The Bell Witch Cave

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The Bell Witch haunting in Tennessee is a legend that has endured for over two centuries. Witnesses of the witch’s antics allegedly include not just the Bell family but also their neighbors and even future president Andrew Jackson. The connection between the infamous haunting and the Bell Witch Cave is kind of a stretch but it’s still super cool to stand on the site of a classic American horror story and tour a beautiful karst cave!

entrance to the Bell Witch cave

Location: 430 Keysburg Rd, Adams, TN 37010
Cost: $23 adults, $15 ages 4 – 12
Hours: Open Weekends, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. May – early November

History

The spirit known as the Bell Witch made her grand entrance in 1817 and proceeded to torment the Bell family for the next three years. She had a particular hatred of patriarch John Bell and vowed to kill him. In December 1820, John Bell was found dead with a vial of mysterious liquid by his bedside. The witch reportedly bragged, “I gave Old Jack a big dose of that last night, which fixed him.” His cause of death was officially attributed to the Bell Witch, making Tennessee the only state to list supernatural forces as a cause of death.

signs in Adams, Tennessee for the Bell Witch Cave and the Bell Witch legend
black and white illustration of people mourning a man's death
Illustration of John Bell’s death from An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch by M. V. Ingram

Other Bell Witch antics:

  • Appearing as a dog with the head of a rabbit, then as a giant bird, then as a black dog. Eventually, she was invisible but began speaking to the Bells.
  • When John Bell invited neighbors and church members over, the witch went all out—screaming and cursing. I like that she wasn’t your typical gaslighting ghost and did not shy away from an audience.
  • On Andrew Jackson’s ill-fated visit, his cart got mysteriously stuck while tryign to reach the Bell property. Jackson reportedly fled and did not return. (LOL, it’s a shame she didn’t scare him out of running for President.)
  • While the witch had a soft spot for John’s wife, Lucy, she was not kind to the Bell’s daughter, Betsy. The witch hated Betsy Bell’s engagement and bullied her into calling it off.
replica of an 1800s log cabin

Visiting the site of the Bell Witch today

Today, you can buy a ticket to tour a reproduction of the Bell family’s 19th-century cabin, complete with some amazingly creepy mannequins. If photos were allowed, I would have snapped one of a vacant-eyed child mannequin staring at the wall. Instead, here’s this:

screenshot from the show Ghost Adventures of a sleeping bearded mannequin
Screenshot of the mannequin cabin in the Bell Witch episode of Ghost Adventures.

As for the Bell Witch Cave, the story goes that a young Betsy Bell was exploring the cave with friends when a young boy got stuck. The children heard a mysterious voice call out, “I’ll get him out!” and the boy was yanked back to safety. The invisible entity then scolded the children for being reckless. Skeptics argue that the cave wasn’t part of the original Bell Witch story and was added years later. But, we all know skepticism is no fun and anyway, where’s the fun in facts.

narrow lit pathway into the Bell Witch Cave

The cave tour includes an easy but steep hike to the cave, which was possibly used by the Bells for refrigeration. Our guides kept things lively by rescuing a wayward turtle and playing a recording of what might be a ghostly voice taken in the cave that morning. But the most exciting part was when two little bats swooped through the main “room” of the cave just as our guide described a Native American burial. This was a true thrill! Lastly, we were warned not to take anything from the cave as cave rock thieves will be cursed.

burial site of a young girl inside the Bell Witch Cave
The empty burial spot of a young girl in the first “room” of the cave. Her bones were stolen long ago by vandals. 
mud drip at the back of the Bell Witch Cave
This looks like a bird with spread wings from certain angles??

More Bell Witch

  • Our Family Trouble: The Story of the Bell Witch – A firsthand account by Richard Williams Bell, youngest son of John Bell.
  • An American Haunting (2005) – A movie starring Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek.
  • Bell Witch – The Seattle-based doom metal band, definitely taking their name from the legend.
  • The Bell Witch – the song by Danish metal band Mercyful Fate on their 1993 album In the Shadows.
woman carrying a turtle and a closeup of a box turtle
Our guide rescued this poor little guy from a fall into the cave. Hope he made it!

What’s nearby?

I’m not sure what constitutes the region of “Middle Tennessee” but assuming it’s the big chunk of the state’s middle, then it’s full of beautiful rural backroads and waterfalls.

  • ET Wickham Sculptures: about 45 minutes from the Bell Witch Cave, you can see the weathered remains of ET Wickham’s headless sculptures.
  • Nashville: Music City is just 45 minutes south from the Bell Witch Cave
  • Rock Island State Park: a little further but if you’re visiting the Bell Witch from North Georgia like I was, you can stop at a number of breathtaking waterfalls. We stopped at Burgess Falls and Ozone Falls on this trip, and Rock Island is right around there too.
woman throwing wiffle ball into bucket
Bucket toss while you wait for your tour. I was really bad at this!

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