In the first decade of the 1800s, John Bell moved his growing family from North Carolina to the Red River community in Robertson County, Tennessee. Bell, who became an elder in the Red River Baptist Church, was well-liked and respected by his neighbors and prospered as a farmer. As Bell worked his farm, a unique phenomenon occurred. Beginning in 1817 and continuing until 1821, John Bell and his family were allegedly "haunted" by a devilish spirit called a "witch" known as "Kate." The witch's actions were observed by many in the community, including the clergy. The events subsided only after Bell's death. Known as the "Red Book," and including the eyewitness account of Richard Williams Bell, son of John Bell, Ingram's account is the story of the Bell Witch.

The haunting of the Bell family at their home in Tennessee started out harmless enough with knocking and scratching noises. But soon members of the family were scratched, kicked, and slapped by a spirit who identifies herself as a witch named Kate Batts. Centuries later, this legendary ghost story continues to haunt all who hear it.

Originally published in 1894, "An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch" is an account of supernatural happenings attributed to the "Bell Witch" of Tennessee.

Presents a fictionalized diary in which schoolteacher Richard Powell tells the story of Tennessee's Bell Witch, a poltergeist that began harassing the family of John Bell in 1818 and is reported to have caused his death.

The Bell Witch: Robertson County, Tennessee, 1817-1828. The Bell family are terrorized by an invisible entity that has taken up residence in their home. While the children are beaten and harassed in their beds, their father is stricken with wild seizures, and visitors are confounded by a disembodied voice that ridicules their attempts at investigation. An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch was the first published book on the legend, which has inspired such popular films as The Blair Witch Project (1999), The Bell Witch Haunting (2004), and An American Haunting (2006). Nicknamed the Red Book, it draws upon Our Family Trouble, the diary of Richard Williams Bell, who was a child at the time of the haunting. Ingram's account is widely considered the most important primary source for historians of the Bell Witch.

In the early 1800s John Bell moved his family from North Carolina to the rich bottom lands along the Red River in Robertson County, Tennessee. Bell, an elder in the Red River Baptist Church, was well-liked and respected by most in the community and prospered as a farmer. As Bell worked hard to raise his family and to carve out a living, the unusual, unexpected, and terrifying happened. Between 1817 and 1821 the Bell family were allegedly tormented day and night by some heinous menacing spirit called a "witch" known as "Kate." Kate's remonstrations and activities were witnessed by many in the community. The events eventually led to the death of John Bell, and he is the only person whose demise is attributed to the work of a spirit. Written only seventy-three years after the awful events transpired, this is the story of the Bell Witch. This is the eyewiteness account by a member of the Bell family.