When I was very small I remember my Mamaw telling me about the witch. “She killed Poor John Bell they say” and “Old Hickory went to go investigate and ran back to Nashville with his tail between his legs.” Living in Tennessee, I find it hard pressed to find anyone my age who don’t know about the Bell Witch of Robertson County. I always like to approach most things from a genealogy background. The Bells came from Edgecomb County, North Carolina originally. So did a lot of my people, turns out me and Ol’ Jack are Sixth cousins. (I know I know, who isn’t my cousin?) Lucy’s father was John Williams, also a prominent farmer in the area.

John Bell met his wife Lucy Mourning Williams there, and they started a farm and a family before buying 1000 acres next to the Red River in 1804.

The Red River is a fascinating liminal space. It runs through South Central Kentucky and Middle Tennessee where it eventually joins up with the Cumberland River. Its reddish coloration comes from clay and silt containing iron oxides. But the history of this area adds to the mystique. Before the Bell family arrived, the region was part of a contested frontier between expanding American settlement and the First People.

One account places the fort of Thomas Kilgore on the river near what is now Cross Plains in 1778. It was abandoned within a year because of battles. Similar settlements and forts struggled in the region during the next ten years. Kilgore would even hide in one of the caves on the river to escape his pursuers. The cave system what was the Bell property is a karst cave, meaning it formed in soluble limestone. Limestone is often linked to hauntings, You’ll find quite a few haunted jails that are made of limestone blocks, including the one in my backyard in Franklin Kentucky.

So we have the Red River traveling through limestone caves, you have bloody conflict in the region, and then you have the Bell family moving into the middle of it. What could possibly go wrong?

The first strange thing happened when Ol’ Jack saw a “dog-like” creature and fired at it with his rifle before it disappeared. There are many legends one could point to in the area, from black dog Grims, Native American shapeshifters, to even the beast of Land Beyond the Lakes. The children began to see strange creatures as well, and hear sounds at night throughout the house. The Bells would not speak of these things to neighbors. As the activity became more prominent it would become abusive to members of the family, with the exception of Lucy Bell whom it referred to as “most perfect woman living”. It would tend to her when she was sick, and sing to her. John Bell Jr. would have conversations with the spirit over long intervals while still be deeply suspicious calling it “a Spirit of the Damned”.

What was the spirit? Many have speculated it was a nature spirit of the land, the Witch of Ol Kate Batts, a neighbor of John Bell that wanted to do him ill after a land deal gone wrong, or if you listen to modern “investigators”, a demon.

Eventually word spread about the “witch”. What is actually documented from the Bells is sparse, most accounts of her prophecies and acts are based on M. V. Ingram’s An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch, which was published in 1894, 26 years after Ol Jack’s passing. Which incorporated the alleged 1846 account of Richard Williams Bell, which was passed down to Ingram. So we have to be skeptical when looking into the “history” of the witch. One big goal seemed to be Early in the haunting, the spirit prophesied and vowed that she intended to torture and ultimately kill John Bell.

What is agreed upon is John Bell took a turn after the constant attacks of the spirit He became bed ridden and the witch was quoted as saying “It’s useless for you to try to relieve Old Jack – I have got him this time; he will never get up from that bed again!” When they went to get his medicine, they only found one vial, the spirit claimed she “gave Old Jack a big dose of it last night while he was fast asleep, which fixed him.” The contents of the vial were thrown into the fire and erupted into a blue blaze. John Bell died December 20, 1820.

Much speculation has been made of what killed John Bell. Some of the leading theories include Arsenic poisoning, a homicide under the guise of a haunting, natural causes, or if you believe the legend, the witch did him in.

The other goal seemed to be to break of the engagement of John and Lucy’s daughter, Betsy. After Ol Jack’s death, it turned it’s attention to Betsy, insisting that she must break off her engagement to Joshua Gardner, tormenting her until the engagement was called off. After that, the witch seemed to be satisfied, vowing to return in 7 years. Reportedly, she did in 1828, having long conversations with John Bell Jr. Eventually she would leave the property and vowed to return to visit a direct descendant of John Bell Sr. in 107 years. The jury is still out with this promise.

In modern day Adams Tennessee you have the infamous Bell Witch Cave. While the homestead of John Bell is long gone, there is a replica of a cabin from that time period to explore, you can take a ATV tour of the tobacco fields and woods around the farm, and eventually go down to the cave itself.

Upon entering the mouth of the cave I left an offering of Peridot and stated my intentions. I find this very important when going to a new place, especially one with a reputation of being strong with energy. There are several Native burial mounds on the property, even the spirit stated once ““I am a Spirit; I once was very happy, but I have been disturbed and made unhappy. I am the Spirit of a person who was buried in the woods nearby and the grave was disturbed, my bones disinterred and scattered, and one of my teeth was lost under this house. I am here looking for that tooth.”

The cave itself is like a lot of caves I’ve been in around the area. The host guide spoke of a legend where a native burial in the cave was robbed by explorers and the spirit wanders. An interesting thing happened in the back portion of the cave, a man in our group had hearing aids and he was hearing a voice which I found fascinating because he was at an amplified state that my own hearing was not picking up.

I speak a lot about intention. I am a firm believer of energy responds to like energy. I did not feel ill at ease in the cave, in fact there was a serenity I have felt in a few places of nature. I also feel like being born in this area, the spirits recognize us. Look how many folks come from out of state wanting to explore and finding the area “untethered”. As we were coming back out of the cave I tripped and landed badly. My legs are not in the right angle, I thought ” I’m probably screwed right now”. After I gathered myself from the shock of the fall I was able to get up under my own power and walk out unscathed with just a skinned knee and some scrapes on my hand. Some folks would say “THE BELL WITCH TRIED TO GET YOU!” but I take a very different approach. I believe my offering was met with protection. My poor choice of footwear in a wet slick cave forced whatever is protecting that cave to act and keep me from being hurt far far worse.

If you go onto the YouTube you will see the usual sensationalist clickbait “Paranormal Entertainment” shouting “I was cursed!” and “the demon of Bell Witch Cave!” it’s all baloney. If you go there putting out an intention of wanting to find something dark in that cave, I truly believe you will find it. Why? Because you are feeding what is there and it is responding in kind. But for me? I think the Bell Witch Cave and the Red River is a lovely part of this area. Rich in folklore and beautiful to behold.

And if Ol Kate does come for you? You probably deserve it. That’s my two cents.

Further Reading/Viewing

Tennessee State Library & Archives – Bell Witch

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