The incident was very quickly followed by a series of strange manifestations. Beating, thumping, and gnawing, chewing like noises started around outside the house, but eventually they made their way inside the Bell home. Then the Bell children reported to their parents that their bedclothes were being regularly pulled off and tossed onto the floor by an invisible force. The family then reported a choking voice that also made low, guttural noises. In spite of all of this, John Bell did not believe that any supernatural entity was causing these mysterious happenings, and said so. Then Betsy Bell, the family's younger daughter and the only child still living at home, was violently assaulted. Her hair was pulled and an invisible force slapped her face. But, John Bell was a proud and stubborn man and admonished his family to never tell anyone what was happening lest they be thought crazy.