by John F.D. Taff is an historical horror novel/ghost story based on what is perhaps the most well-documented poltergeist case to occur in the United States. It tells the story of the Bells, an early 19th-century Tennessee farm family who begin to notice strange occurrences — odd noises, bangings, gurglings. Eventually, an entity reveals itself to the family, calling itself, simply, the Witch, … calling itself, simply, the Witch, and makes it clear from the outset that it was sent to kill the patriarch of the family, John Bell, for a reason it never makes quite clear.
The Witch’s antics, while not exactly endearing it to the Bells, make the spirit somewhat of a novelty. Word of its existence spreads, first through the Bell’s slaves, then through the rest of the community. It tells jokes, makes predictions, offers unwanted advice and even sings. It shows an intimate knowledge of The Bible and of history and politics.
It harasses those who annoy it most, saving its ire for John Bell and his teenage daughter, Betsy. These two people become the focus of the apparition’s attacks, both verbal and physical. Ultimately, the Witch fulfills its promise of killing John Bell, while also forcing Betsy and her mother, Lucy, into considering their own roles in what created the spirit.
The Bell Witch is, at once, a historical novel, a ghost story, a horror story and a love story all rolled into one.
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Much like most of you reading this review, growing up I was always fascinated and drawn to the true stories of ghosts, possessions, hauntings and the like. Whether you believe in it being real or not, there’s no disputing that ‘something’ does happen to these people in these situations.
What makes some stories stand out even more for me are when renowned historical figures state that they experienced something while visiting these people.
Case in point: The Bell Witch. The Bell Witch is often referred to as ‘America’s Witch’ because of it happening in Tennessee and relatively recently – 1817. Add in that Andrew Jackson himself says he witnessed the witch and from there the story grew. Even to this day The Bell Witch, that entity that terrorized the Bell Family sends shivers down peoples spines. You can even go visit the cave and old farmstead if you really want to experience some American haunting history.
Which led me to this book.
What I liked: I’ve not read enough Taff, but this one’s been on my radar for some time. When it finally arrived at the top of my TBR, I tore through it. Taff does something special here by not keeping the witch in the shadows. We open with a slow build of family life until a fateful visit to the cave brings forth a spirit that has a purpose. That purpose is what makes this book really work. The witch becomes a character that offers terror and kindness, often within the same paragraph. It was a marvellous choice by John to make the reader have to question why they both loathed and loved the witch.
The family dynamic is spot on and as the story progresses we get to see just how the presence of the spirit weighs on each member. I also really loved the time period accuracy of God and the decisions made for a persons place with God and forgiveness. It created a philosophical layer that I wasn’t expecting.
Taff weaved a gem of a story, with multiple storylines playing out but all of them inherently tied to how and why the witch was tormenting the Bell family.
What I didn’t like: I found some of the story slowed near the 75% mark as the family learns the purpose of the witch and we need to go through each member to see how they react to it. It’s minor and necessary, but when you’re waiting for all hell to break loose, it was a bit of a “foot off the gas pedal” section.
Why you should buy this: Taff is a fantastic writer and while he states explicitly this is a piece of fiction and not historically accurate, once done you’ll want to do a deep dive on the lore around this. This was really well done, with some truly frightening moments, elevated by the underlying knowledge that this really happened. Or did it…
Reading some of the other reviews and the Afterword, I realize that a small amount of this story is true. The whole time I read the story I wondered and I was okay with Taff saying that most of it wasn’t factual. I knew I was reading fiction.
The imagery in this story was well done, painting scenes vividly enough for my imagination to bring them to life. For example, when Powell saw the candle ascend the staircase from the road and connected the dots later about what that meant. Another stunning aspect is the way The Witch’s ability and narrative demonstrated the quality of Betsy’s life with Powell after they left Tennesse.
Not a scary story by my standards, which are delicate, so if that’s stopping you from reading it, consider that. I don’t read horror.
It’s a solid book. It didn’t make it to five stars for me because I reserve the fifth star for books I love.
The Bell Witch is dark at its core and a compelling read.