The Bell Witch - by Brent Monahan (Paperback)

About the Book

In a novelization of a chilling ghost story that has lived on in Tennessee lore for decades, Monahan draws from the manuscript of a school teacher's eye-witness accounts to bring back to life the spirit that took up residence and caused death in the household of John Bell in 1818. 7 line drawings.

Book Synopsis

Known throughout Tennessee as "Old Kate," the Bell Witch took up residence with John Bell's family in 1818. It was a cruel and noisy spirit, given to rapping and gnawing sounds before it found its voices.

With these voices and its supernatural acts, the Bell Witch tormented the Bell family. This extraordinary book recounts the only documented case in U.S. history when a spirit actually caused a man's death.

The local schoolteacher, Richard Powell, witnessed the strange events and recorded them for his daughter. His astonishing manuscript fell into the hands of novelist Brent Monahan, who has prepared the book for publication. Members of the Bell family have previously provided information on this fascinating case, but this book recounts the tale with novelistic vigor and verve. It is truly chilling.

Review Quotes

"America's greatest ghost story." --Dennis William Hauck, Haunted Places

"Too compelling to put down." --Fangoria

About the Author

Richard Powell was a Tennessee schoolteacher when he first encountered the Bell Witch. He died in 1848.

Brent Monahan is the author of half a dozen novels, the most recent of which is The Jekyl Island Club. He lives in Pennyslvania.