s, they are still a big topic in our generation.