Bell Witch Cave

Bell Witch Cave is a 490-foot limestone cave near Adams, Tennessee, on land that was once the John Bell farm. It opens seasonally for guided tours.

The National Register of Historic Places added the cave in 2008, recognizing its state-level significance in Tennessee folk tradition.

John and Lucy Bell moved from North Carolina to the Adams area in 1804 and farmed there. John Bell died in December 1820.

Tennessee’s best-known folk tradition holds that an entity called the Bell Witch tormented the family from 1817 to 1821. The account attributes John Bell’s death to it.

The story reached print in 1894, when M.V. Ingram published a history in Clarksville that reproduced a manuscript said to date from 1846.

Visitors and tour guests still describe odd photographs and sounds they cannot place inside the cave, according to the operators and regional coverage.

The cave sits on private land and sells tickets on site, with no reservations taken. Heavy rain floods it, and it closes from December through April.