The Bell family are terrorized by an invisible, talking poltergeist that has taken up residence in their home. While the children are beaten and harassed in their beds, their father is stricken by seizures, and visiting skeptics are confounded by a hateful, disembodied voice that ridicules their attempts at investigation. Centered around the person of young Betsy Bell, the Bell Witch haunting has been called the 19th century's answer to The Exorcist, and has been the inspiration for such popular films as The Blair Witch Project and An American Haunting.

Nicknamed the "Red Book," An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch was the first published book on the legend. It contains the full text of Our Family Troubles, the purported diary of Richard Williams Bell, as well interviews with the descendents of some of the characters who figure in the story. Written in 1894, it stands alone the single most important source for historians of the Bell Witch haunting.