All That Lives

I first encountered the Bell Witch story when I was eight years old in the children's book Thirteen Tennessee Ghosts and Jeffrey by Kathryn Tucker Windham. The chilling account of the long-lasting incidents at the Bell family farm stuck with me all these years, and I was somewhat reluctant to risk ruining my personal imagery of the account by reading the novel by Sanders-Self. I was, however, pleasantly surprised: the book is well-researched and well-written. The author brought to life real people with real qualities - good and bad. What is most impressive is the author's ability to shed light on the supernatural entity without trivializing it or attempting to claim she understands it, either. Readers will feel the curiosity, bewilderment, anger, anguish, grief and joy that forces them - just as it forced the Bells - to constantly second-guess their understanding of the sometimes benevolent, sometimes malevalent creature. Kudos to the author for her musical and triumphant piece on such a famous and daunting subject. Surely she has added to the timelessness of the Bell family story.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. Melissa Sanders-Self offers a credible and entertaining possibility of how the Bell Witch came to be and why it was so loving towards Mrs. Bell but hated and murdered Mr. Bell. This book will chill you to the bone and leave you wanting more...

I had never heard of the Bell Witch before I read Melissa Sanders-Self's novel. I could not put the book down. I loved her descriptions the time. I think the dialogue was accurate to the period. She kept me on the edge of my seat. I started the book and finished it in one sitting. After reading the novel, I did a little research on the real story. I was that interested.Thanks Melissa Sanders-Self for an intertaining read.

I had never heard of the Bell Witch before reading Melissa Sanders-Self's incredible novel, but after staying up half the night to finish the book I felt I knew both the spirit and all the people it haunted intimately. The story is fascinating and the author does a wonderful job of creating memorable characters who feel like people you might actually know, even though they lived almost 200 years ago in rural Tennessee.It begins with the Betsy Bell experiencing a subtle feeling of something evil in the woods and moves quickly into a classic poltergeist situation where rocks are thrown and bedclothes ripped off and Betsy is slapped by invisible hands. From there the community gets involved and over time the powerful force develops a voice and begins to speak, telling amazing stories as well as gossip about the people in the small town of Adams. The character of the spirit is complicated, intriguing and in some ways very modern.In the final scenes Betsy struggles to understand why the spirit has tortured her and her family and the spirit explains it is the life of all that lives, it is so powerful it can not be comprehended by her simple human mind because it is so much more than human. Sanders-Self hints at several possible explanations, but ultimately the reader is allowed to decide for themselves why this mysterious haunting occured. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in what can't be explained. It will make you think and entertain you at the same time. I can't wait to read this author's next novel.

First off let me start out by saying that Sanders-Self is an excellent story teler and can create vivid pictures in the readers mind that will keep you into the book. Throughout the book even in sections where the plot slows down you are still kept interested by the random and interesting acts of the poltergeist. Also the characters are wonderfully developed and the only character that is kept undeveloped entirely is the poltergeist itself which adds greatly to the whole mystery of the Bell Witch. I would recommend this book to any thirsty reader looking for an excellent story adn tired of the same stores that have the same plots and same ideas. Sanders-Self brings a great many new ideas to the bok community adn i hope to see more from her soon.