Also, I think the writer/director tried their best to bring (what they believed to be) the truth. (The movie was based on the book of the same title by Brent Monahan. I've never read Mr. Monahan's book, so I can't really speak for it.)

That being said, and being a Bell descendant, I wish to point out some things which I know to be inaccuracies.

Firstly, the events of the Bell Witch haunting took place over a course of several years (between 1817 and 1821 and allegedly after that). Not in the span of a few months, as the movie illustrates.

The real haunting was atypical of a poltergeist in the sense that the entity seemed to have further knowledge/power than the average poltergeist. Also, the entity refered to itself as "Kate Batts' witch", which seems so unlike a poltergeist.

Poltergeists usually manifest in the wake of a troubled teen. There is no evidence to suggest whatsoever that Betsy Bell was troubled in the way the movie suggests.

The entity grew stronger. The occurances started out as gnawing sounds and whispers, but grew much louder over time to the point where the "witch" was able to speak clearly and loudly, actually divulging the secrets of guests.(How would a Poltergeist be privy to said secrets anyhow?)

The neighbour boy in the movie, Joshua Gardner, actually became Betsy Bell's fiance in real life. The "witch" was very against Betsy being with him and eventually caused Betsy to break off the engagment on Easter Monday, 1821.

For some reason, however, the "witch" allowed Betsy to marry her schoolteacher, Dr. Richard Powell.

In the unrated version of the movie, Prof. Powell declares to Lucy that he's nearly twenty years Betsy's senior (or something to the effect). And Lucy, really wanting him to get hitched to her daughter, says that the same was true for John and her.

While John Bell was actually about twenty years older than his wife, Betsy Bell was born in January of 1806, and Prof. Powell was born on Dec 8, 1795, thus making him just over ten years older than Betsy. I gotta wonder what was up with the exaggeration.

The unrated DVD of An American Haunting had deleted scenes. There were several variations where Richard Powell from the future (which was set in Massachusetts in 1848) is given the full account of the events he witnessed (in various edits/scenarious) back in Tennessee from Betsy's still existant Poltergeist.

The real Powell suffered his first massive stroke in 1837 and was in poor health until his death on January 13, 1848. So, Prof. Powell would've been dead when that little flashfoward took place...maybe that's why none of them made the final edit. Also, Powell was buried in Ceder Hill, Robertson, Tennessee, and since Adams is also in Robertson County, I think it's safe to say that he wasn't in Massachusetts at the time of his death.

As for John Bell's death, he was fed poison, as in the movie. When the family tested the poison on the cat, it convulsed and eventually keeled over dead. The "witch" is then said to have sang gleefully at his funeral and made remarks such as "I've got ol' Jack this time".

She'd been making clear her intentions to kill him some time before that, apparently.

John Bell died on December 20, 1820. His death is the only death in history validated by the state of Tennessee and the president (Andrew Jackson) to be caused by a supernatural entity.

Sometime in 1821 (as far as I can make out, for some sources say it ended in Jack's death, but Betsy didn't break up with Gardner until 1821), the "witch" told Lucy Williams Bell that she would return in 1828. According to the Bell Witch Wikipedia article, it is said that the witch did return, "predicting such events as the American Civil War, the Great Depression, and both World Wars". And goes on to say that then, the spirit said it would return in 107 years (aka 1935). As t goes, the "witch" allegedly did return and hasn't left since.

A long score of people other than the Bell family witnessed the "witch" and her doings, most notably President Andrew Jackson, who has been quoted as saying "I'd rather fight the entire British Army than to deal with the Bell Witch."

So, through my rambling, what I'm getting at is, a lot of things that didn't happen were added, and a lot of things that happened were completely ignored.

What bothers me the most about the movie is the allegation that Betsy and Lucy fed John the poison.

I admit, under normal circumstances, it is more likely that a human did it (remember, in real life, as far as we know, Betsy and Lucy didn't have the same motive as they did in the movie), but these weren't normal circumstances.

So, I think it's kind of a bit stretch to hypothesize that they did it, when there's really no evidence to such in real life. Also, these were real people. They were a real family -- my family's family. So, seeing Lucy and Betsy doing John Bell in really got under my skin. And I think that's understandable.

Marie Antionette

I still haven't seen it yet, but I'm dying too! I plan to on Saturday and I hope that it works out.Expect a long review for that one. After all, unless they're leaving pivotal parts of her life out (like her execution), there will be guillotines. And for my whole life, I've had an unexplainable and overwhelming fear of being guillotined.

Moi

Feeling slightly worse today. Just to let you guys know, I was completely serious about everyone having to redo Halloween if I got sick. Because Halloween is just that important. Deal with it.