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Reflections July 2013

Jottings

Celebrating Halloween on the Fourth of July

By Millie Moss

"You know," she said, "every scary or bad thing that happened was blamed on the Bell Witch." Everyone from Middle Tennessee knows about the Bell Witch. Her name was Kate and she bedeviled the Bell family for most of their lives.

 

One July a few years ago, my daughter and two friends came to visit my husband John and me on our 32-foot sailboat docked at Sacketts Harbor, New York. We were to set sail the next morning for Kingston, Ontario, normally an easy four-hour trip on the unpredictable waters of Lake Ontario. We were going to enjoy a two-country celebration: our own Independence Day and Canada Day. The two holidays occur within a day or two of each other, but the celebrations last for several days.

The morning of July 2 dawned gray, blustery, and cold; it also appeared slightly treacherous. We hesitated a bit but decided to go ahead. The girls were still asleep as we carefully backed away from the dock and headed for open water. Given the 25-knot winds, we thought it the better part of wisdom not to hoist the sails. One by one, the girls poked their heads out the hatch, had a quick look round, took a dose of Dramamine, and went back to bed.

The wind calmed a bit just as we approached the point of no return, and we decided to keep going. Five minutes later, the steel-gray waters of Lake Ontario turned into a swirling maelstrom. We were headed directly into 20-foot waves that crashed onto the deck, very nearly drowning us. The U.S.A. to Canada trip took six hours that day, and we were drenched to the skin by the time we made Kingston Harbor. As we did so, the sun burst from the clouds, the foamy water became blue and flat, and the wind quieted to a breathy whisper.

We changed clothes and the girls headed for the Kingston celebration right on the harbor. They came back enjoying secret giggles and tales of good times. That evening as we all sat on deck, the conversation turned to memorable events. The girls figured this experience would qualify for such a designation in future years. Cindy, whom my daughter knew from their college days in Tennessee, told us about the fear she had as a child of the Bell Witch.

"You know," she said, "every scary or bad thing that happened was blamed on the Bell Witch." Everyone from Middle Tennessee knows about the Bell Witch. Her name was Kate and she bedeviled the Bell family for most of their lives. She even killed John Bell, the patriarch of the clan. She is said to have pulled the hair of President Andrew Jackson when he came to visit.

Her final appearance, more than 100 years ago, was near a cave in Adams, Tenn., on the Bell property, long since abandoned by the family. Through the years, stories about the Bell Witch pop up every so often, and people flock to Adams to the cave hoping for a glimpse of her. At about the time Cindy was 8 or 9 years old, the tales were once again going around.

"I was terrified," Cindy related. "I blamed every bad thing on her. If this boat trip had happened during that time, I would have known beyond a shadow of a doubt it was Kate's doing."

Here's the part where Dave Barry would say, "I'm not making this up."

As Cindy was telling us how her parents took her to the cave just to show her there was nothing there, a boat passed us going to its assigned slot. Cindy was seated where she could see the boat's stern. Suddenly, she stopped talking. Every semblance of color drained from her face, and her lower jaw dropped as she stared in horror at the passing boat.

"What is it?" we asked her, alarmed. She seemed not able to answer, but raised a hand and pointed. There on the stern of the boat that had just passed us was the boat's name, "Bell Witch." A definite low-pressure area was created on the deck of our boat as we all sucked in air and slapped our hands over our mouths. We were, to put it mildly, struck dumb.

John, a blasé New Yorker by birth, hopped off the boat onto the dock. He was headed toward the newly arrived "Bell Witch." After a while we all calmed down, just as John returned from his visit with the newcomers. As it turned out, the owners of the boat lived in Adams for a time and loved the legends surrounding the Bell Witch. They named their boat after her. They all had a good laugh when they heard what happened.

The four of us (all Tennesseans) didn't think it was the least bit funny. In fact, I'm taking a terrible risk telling you this tale. It is well documented that Kate hates negative publicity. So, if she puts a spell on me for writing about her, I'm taking you down with me.

After all, you're reading it, aren't you?

 

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