Harrell Hill Obion County, West Tennessee
Reproduced with the author's permission from Roads
Less Traveled (Forrester & Thrlkeld, 1998)
The story begins in the years following the American
Civil War (1861-1865). According to local lore, here is
one of the tales surrounding this house.
The six McDonald brothers, all large men and veterans
of the late Civil War, trooped into the kitchen and seated
themselves on top of the simple wooden table. In front
of the table stood slender Lucian Harrell, son of the
owner of the house which stood on Harrell Hill.
They looked at him rather dubiously as he closed his
eyes in concentration and began to slowly raise his
hands. One had begun to laugh mockingly when they
felt the table rise into the air. They suddenly clutched
the sides to keep from falling as the table moved up
well off the floor. Lucian lowered his hands and the
table settled to the kitchen floor with a thump. The
McDonald brothers were suddenly rather quiet as they
gazed at Lucian, standing before them with a slight
smile on his thin face.
Lucian, you see, was a witch. Or, more properly, a
warlock.
George A. Harrell and his wife settled there some years
prior to the Civil War. George Harrell had a son, Lucian,
generally known as John. In the 1880's or possibly
earlier, John acquired a reputation as a witch, often
giving public demonstrations of his powers. A neighbor
once remarked: " How I would like to be at Harrell Hill
tonight; I just know something strange is happening
there." On one occasion John climbed out one of the
dormer windows, calmly stepped outside, and walked
around the house on thin air, re-entering the window.
John was once mysteriously absent from Sunday
evening church services. When he returned home the
next day, he reported the death of someone in the
District 7 area of the county. Later, his father was
visiting there and found a fresh grave with a marker
whose date established that John had reported the
death before it had taken place.
He continued to respond to public demonstrations of
his uncanny abilities but the efforts seemed to take a
toll on his health. He told his mother, "They are getting
stronger and I am getting weaker." He died at midnight
at the age of 22. The old clock in the attic tolled his
passing. It had been placed there some years prior and
its weights removed.
Apparently, John's spirit remained behind. The clock
struck again at the death of his mother some years
later. It continued to strike whenever a relative died.
The house acquired a reputation as haunted and was
deserted for some years. In 1948, Mrs. Elizabeth
Mitchell of Obion acquired it and had it restored. During
the restoration, the stairs to the attic were removed.
Unexplained knocking sounds were often heard. John
seemed to still maintain a presence and took unkindly
to cutting off access to the attic.
Elizabeth's grandson, Bob Anderson of Obion, was
interviewed a few years ago. He was visiting there with
her during the September of his 10th grade year. They
went outside to feed the stock and also to prepare the
house for the winter, latching the window shutters.
Upon re-entering the locked house, they went into her
bedroom to find three black, sooty footprints on her
Martha Washington bedspread! He also recalls the
mysterious knockings.
Once, a large kettle was found in the middle of the
kitchen floor. No one had seen it before or knew where
it came from.
Mrs. Mitchell, a woman of stout heart and
determination, was determined not to be driven out of
her new home. When the knockings became too noisy
she would tell John to quiet down. Eventually, John
apparently accepted the situation and perhaps
developed some affection for the new owner of his
home, as the end of the story indicates.
In 1975, Elizabeth entered a hospital in Memphis,
where her son lived. As he was walking past a large
clock on the mantel in his home, the clock suddenly fell
off into his arms! John had apparently moved in, he
seemed to have a special feeling for clocks.
Mrs. Mitchell died not long afterwards and all
manifestations ceased. Today, the old house is home
to a renter. When they moved in, they took the
precaution to ask John to be good. All remains quiet, so
far.
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