Bell Witch Cave

Useful Information

Location:	At Adams. Interstate 24, exit near Clarksville, Highway 76 to Adams. At Adams turn right after the Amoco station and take Eden Road.
Open:	MAY Sat, Sun 10-17. JUN to Labor Day Mon, Wed-Sun 10-17. Labor Day to OCT 10-17. Closed in case of flooding. [2004]
Fee:	Adults $7. [2004]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=150 m, V=17.000/a [2007].
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	Troy Taylor (2003): Down in the Darkness, The Shadowy History of America's Haunted Mines, Tunnels & Caverns Whitechapel Productions Press, Illinois, USA, 210 pp. ISBN: 1892523310. pp 114-128. amazon.com
Address:	Bell Witch Cave, 430 Keysburg Road, Adams, Tel: +1-615-696-3055.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1970	In response to public demand, the owner Bill Eden started showing members of the public around the cave.
APR-1993	Chris and Walter Kirby buy the property and make a few improvements. New lighting system and new pathways both inside and outside the cave.
2005	cave topic of An American Haunting, a feature film starring Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek.
MAY-2008	inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

Description

Bell Witch Cave is reputed to be haunted. Only open during summer months as flooding in the winter makes the cave impassable. In 1804, John Bell and his family settled on this spot and built a farm, and in 1817 the family claimed to experience paranormal activity. Actually this was at first not exclusively connected with the cave. After the Bell family the ghost was called Bell Witch. Later the cave was named after the witch and became the centre of the paranormal activities. It seems the Bells were able to make the witch known in the area, as a resultAndrew Jackson visited the family at this time.

The cave is actually rather dull, at least from the speleological or geological point of view. Not believing in ghosts, we guess from the paranormal view too. Pictures on the web showing the ghost are actually pictures where the photographers took pictures of the own condensed breath with a flash. Definitely unimpressive.