The bell was his wives, all of the pranks and scenarios that went on were things that just so corresponded/related to his wife. For example the door not working was something that his wife wanted him to fix, in which he never did. The bell when it ringed and wasn't in its spot allowed the man to believe that all of this were signs of his wife wanting him back,(wanting him to go to here.) It's not about the haunting in this movie that caused him to kill himself it was how the pranks connected to his wife.