The American Haunting?

Question

I watched this movie 2 times and I must of dozed off during it both times.

I never got the impression that Mr.Bell (dad) was abusing Betsy.
It turns out he was molesting her. I need to watch it again!

Since their last name was Bell was the witch one of them?

Was the molestation the cause for the spirit showing up?
Who is "Kate" and why is she important to this family?
Is "Kate" a family member that died a long time ago?
Was "Kate" coming back to get her "pound of flesh" from the dad?
Did he molest her too?
Was Betsy truly "haunted"?
What was the cause of all the violence towards Betsy? Why Betsy?
Did the dad continue to molest her during the haunting?
Was the dad haunted too?
I saw the dad die. But not Betsy. When did she die in the movie?
Why was Betsy spooking around her old house at the end of the movie?
Did the mom know about the molestation?
Did the mom and not "Kate" kill the dad?
Did she poison him?
Someone please help me!

Answer 1

You know, it's been awhile since I saw the movie but I'll do the best that I can to answer the questions:

(1) Yes, I think the molestation was the cause for the spirit showing up. Maybe a teenaged girl being victimized can draw the energies of a poltergeist. I've read before that poltergeist activity tends to happen around teenagers most often. Young teens being more common than 18 or 19 year olds.

(2) I'm not sure who "Kate" is. Maybe a manifestation of the poltergeist activity? Maybe a ghost? Maybe a psychic projection of another personality inhabiting Betsy? Maybe a former victim of the Dad? (e.g. Dad's dead sister whom he molested ages ago) I'm not sure.

(3) Was Betsy truly "haunted?" Well, guess it depends on how a person defines "haunted."

(4) The cause of the violence against Betsy may be that it's just a particularly aggressive poltergeist. If the poltergeist was some physical manifestation of Betsy's subconcious, maybe she felt "guilty" about being molested. Some victims blame themeselves. If it's a manifestation of some independent evil, maybe the entity knew that her father would feel worse having someone else have more power and control over his victim than he was having over the one being abused all along. Maybe it was mocking the mother, sort of "you let him do what he wants so I take it as an invitation to do what I want with her."

(5) Yeah, oh, yeah, I'm really sure the mother knew about the molestation.

(6) Oooh, can't remember exactly whether it was "Kate" that killed the Dad but, yeah, I thought the entity did it. That made me think it was like a projection of Betsy's subconscious... that and the fact that Kate quit terrorizing Betsy after Dad died.

(7) Did someone poison Dad? I don't really recall how the jerk died.

Sorry I can't be more helpful but I thought it a boring and tedious movie and it's been awhile since I saw it in the theaters. What a waste of my money!

Answer 2

You have a lot of good questions about the movie. It was a confusing one where you didn't know what was really happening and what wasn't.
I can tell you what I think happened but it will differ to other responses.

The events in the movie are based on supposedly true events from the legend of The Bell Witch that have been validated by the State of Tennessee and President Andrew Jackson as the only case in United States history where a spirit or entity caused the death of a man.
The film switches from the 19th Century to the 21st Century and features a side story about a recently divorced mother whose daughter is going through something like the same experience as Betsy Bell.


This came from the link below, it is a great one giving details of the true story and the movie, it is fascinating reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_American_Haunting

And IMDb has a plot summary, cast etc:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429573/

Answer 3

I have noticeable American Haunting. It gave the impression of an historical usual ghost tale till the tip. I am now not conveniently anxious, so I did not discover it horrifying. I could consider such a lot folks could discover it extra spooky and interesting. It's additionally slightly of a thriller. I could supply it **a million/two out of ****.

Answer 4

I think it was symbolic. Since she was molested her "spirit" or "inner child" died and came back to haunt them. It was clear that the mom knew about her being molested because she caught the dad in the middle of the night and didn't say anything about it after that night. I think also the spirit of the father, in which you could even say his "evil spirit" within him was the one causing all the slapping & hurting. That's how I took it?