The Element Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Hauntings: The Complete A–Z for the Entire Magical World. Theresa Cheung
of the bells rang so violently that it almost touched the ceiling.
From that time onwards the bells rang many times, and the Major and his servants became convinced that no living person was responsible, as they always seemed to ring when there was no one in the rooms concerned. During the time that the bells were ringing, Major Moore was careful to ensure that this wasn’t the work of a prankster. On numerous occasions the bells rang when all the members of the household were in the kitchen and the rest of the house was empty.
The phenomena lasted until 27 March when the ringing stopped as mysteriously as it had started. Then, in July 1836, the bells started ringing again. This time a bell-hanger was sent for. He examined all the wires but could not find any rational explanation. After about an hour the ringing stopped and was never heard again, except when the bells were being used by a member of the family.
The mystery was never solved, and Moore and his family concluded that paranormal activity must have occurred. Despite the most vigorous investigation, there has never been any explanation for the mysterious bell ringing at Bealings House.
BEANS
Beans have a long tradition of association with ghosts and the dead. American Indian traditions include elaborate rituals and dances involving beans. Ancient Greeks believed beans were associated with the souls of the dead, and the ancient Romans considered beans to be sacred and used them in rituals connected with the dead. They threw beans behind their backs as food offerings for ghosts, and they also spat beans at ghosts as a protection against them.
The connection of the bean to the realm of ghosts seems to be that it grows in a spiral and that its white flowers are symbolic of the purity of the bleached bones of death. Because breath is the evidence of life, as bizarre as it may seem to us today, the eating of beans and the flatulence it causes were thought by ancient Romans to be proof that the living souls of the dead resided inside the lowly bean.
BELL WITCH
The Bell Witch is one of the most unsavoury poltergeist cases on record, even though it has since been described as perhaps the ‘greatest American ghost story’. According to legend, it caused the death of a man.
The haunting took place in Robertson, Tennessee, in 1817 and intrigued many people, including future US President General Andrew Jackson. There are several versions of the story so it is hard to know what is fact and what is fiction, but the version generally relied upon is that based on the diary of Richard William Bell, one of the Bells’ sons.
John and Lucy Bell lived with their nine children on a farm. The phenomena started with noises and scraping and progressed to clothes being pulled off and furniture and stones being thrown about. Two of the children, Elizabeth and Richard, had their hair pulled one night, and Elizabeth was slapped and punched and pinched. Under investigation by the family and a neighbour, James Johnson, the poltergeist stepped up its activity, tormenting the family, especially Elizabeth, even more. Elizabeth was sent to stay with a neighbour, and the disturbances went with her, indicating that she was the focus of the activity.
The strange events continued over the next few years. Later activity included strange lights outside the house, stones thrown at Elizabeth’s brothers and sisters and visitors receiving slaps similar to Elizabeth’s. The entity also began to speak using foul language. According to reports a voice would appear from nowhere and with no identifiable source. The voice claimed to be various different people but eventually settled on the name of Kate Bates, a woman who had been dissatisfied with business dealings with the Bells. From then on the voice was called Kate.
Johnson advised forming a committee to investigate, and with that the Bell family became the object of much curiosity: General Jackson even paid a visit with a ‘witch layer’, a professional exorcist. According to legend, just outside Bell Lane their carriage got stuck. Kate’s voice could be heard promising to appear that night, and the carriage became unstuck. Later in the evening the witch layer tried to shoot Kate with a silver bullet but was slapped and chased out of the house.
On one occasion it was said Elizabeth was given an emetic to make her sick, and she threw up brass pins and needles. The poltergeist, who had a sick sense of humour, suggested that if she did it again Elizabeth would have enough to set up a shop.
Elizabeth’s father, John Bell, began to suffer from repeated bouts of illness, and Kate claimed she was the cause. He couldn’t eat, his tongue was swollen and Kate declared that she would torment him for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, this is exactly what she did. Finally the ordeals and cursing wore John down, and on the morning of 19 December 1820, he fell into a stupor, dying a day later. A bottle was found in the medicine cabinet, and when the contents were given to an animal the animal died. Kate declared with delight in her voice that she had poisoned John with the liquid while he was asleep.
After John Bell’s death the poltergeist activity diminished. Some time later Elizabeth got engaged to a Joshua Gardener, who apparently did not meet the poltergeist’s approval. The entity told Elizabeth not to marry Joshua and the couple could not go anywhere without the entity following them and persistently taunting them. In 1821 their patience finally snapped and they broke off their engagement.
Elizabeth eventually married a man called Dick Powell, and Kate finally disappeared with the words ‘I will be gone for seven years.’ John’s widow, Lucy Bell, and two of her sons who stayed at the farmhouse, did hear manifestations seven years later, but they kept quiet about it this time and the torment stopped after two weeks. Apparently the poltergeist promised to return in 1935 but failed to do so, or wasn’t noticed by anybody.
The Bells never understood why they were ‘attacked’ in this way, and Kate Bates never made any statements. The most commonly accepted theory is that the poltergeist activity focused on Elizabeth, who was the right age, around puberty, for sexual guilt and tension. It has been suggested that there was some kind of incestuous relationship between Elizabeth and her father, which would have distressed the young girl. This theory, however, does not account for poltergeist activity that took place when she was not around, such as that with General Jackson.
The legend of the Bell Witch continues to haunt the Bell farm to this day. Thankfully, the violent and terrible manifestations are a thing of the past, but she is believed to haunt a cave, called the Bell Witch Cave, where unearthly screams, knocks and noises have been reported.
BENTHAM, JEREMY [1748–1832]
The bizarre sight of the body of Jeremy Bentham, law reformer, scientist and philosopher, can be seen to this day mounted on display in University College London. Bentham was fascinated by mummification and believed that corpses, put on permanent display as memorials to the dead, or ‘auto icons’ as he called them, would become commonplace items in the houses of family and friends.
Prior to his death Bentham gave detailed instructions in his will about how his body should be preserved. He requested that his body be dissected, his bones be wired in a sitting position and his mummified corpse be dressed in his favourite black suit and straw hat, with his hand on his favourite walking stick, ‘Dapple’. Bentham’s preserved form is on display today in a case with glass sides. Apparently the mummification of his head was not successful, so it was removed and replaced by a wax head modelled in his likeness.
Over the years there have been various sightings of Bentham’s ghost walking the university corridors, tapping the floor with his cane or cradling his head in his arms.
BERRY POMEROY CASTLE
This ruined castle, located at Berry Pomeroy, Devon has been the scene of ghostly sightings and strange phenomena for hundreds of years. Even today, visitors to the castle remark upon its strange atmosphere and the feelings of foreboding and terror it inspires.
The great majority of the hauntings can be traced to the castle’s original owners, the Pomeroy family, who occupied it from about 1086 to 1550. The most terrifying apparitions are those of a white and a blue lady. The White Lady is believed to haunt the dark dungeons.