Bell Witch Cave

Bell Witch Cave
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	430 Keysburg Rd., Adams, Tennessee
Coordinates:	36°35′29″N 87°3′20″W
Area:	2.4 acres (0.97 ha)
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	08000237
Added to NRHP:	March 21, 2008

The Bell Witch Cave is a karst cave located in Adams, Tennessee near where the Bell Farm once stood. The cave is approximately 490 feet (150 m) long. The cave is privately owned and tours are given during the summer months and the month of October.

There is an excellent description of Bell Witch Cave on pages 394-396 of the book "Caves of Tennessee" by Thomas C. Barr, Jr. (1961). The description includes a full-page map on page 395. This book is Bulletin 64 of the Tennessee Division of Geology and it is still in print and available to the public.

According to Barr, in the particular legend in which the cave is featured, young Betsy Bell and some of her friends had gone to explore the cave. While they were there, one of the boys crawled into a hole and became stuck. A voice cried out, "I'll get him out!". The boy felt hands grasping his feet and he was pulled out of the hole. The Bell Witch (still invisible), then gave the young explorers a lecture on reckless cave exploring.

This cave has been associated with The Bell Witch, a period during which the Bell Family was allegedly haunted by the Bell Witch. The cave is located on property once owned by the Bell family. Many believe that when the witch departed, she fled to the sanctuary of this cave.

References

• "Bell Witch Cave". Show Caves of the United States. http://www.showcaves.com/english/usa/showcaves/BellWitch.html. Retrieved January 12, 2006. 

External links

• "The Bell Witch Cave". http://www.bellwitchcave.com. Retrieved 2006-01-12.  - Official site
• "The Bell Witch". Ghosts of the Prairie. http://www.prairieghosts.com/b-cave.html. Retrieved January 12, 2006.  - Information about the Bell Witch story and the cave.