This 2016 episode covers a haunting story from the early 1800s. Many narratives have blossomed from the Bell Witch story, but when you really try to look at the facts, they're few and far between.

This 2016 episode covers a haunting story from the early 1800s. Many narratives have blossomed from the Bell Witch story, but when you really try to look at the facts, they're few and far between.

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Listen to this collection of top episodes from iHeartRadio and iHeartPodcasts. 

Listen to this collection of top episodes from iHeartRadio and iHeartPodcasts.&nbsp;

Podcasts from iHeartRadio

SYMHC Classics: Bell Witch

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/8b18bd37-026a-482b-9fed-b36c002837ba/transcript

Tracy talks about her visit to the Bunker Hill monument. She then describes a very early morning start when she went to visit Oxford on her recent trip to England.

Tracy talks about her visit to the Bunker Hill monument. She then describes a very early morning start when she went to visit Oxford on her recent trip to England.

Behind the Scenes Minis: Stairs and Trains

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/8eb724b1-0969-45d4-9c5f-b47c008146f7/transcript

Elizabeth Blackwell was born in London in the early 18th century, and was known in her lifetime for her achievements as a botanical illustrator. 

Research:
“A Genuine Copy of a Letter &c.” Stockholm, August 20. H. Carpenter in Fleet Street, 1747. https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Genuine_Copy_of_a_Letter_from_a_Mercha.html?id=EPRbAAAAQAAJ
Alexander, Isabella and Cristina S. Martinez. “2. The First Copyright Case under the 1735 Engravings Act:  The Germination of Visual Copyright?” From Circulation and Control: Artistic Culture and Intellectual Property in the Nineteenth Century. Marie-Stéphanie Delamaire and Will Slauter, editors. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0247
Beharrel, Will. “Elizabeth Blackwell's Curious Herbal.” The Linnean Society. 7/28/2021. https://www.linnean.org/news/2021/07/28/elizabeth-blackwells-curious-herbal
Blackwell, Elizabeth (1737). A Curious Herbal. Containing Five Hundred Cuts of the most useful Plants, which are now used in the Practice of Physick. Engraved on folio Copper Plates, after Drawings, taken from the Life. By Elizabeth Blackwell. To which is added a short Description of ye Plants; and their common Uses in Physick. London: Printed for Samuel Harding in St Martin’s Lane, MDCCXXXVII (1737) Rubenstein QK99.A1 B53 1737 folio v.1 c.1. Scan of preface. https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubenstein/files/2022/10/blackwell-preface-scaled.jpg
Bruce, James. “Lives of Eminent Men of Aberdeen.” Aberdeen. The University Press. 1841. https://archive.org/details/b33028722/
Chelsea Physic Garden. “Curious Herbal; Curious Tale.” Newsletter. Spring-Summer 2005.
Child, Lydia Maria. “Biographies of Good Wives.” Boston: Munroe & Francis. 1850. https://archive.org/details/biographiesofgoo00chil_0
Elliott, Brent. “The World of the Renaissance Herbal.” Renaissance Studies. Vol. 25, No. 1. February 2011. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24420235
Evenden, Doreen A. "Blackwell [née Simpson], Elizabeth (1699–1758), botanical author and artist." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. August 08, 2024. Oxford University Press. Date of access 18 Jun. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2540
Grosjean, A. N. L. "Blackwell, Alexander (bap. 1709, d. 1747), agricultural improver and government agent in Sweden." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. June 08, 2023. Oxford University Press. Date of access 18 Jun. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2539
Huler, Scott. “A Beautiful Find.” Duke Mag. 9/5/2023. https://dukemag.duke.edu/stories/beautiful-find
Madge, Bruce. “Elizabeth Blackwell—the forgotten herbalist?” Health Information & Libraries Journal, 18: 144-152. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-1842.2001.00330.x
Monroe, Nicky. “Elizabeth Blackwell’s Curious Herbal.” RHS Libraries and Collections. https://www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/libraries-at-rhs/articles/elizabeth-blackwell
Newman, Joyce. “Will The Real Elizabeth Blackwell Please Stand Up?” New York Botanical Garden. 7/1/2013. https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/2013/07/exhibit-news/will-the-real-elizabeth-blackwell-please-stand-up/
O’Keeffe, Lynda. “Guest post by Lynda O’Keeffe – A Curious Herbal Elizabeth Blackwell’s Pioneering Masterpiece of Botanical Art.” All Things Georgan. 3/8/2024. https://georgianera.wordpress.com/2024/03/08/guest-post-by-lynda-okeeffe-a-curious-herbal-elizabeth-blackwells-pioneering-masterpiece-of-botanical-art/
Pardoe, Heather and Maureen Lazarus. “Images of Botany: Celebrating the Contribution of Women to the History of Botanical Illustration.” Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals, Volume 14, Number 4, Fall 2018, pp. 545–566.
RHS Digital Collections. “Elizabeth Blackwell's Curious Herbal.” https://collections.rhs.org.uk/collection/111276
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. “Elizabeth Blackwell: Prison, Plotting and the Curious Herbal.” https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/heritage-blog/elizabeth-blackwell-prison-plotting-and-curious-herbal
Shirk, Henrietta Nickels. “Contributions to Botany, the Female Science, by Two Eighteenth-century Women Technical Communicators.” Technical Communication Quarterly. Vol. 6, No. 3. Summer 1997.
Tyson, Janet Stiles. “Introducing Elizabeth Blackwell to Hans Sloane.” British Library Untold Lives Blog. 5/18/2021. Via Archive.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20210619032948/https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2021/05/introducing-elizabeth-blackwell-to-hans-sloane.html
Tyson, Janet Stiles. “The Rubenstein Library’s disruptive copy of A Curious Herbal.” 11/14/2022. https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubenstein/2022/11/14/a-curious-herbal/
Tyson, Janet. “'A Curious Herbal' as Material Witness.” The Linnean Society. 1/10/2023. https://www.linnean.org/news/2023/01/10/a-curious-herbal-as-material-witness

Elizabeth Blackwell was born in London in the early 18th century, and was known in her lifetime for her achievements as a botanical illustrator.&nbsp;
Research:
<ul>
<li>&ldquo;A Genuine Copy of a Letter &amp;c.&rdquo; Stockholm, August 20. H. Carpenter in Fleet Street, 1747. https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Genuine_Copy_of_a_Letter_from_a_Mercha.html?id=EPRbAAAAQAAJ</li>
<li>Alexander, Isabella and Cristina S. Martinez. &ldquo;2. The First Copyright Case under the 1735 Engravings Act:  The Germination of Visual Copyright?&rdquo; From Circulation and Control: Artistic Culture and Intellectual Property in the Nineteenth Century. Marie-St&eacute;phanie Delamaire and Will Slauter, editors. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0247</li>
<li>Beharrel, Will. &ldquo;Elizabeth Blackwell's Curious Herbal.&rdquo; The Linnean Society. 7/28/2021. https://www.linnean.org/news/2021/07/28/elizabeth-blackwells-curious-herbal</li>
<li>Blackwell, Elizabeth (1737). A Curious Herbal. Containing Five Hundred Cuts of the most useful Plants, which are now used in the Practice of Physick. Engraved on folio Copper Plates, after Drawings, taken from the Life. By Elizabeth Blackwell. To which is added a short Description of ye Plants; and their common Uses in Physick. London: Printed for Samuel Harding in St Martin&rsquo;s Lane, MDCCXXXVII (1737) Rubenstein QK99.A1 B53 1737 folio v.1 c.1. Scan of preface. https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubenstein/files/2022/10/blackwell-preface-scaled.jpg</li>
<li>Bruce, James. &ldquo;Lives of Eminent Men of Aberdeen.&rdquo; Aberdeen. The University Press. 1841. https://archive.org/details/b33028722/</li>
<li>Chelsea Physic Garden. &ldquo;Curious Herbal; Curious Tale.&rdquo; Newsletter. Spring-Summer 2005.</li>
<li>Child, Lydia Maria. &ldquo;Biographies of Good Wives.&rdquo; Boston: Munroe &amp; Francis. 1850. https://archive.org/details/biographiesofgoo00chil_0</li>
<li>Elliott, Brent. &ldquo;The World of the Renaissance Herbal.&rdquo; Renaissance Studies. Vol. 25, No. 1. February 2011. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24420235</li>
<li>Evenden, Doreen A. "Blackwell [n&eacute;e Simpson], Elizabeth (1699&ndash;1758), botanical author and artist." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. August 08, 2024. Oxford University Press. Date of access 18 Jun. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2540</li>
<li>Grosjean, A. N. L. "Blackwell, Alexander (bap. 1709, d. 1747), agricultural improver and government agent in Sweden." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. June 08, 2023. Oxford University Press. Date of access 18 Jun. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2539</li>
<li>Huler, Scott. &ldquo;A Beautiful Find.&rdquo; Duke Mag. 9/5/2023. https://dukemag.duke.edu/stories/beautiful-find</li>
<li>Madge, Bruce. &ldquo;Elizabeth Blackwell&mdash;the forgotten herbalist?&rdquo; Health Information &amp; Libraries Journal, 18: 144-152. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-1842.2001.00330.x</li>
<li>Monroe, Nicky. &ldquo;Elizabeth Blackwell&rsquo;s Curious Herbal.&rdquo; RHS Libraries and Collections. https://www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/libraries-at-rhs/articles/elizabeth-blackwell</li>
<li>Newman, Joyce. &ldquo;Will The Real Elizabeth Blackwell Please Stand Up?&rdquo; New York Botanical Garden. 7/1/2013. https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/2013/07/exhibit-news/will-the-real-elizabeth-blackwell-please-stand-up/</li>
<li>O&rsquo;Keeffe, Lynda. &ldquo;Guest post by Lynda O&rsquo;Keeffe &ndash; A Curious Herbal Elizabeth Blackwell&rsquo;s Pioneering Masterpiece of Botanical Art.&rdquo; All Things Georgan. 3/8/2024. https://georgianera.wordpress.com/2024/03/08/guest-post-by-lynda-okeeffe-a-curious-herbal-elizabeth-blackwells-pioneering-masterpiece-of-botanical-art/</li>
<li>Pardoe, Heather and Maureen Lazarus. &ldquo;Images of Botany: Celebrating the Contribution of Women to the History of Botanical Illustration.&rdquo; Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals, Volume 14, Number 4, Fall 2018, pp. 545&ndash;566.</li>
<li>RHS Digital Collections. &ldquo;Elizabeth Blackwell's Curious Herbal.&rdquo; https://collections.rhs.org.uk/collection/111276</li>
<li>Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. &ldquo;Elizabeth Blackwell: Prison, Plotting and the Curious Herbal.&rdquo; https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/heritage-blog/elizabeth-blackwell-prison-plotting-and-curious-herbal</li>
<li>Shirk, Henrietta Nickels. &ldquo;Contributions to Botany, the Female Science, by Two Eighteenth-century Women Technical Communicators.&rdquo; Technical Communication Quarterly. Vol. 6, No. 3. Summer 1997.</li>
<li>Tyson, Janet Stiles. &ldquo;Introducing Elizabeth Blackwell to Hans Sloane.&rdquo; British Library Untold Lives Blog. 5/18/2021. Via Archive.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20210619032948/https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2021/05/introducing-elizabeth-blackwell-to-hans-sloane.html</li>
<li>Tyson, Janet Stiles. &ldquo;The Rubenstein Library&rsquo;s disruptive copy of A Curious Herbal.&rdquo; 11/14/2022. https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubenstein/2022/11/14/a-curious-herbal/</li>
<li>Tyson, Janet. &ldquo;'A Curious Herbal' as Material Witness.&rdquo; The Linnean Society. 1/10/2023. https://www.linnean.org/news/2023/01/10/a-curious-herbal-as-material-witness</li>
</ul>

Elizabeth Blackwell was born in London in the early 18th century, and was known in her lifetime for her achievements as a botanical illustrator. 

Elizabeth Blackwell's Curious Herbal

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b3a3adcb-4f97-4a7b-b033-b47a00733734/transcript

Very soon after it was completed in 1842, the Bunker Hill monument started to be about a lot more than just the battle that took place on June 17, 1775. 

Research:
"Battle of Bunker Hill." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Nov. 2025. libraries.state.ma.us/login?eburl=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.eb.com&ebtarget=%2Flevels%2Freferencecenter%2Farticle%2FBattle-of-Bunker-Hill%2F18086&ebboatid=9265928. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
Markoe, Lauren. “Gun Owners take Aim at New Law.” The Patriot Ledger. Oct. 10 and 11 1998.
National Park Service. “Peter Brown.” Last updated 2/26/2025. https://www.nps.gov/people/peter-brown.htm
National Park Service. “Remembering Revolution: Bunker Hill Monument.” Last updated 1/2/2025. https://www.nps.gov/bost/remembering-revolution.htm#27EBF851-37AB-4F4E-AA50-9BEDD914F0CC
Webster, Daniel. “Dedication Speech for the Unveiling of the Bunker Hill Monument.” 6/17/1843. Via American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/dedication-speech-unveiling-bunker-hill-monument
National Park Service. “The Bunker Hill Monument Association: Expressing Gratitude and Patriotism.” Last updated 1/22/2024. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bhma.htm
National Park Service. “Bunker Hill Lodge.” Last updated 1/12/2026. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bh-lodge.htm
National Park Service. “King Solomon's Lodge.” Last updated 3/30/2023. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bh-ksl.htm
Warren, George Washington. “The history of the Bunker Hill monument association during the first century of the United States of America.” Bunker Hill Monument Association. https://archive.org/details/historyofbunkerh00warr/
The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire. “Caleb Stark.” https://www.socnh.org/caleb-stark/
Stebbins, G.B. “May Day – North and South.” The liberator. v.16:no.21(1846:May 22). Via Digital Commonwealth. https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:gb19h555q
Mansfield, Howard. “Silent Witness.” Yankee. Mar/Apr2025, Vol. 89 Issue 2, p80-106.
National Park Service. “Bunker Hill Monument Projection, 1998.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bunker-hill-monument-projection-1998.htm
Hay, John. “Broken Hearths: Melville's ‘Israel Potter’ and the Bunker Hill Monument.” The New England Quarterly , June 2016, Vol. 89, No. 2 (June 2016). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24718238
Purcell, Sarah J. “Commemoration, Public Art, and the Changing Meaning of the Bunker Hill Monument.” The Public Historian , Vol. 25, No. 2 (Spring 2003). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2003.25.2.55
Everett, Edward. “An oration delivered at Charlestown, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1850.” Boston. 1850. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822038214979
National Park Service. “Irish Claims to the Revolution.” 2/26/2025. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/irish-claims-to-the-revolution.htm
“Unworthy of Concord: A Know-nothing Appeal.” Pilot, Volume 38, Number 18, 1 May 1875. https://newspapers.bc.edu/?a=d&d=pilot18750501-01.2.19&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------+%2C+4----------------
National Park Service. “Operation POW.” March 1, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/operation-pow.htm

Very soon after it was completed in 1842, the Bunker Hill monument started to be about a lot more than just the battle that took place on June 17, 1775.&nbsp;
Research:
<ul>
<li>"Battle of Bunker Hill." Britannica Library, Encyclop&aelig;dia Britannica, 18 Nov. 2025. libraries.state.ma.us/login?eburl=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.eb.com&amp;ebtarget=%2Flevels%2Freferencecenter%2Farticle%2FBattle-of-Bunker-Hill%2F18086&amp;ebboatid=9265928. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.</li>
<li>Markoe, Lauren. &ldquo;Gun Owners take Aim at New Law.&rdquo; The Patriot Ledger. Oct. 10 and 11 1998.</li>
<li>National Park Service. &ldquo;Peter Brown.&rdquo; Last updated 2/26/2025. https://www.nps.gov/people/peter-brown.htm</li>
<li>National Park Service. &ldquo;Remembering Revolution: Bunker Hill Monument.&rdquo; Last updated 1/2/2025. https://www.nps.gov/bost/remembering-revolution.htm#27EBF851-37AB-4F4E-AA50-9BEDD914F0CC</li>
<li>Webster, Daniel. &ldquo;Dedication Speech for the Unveiling of the Bunker Hill Monument.&rdquo; 6/17/1843. Via American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/dedication-speech-unveiling-bunker-hill-monument</li>
<li>National Park Service. &ldquo;The Bunker Hill Monument Association: Expressing Gratitude and Patriotism.&rdquo; Last updated 1/22/2024. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bhma.htm</li>
<li>National Park Service. &ldquo;Bunker Hill Lodge.&rdquo; Last updated 1/12/2026. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bh-lodge.htm</li>
<li>National Park Service. &ldquo;King Solomon's Lodge.&rdquo; Last updated 3/30/2023. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bh-ksl.htm</li>
<li>Warren, George Washington. &ldquo;The history of the Bunker Hill monument association during the first century of the United States of America.&rdquo; Bunker Hill Monument Association. https://archive.org/details/historyofbunkerh00warr/</li>
<li>The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire. &ldquo;Caleb Stark.&rdquo; https://www.socnh.org/caleb-stark/</li>
<li>Stebbins, G.B. &ldquo;May Day &ndash; North and South.&rdquo; The liberator. v.16:no.21(1846:May 22). Via Digital Commonwealth. https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:gb19h555q</li>
<li>Mansfield, Howard. &ldquo;Silent Witness.&rdquo; Yankee. Mar/Apr2025, Vol. 89 Issue 2, p80-106.</li>
<li>National Park Service. &ldquo;Bunker Hill Monument Projection, 1998.&rdquo; https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bunker-hill-monument-projection-1998.htm</li>
<li>Hay, John. &ldquo;Broken Hearths: Melville's &lsquo;Israel Potter&rsquo; and the Bunker Hill Monument.&rdquo; The New England Quarterly , June 2016, Vol. 89, No. 2 (June 2016). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24718238</li>
<li>Purcell, Sarah J. &ldquo;Commemoration, Public Art, and the Changing Meaning of the Bunker Hill Monument.&rdquo; The Public Historian , Vol. 25, No. 2 (Spring 2003). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2003.25.2.55</li>
<li>Everett, Edward. &ldquo;An oration delivered at Charlestown, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1850.&rdquo; Boston. 1850. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822038214979</li>
<li>National Park Service. &ldquo;Irish Claims to the Revolution.&rdquo; 2/26/2025. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/irish-claims-to-the-revolution.htm</li>
<li>&ldquo;Unworthy of Concord: A Know-nothing Appeal.&rdquo; Pilot, Volume 38, Number 18, 1 May 1875. https://newspapers.bc.edu/?a=d&amp;d=pilot18750501-01.2.19&amp;e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------+%2C+4----------------</li>
<li>National Park Service. &ldquo;Operation POW.&rdquo; March 1, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/operation-pow.htm</li>
</ul>

Very soon after it was completed in 1842, the Bunker Hill monument started to be about a lot more than just the battle that took place on June 17, 1775. 

The Many Meanings of the Bunker Hill Monument

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a97c3d71-2137-47e7-a409-b478006c9499/transcript

SYMHC Classics: Bell Witch

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