Investigation Summary
A karst cave on the former Bell Farm property near Adams, Robertson County, Tennessee, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The cave is associated with the Bell Witch legend, one of the best-known ghost stories in American folklore, which centres on the Bell family's reported disturbances c. 1817–1821.
The NC DNCR states explicitly that no contemporary primary sources exist for the legend; the earliest known mention appeared in an 1886 history of Tennessee, and all accounts derive from Martin V. Ingram's 1894 book. The cave itself played no role in the original legend — science writer Brian Dunning assessed that cave-related narratives were created long after the alleged events.
John Bell's death on 20 December 1820 is the only independently documented event. The Richard Williams Bell manuscript cited by Ingram has never been located.