I think it was a made-for-T.V. movie back in the '80s. I only remember the opening and parts of the end, but not much in between.
It starts with a bunch of kids going up into an old bell tower. They form a circle around this girl with long, very straight, blonde hair, doing some sort of ceremony. The bell falls on top of the girl and I think it might have even bounced, for when it's removed, she's gone.
Disappeared.
(At least, I THINK there was a bell. It might have just been a great flash of golden light. But I'm 99.9% sure a big huge bell fell on her then maybe bounced away.)
Years pass, I forget entirely what happened in between, but eventually the kids, now adults, return to the bell tower and repeat what they did. I think, but I'm not sure, that the bell fell again. I do know that this time the missing girl's mom, now a grey haired old lady, is there, and the girl reappears, I'm pretty sure she was still the same age she was when she disappeared – or she might've grown up to her early 20s while gone, but I'm thinking the former. I remember her going to hug her mom. And – that's it. If they ever resolved how people were going to explain how she reappeared or any thing like that, I don't remember.
Heck, I don't even remember if the bell tower was supposed to be haunted or what have you. And for some reason, even though I remember a bell and a long climb up, the set reminded me more of a barn loft. Lots of room, sunlight, and unpainted wood.
UPDATE: NAME THAT TRAUMA SOLVED! Special thanks to Reader Robert S. for naming it with THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS!
Oh thank you! That's been bugging me on and off while awhile. You know how it is, you can go months without thinking of it, then suddenly a scene plays in your head and you just can't remember where it's from.