On December 20th

John Bell Sr. died at his Robertson County farm on December 20, 1820, after months of wasting illness. A vial of dark liquid reportedly found by his bedside — legend says it killed a cat when tested — became the centerpiece of the claim that the Bell Witch poisoned him, making Bell possibly the only person in American lore said to have been killed by a spirit. His death is documented; its cause re

John Bell died December 20, 1820 — the legend's climax: the entity 'Kate' allegedly boasted of poisoning him, and a strange vial was reportedly found by the bed. Ingram's 1894 account calls it the only case in US history where a spirit was blamed for a killing; historians note every word of that story is folklore layered onto a real death.