Tennessee's haunting
history is filled with several tales dealing with ghosts and folklore. But
visitors to the community of Adams, Tennessee, usually have one thing in mind:
The Bell Witch. Many communities across the Southeast have their own stories of
spirits and ghosts, but the story of the Bell Witch is the most documented story
of the supernatural in all of American history.
The story of the Bell
Witch begins in 1804, when the John Bell family moved from North Carolina to
Robertson County. By 1817 John Bell was an influential member of the community,
and the home he shared with his wife and nine children was one of the nicest in
the town.
And then the trouble
started- slowly at first, but it soon rose to extremes and eventually led to the
death of John Bell. The witch's presence began as a series of strange noises,
heard by all members of the Bell family and then by skeptical neighbors whose
curiosity led them to spend the night in the Bell house. Grawing noises, and
then to gulping sounds, as if someone were choking. Soon, covers began flying
off beds, and then some invisible thing began pulling the hair of the Bell
children. Betsy, John's daughter, was tortured by repeated slaps until her face
was red.
Then the spirit began
to talk. "Kate" (as she was called) spoke of fortunes and love,
philosophy and religion, often quoting the Bible by chapter and verse to win
"debates" with the mortals in the house. And the witch swore she would
kill John Bell. On December 20, 1820, John Bell died from a mysterious illness,
and the witch sang drunkenly at the funeral.
The witch announced
she was leaving in 1821 but that she would return in seven years. Documented
accounts prove she did return in 1828, but once the last Bell offspring had left
the house, the witch became quiet again. But
the stories of the Bell Witch do not end there. A
cave remains on the old Bell farm, around which many of the 20th - century
phenomena have taken place. Visitors have reported seeing a woman's figure
floating through the cave's passageways. Others
report being touched by something or hearing sounds like chains dragging or
distant footsteps. One boy had a cap snatched from his head and deposited on a
ledge 30 feet up.
The cave is privately
owned but is open for tours seven days a week from May to November from 10:00
a.m. until 6:00 p.m. For more information, call (615) 696-3055.
The
following message is printed on John Bell's tombstone:
JOHN
BELL
1750-1820
ORIGINAL
TOMBSTONE
DISAPPEARED
ABOUT 1850
THIS
MARKER PLACED 1957
HIS
WIFE
LUCY
WILIAMS BELL