Why spend the upcoming spooky season being entertained by manufactured spirits when you can learn about — and maybe even experience — one who once lived in Middle Tennessee?Â
It’s autumn, and that means it’s time to revisit the legend of the Bell Witch. In the early 1800s, legend goes, a woman named Kate Batts lived in Adams, Tenn., and she believed her neighbor, John Bell, cheated her in a land deal. She vowed to haunt him and his descendants from then on. According to lore, her ghost did just that, haunting the Bell family even after they moved away. Some believe the ghost, called the Bell Witch, even killed John Bell. She was never seen, but stories abound about her throwing objects, pulling hair and more. She was so feared that Andrew Jackson reportedly refused to stay with his troops on the Bell Farm.
The town of Adams has kept the lore of the Bell Witch alive. This autumn, Adams will host its Bell Witch Fall Festival after a two-year pandemic hiatus. Between Sept. 25 and Oct. 22, Adams — which is 40 miles northwest of downtown Nashville — will mount three separate productions commemorating the Bell Witch and other important events that took place in the area. The monthlong festival kicks off with Red River Tales, a one-day free event with live music, storytelling about Robertson County and more. Red River Tales starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25. Next up is the acclaimed bluegrass musical Smoke, which focuses on the tobacco wars of the early 1900s. That will run Sept. 29 through Oct. 8.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the mounting of the play Spirit: The Authentic History of the Bell Witch, which will run Oct. 13 through 22. The show, written by playwright (and Adams native) David Alford, is based on the journal of Richard Williams Bell, which is believed to be the only eyewitness account of the 19th-century hauntings.Â
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Festival producer Katie Veglio didn’t grow up in Adams, but she’s been working on the festival for eight years. While she admits she was initially cynical about the veracity of the Bell Witch story, she was captivated by the people of Adams. After she had her first experience with the Bell Witch (which, she says, included lights going off to prevent furniture from being moved), she says, “I felt like I was part of this community.”
The Bell Witch Fall Festival — a festival of theater, not one with rides and games — is performed on the grounds of the former Bell property. “Doing a show on Bell family property means you are really immersed in creepiness,” Veglio says. “You learn so much history, and being there and hearing this true story really makes you feel like you are part of it.”
Also on the property but unaffiliated with the festival are the Historic Bell Witch Cave and John Bell Cabin tours, which are offered year-round. (Note that during or after heavy rains the cave may flood, and therefore tours may not take place.) In honor of the spooky season, for the whole month of October the site offers expanded hours (an 11 p.m. Saturday lantern cave tour for the brave, for example) and additional programming, such as hayrides, both regular and haunted. The tours cover the history of the Bell family. Hayrides go by a Native American burial ground and recount some of the history of the Indigenous communities of the area. You can also book special evening tours for your group.
Veglio encourages festivalgoers to come early and take a cave tour and then stay for the show, buying tickets in advance for each event separately. The festival performances are in an open-air setting, so dress appropriately, with layers for weather … or in case you get a chill down your spine. (Alcohol is not permitted at the festival.) The drive to Adams from Nashville is one of the region’s loveliest, as you wind through hills and past weathered tobacco barns. Leave enough time to skip the interstate and take the scenic route.
Buy festival tickets online at bellwitchfallfestival.com for $25-$30 each. Find cave tour times and other information at bellwitchcave.com. Prices for daytime hayrides are $8, and $20 for nighttime haunted rides. Cave tours cost $15-$23.
From festivals and markets to concerts, theater, films and more, here are some of autumn’s best happenings
