A Truly Spooky Story - Allegedly a True One!
Written: Mar 26 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Engaging story with something of a surprise ending.
Cons: Unable to tell how much truth is in it.
The Bottom Line: This "novel" is supposedly a true story gleaned from 1840 documents. I found it convincing. Gives a plausible explanation for the famous "Bell Witch" haunting.
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| bonnieleigh's Full Review: Brent Monahan - An American Haunting: The Bell Wit... |
While I have heard of "The Bell Witch" haunting, I never really read much detail about it. This book must be the definitive work on the Bell witch of Tennessee, and though it is classified as a novel, it appears to be pretty much an eyewitness account.
The author, Brent Monahan, has written novels in the past. In order to make his novels seem true to real life, he has researched hauntings and paranormal activity extensively. Thus it was that he came by a manuscript, through a friend of a friend, that purported to be a lengthy letter written by Richard Powell, who died in the 1840's. There is a preface that explains the discovery of the manuscript and how it came to be pssed along to the author, and it seems to be authentic. (Note:The author refers to himself as an "editor", not the author.) Richard Powell was a school teacher, and later a politician, in pre-Civil War Tennessee. He married Elizabeth ("Betsy") Bell, around whom the Bell witch seemed to center.
The "letter" is presented without any chapter divisions, and there really never is a good place to stop reading and put it down. Since its author was quite literate, it reads well and smoothly. Terms that have been forgotten or superceded by more modern English are explained in very informative footnotes, as are differing pieces of collaborative evidence to back up certain incidents. The footnotes are at the end of the book, thus not interfering with the flow of the story - you can look them up as you're reading, or later, if you wish.
I knew the Bell witch threw things around and generally vexed the Bell family. But in this book, the witch is credited with actullly killing someone (Betsy's father), and with numerous "appearances" to engage in conversation with the entire community. The witch is not seen, though evidence is seen of it slapping Betsy (sudden movement of head and the appearance of red palm prints), and several different voices carry on sometimes lengthy and philosophical conversations. In addition, the witch voices and proves a strong aversion to the Negroes in its environs, saying denigrating things about them that I believe would have been deleted by most modern-day authors if they were just writing a novel. This and other philosophies that appear in the book lend an air of authenticity.
The letter itself was written to Betsy's daughter, as one of those "in case of my death" missives that explains family secrets that may or may not prove important to the intended recipient. It gives something I'd never heard before, a reason behind the haunting. And a very timely reason it is.
These incidents occurred in the early 1800's and thus predated modern psychological knowledge, but there was, in those days, the early beginnings of hypnotism (a la Mesmer), and this process is what unlocked the "clews" to the mystery of why the Bell witch appeared, and a little about its nature. The solution is perfectly logical in many ways, but not so neatly tied up as to seem designed by the author of the original letter or of the author of the book.
I don't want to spoil the surprise, but this book would also be of interest to people who just enjoy a good mystery with a psychological study or background to it. Naturally, its target audience is those of us who like ghost stories. It's a short book, about 200 pages, and reads pretty quickly. Whether it's all novel, or (as I think) an actual retelling of real events, I think most who read it will enjoy the read, and feel that they know the Bell witch thoroughly by the end.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bonnieleigh
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Member: Bonnie Swain
Location: Isle of Wight, Virginia (USA)
Reviews written: 292
Trusted by: 59 members
About Me:
email goes thru hubby, so if I don't get it, you know who I'll blame!
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