In 1835, Jesse Bell moved his family from Adams Station in Tennessee unto Panola County. In 1839, his sister, Esther Bell Porter, and family moved to Yalobusha County, Mississippi and brought an unsual story with them.

The Bell Witch has always been regarded as a legend or myth. However, sometime ago I was going through some family documents and discovered a letter dated June 6, 1819.

The authorship cited four names: Janet, James, Andrew and John Bell and made reference to something called “the witch ghost.”

Since then I have done some research on this 1819 letter on lay paper and the entire Bell Witch case that took place 190 years ago, and discovered new information about the Bell Witch that has never been published before.

Therefore, this letter to your editor is to inform the good citizens of Panola Couny that I have now decided to write a book on the haunting, based on the letter and information in my family.

I urge anybody who has known documents which might be helpful to contact me.

Rev. Daniel Willoughby

P.O. Box 1832

Bowling Green, KY 42102