The Bell Witch Investigation
The Bell Witch Investigation continued
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The Replica Bell Family
House and Bell Witch Cave
House and Bell Witch Cave
Land once serving as the site of John Bell's
plantation is now the site of the Bell Witch
Cave and Canoe Rental owned by Walter
and Chris Kirby.
plantation is now the site of the Bell Witch
Cave and Canoe Rental owned by Walter
and Chris Kirby.
Inside the Replica of the
Bell's House
Walter Kirby is an imposing man. He had seen us drive up
the dirt road to the Bell Witch Cave in the hot afternoon
sunlight. He had spotted me leaning out of the car recording
the land with my camcorder as we drove onto the property.
Mr. Kirby came out of the building that houses the Bell
Witch Cave and Canoe Rental as soon as I got out of the
car. He was wearing blue overalls and knee-high rubber
mud boots. He scolded me about using a video camera on
the property. He told me we were not permitted to video
the property - any of it. When I asked why, Mr. Kirby
responded gruffly, "I've seen what they do with it on the
Internet."
I didn't know what this meant. I guessed Mr. Kirby had
some bad experiences with video about his place on the
Internet.
Diane and I were very disappointed with Mr. Kirby's
demand. We were certain that if we had been there merely
as tourists, we never would have not paid $25 each for a
tour of the Bell Witch Cave later that evening, purely in
protest of his policy about not using a video camera to
record the site. After all, what was the big deal? We were
paying customers, weren't we?
Diane and I were not tourists in the pure sense: We had
flown all the way to Tennessee from New York specifically
to investigate Adams. We were working!
Nonetheless, we respected Mr. Kirby's wishes. Instead of
using our video camera to record the site we relied solely on
photographing what we could of the property with our
digital still cameras. However, I did manage to record just a
small piece of the property before Mr. Kirby told us not to
video any more of it (see video to the left to get an idea of
what the land looks like).
Mr. Kirby told us that if we wanted to go on a night tour of
the Bell Witch Cave we should return at 7:15, which we did
that night.
The tour began when it was dark. Before going to the cave,
Mr Kirby's wife, Chris, brought us to replica house of the
Bell's farm house. It was an unexpected surprise. It was set
up with mannequins and furniture from the period when the
Bell family lived on the same land.
By the light of electric candles we heard tales of the woeful
events that befell the Bell family. The replica house was
furnished as it would have been two hundred years ago, and
mannequins were arranged throughout the house to show
what things might have looked like with people occupying
the rooms.
We heard how young Elizabeth Bell was slapped around by
the entity and how John Bell was poisoned by “The Spirit”
as the Bells called their deadly foe.
Bell's House
Walter Kirby is an imposing man. He had seen us drive up
the dirt road to the Bell Witch Cave in the hot afternoon
sunlight. He had spotted me leaning out of the car recording
the land with my camcorder as we drove onto the property.
Mr. Kirby came out of the building that houses the Bell
Witch Cave and Canoe Rental as soon as I got out of the
car. He was wearing blue overalls and knee-high rubber
mud boots. He scolded me about using a video camera on
the property. He told me we were not permitted to video
the property - any of it. When I asked why, Mr. Kirby
responded gruffly, "I've seen what they do with it on the
Internet."
I didn't know what this meant. I guessed Mr. Kirby had
some bad experiences with video about his place on the
Internet.
Diane and I were very disappointed with Mr. Kirby's
demand. We were certain that if we had been there merely
as tourists, we never would have not paid $25 each for a
tour of the Bell Witch Cave later that evening, purely in
protest of his policy about not using a video camera to
record the site. After all, what was the big deal? We were
paying customers, weren't we?
Diane and I were not tourists in the pure sense: We had
flown all the way to Tennessee from New York specifically
to investigate Adams. We were working!
Nonetheless, we respected Mr. Kirby's wishes. Instead of
using our video camera to record the site we relied solely on
photographing what we could of the property with our
digital still cameras. However, I did manage to record just a
small piece of the property before Mr. Kirby told us not to
video any more of it (see video to the left to get an idea of
what the land looks like).
Mr. Kirby told us that if we wanted to go on a night tour of
the Bell Witch Cave we should return at 7:15, which we did
that night.
The tour began when it was dark. Before going to the cave,
Mr Kirby's wife, Chris, brought us to replica house of the
Bell's farm house. It was an unexpected surprise. It was set
up with mannequins and furniture from the period when the
Bell family lived on the same land.
By the light of electric candles we heard tales of the woeful
events that befell the Bell family. The replica house was
furnished as it would have been two hundred years ago, and
mannequins were arranged throughout the house to show
what things might have looked like with people occupying
the rooms.
We heard how young Elizabeth Bell was slapped around by
the entity and how John Bell was poisoned by “The Spirit”
as the Bells called their deadly foe.
Chris Kirby leading a tour inside the Bell
Witch Cave.
Witch Cave.
Video of land once belonging to John
Bell taken while approaching the Bell
Witch Cave.
Bell taken while approaching the Bell
Witch Cave.
Click on arrow above to start video
The descent into the mouth of the Bell Witch
Cave
Cave
The tomb that once held the remains of a
12-year-old Native American Indian girl who
was shot dead. All her bones were stolen.
12-year-old Native American Indian girl who
was shot dead. All her bones were stolen.
We listened to an audio CD of what
voices in the house might have
sounded like.
We never would have thought the
Kirbys would have had an entire
replica of the Bell’s house built on
their property so they could give
people a better idea of what the
Bells went through when they lived
there, but they did. The actual Bell
family house was torn down in the
1840's because the story of the Bell
Witch brought too many people to
the house to see it.
The replica and the show we were
treated to was pretty well thought
out and well done, and we
appreciated the effort.
voices in the house might have
sounded like.
We never would have thought the
Kirbys would have had an entire
replica of the Bell’s house built on
their property so they could give
people a better idea of what the
Bells went through when they lived
there, but they did. The actual Bell
family house was torn down in the
1840's because the story of the Bell
Witch brought too many people to
the house to see it.
The replica and the show we were
treated to was pretty well thought
out and well done, and we
appreciated the effort.
The Bell Witch Cave
Mrs. Kirby was a gentle and kind soul
who answered all of our questions
patiently, even though she must have
been asked the same questions a
million times by visitors to the replica
house and to the cave.
who answered all of our questions
patiently, even though she must have
been asked the same questions a
million times by visitors to the replica
house and to the cave.
She bought us into a large room
inside the cave. In the ground was an
empty tomb. She explained it once
held the remains of a 12 year-old
Indian girl who had been shot,
probably by the settlers to the area.
The settlers, she explained, killed off
the native Americans who lived on
the land so that they could settle the
place themselves.
inside the cave. In the ground was an
empty tomb. She explained it once
held the remains of a 12 year-old
Indian girl who had been shot,
probably by the settlers to the area.
The settlers, she explained, killed off
the native Americans who lived on
the land so that they could settle the
place themselves.
While we were exploring the haunted cave on the former Bell farm property, I spent time photographing
the tomb.
The tomb was not more than a small stone casket without a lid, built into the rock of the cave’s floor.
I suddenly felt my arm pushed hard from behind as I was preparing to take a photograph of the tomb. I
was jolted. The setup I had carefully made of the camera shot I was about to take of the tomb was ruined!
In reaction I turned quickly around to chastise Diane for pushing my arm so hard to get my attention. It
was so unlike her to do that! But when I turned, I saw that Diane was quietly standing still looking at
something else about five feet away from me. There were people in front of me but nobody was directly
behind me. When I turned around I saw everyone was busy photographing other parts of the cave. A chill
shot up my spine when I realized it was not a human hand that had pushed my arm.
When I told Pat Fitzhugh, the author, about this incident involving the shove of my arm, he said
immediately, “You were not supposed to take that picture.” He said maybe a spirit in the cave didn’t
want me to photograph the tomb. Oddly enough, Diane reported to me that although she had a camera
while she was down in the cave, she could not bring herself to photograph the tomb. She didn’t know why.
"I just could not photograph it," she reported to me.
In my thinking, for a ghost hunter not to bring herself to photograph a grave or a tomb is preposterous….
after all, isn’t that what ghost hunters do? But when such a statement is made by Diane Hill about a tomb
in a cave on the property once belonging to John Bell, it’s not preposterous, it’s paranormal.
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