hauntedcaves

Mammoth Cave is the single largest natural cave in the entire world. It consists of at least five known levels and over 300 miles of hallways and corridors. Several of the larger caverns yawn open to heights of 200 ft., while other sections are barely large enough to allow passage.

Among ghost hunters, there is very little doubt that Mammoth Cave is one of the most active haunted sites in the entire world. Since its discovery in 1798, the cave has recorded well over 150 reports of ghostly phenemona, ranging from short-lived poltergeist activity to intricate apparitions. The list of reliable witnesses includes geologists, tour guides, psychics, and a wide variety of tourists with diverse backgrounds.

The most active ghoste in Mammoth Cave is the spirit of Stephen Bishop, a black slave whose owner put him to work as a guide at the site beginning in 1838. According to local legend, Bishop quickly became the cave's most skilled explorer, drawing incredibly accurate maps of the area and frequently discovering new chambers and passageways.

Eventually, Bishop's master offered him a chance to escape slavery on the condition that he leave Kentucky and move north. Bishop declined, claiming that he could never give up his life inside the cave. Even after death, Bishop refused to leave Mammoth Cave.

Today, Bishop most often appears as a fully formed phantom, distinguishable only by his clothing. He frequently wears a dark shirt, white pants, vest, and Panama hat. On occasion, he has been sighted with the ghosts of a woman and two children, whose identities are unknown. While in phantom form, Bishop usually joins a tour for a short time, as if judging the quality of the guide. He never speaks to anyone, but is spotted by several members of the tour group before he silently fades away. Sometimes, Bishop turns off any nearby lights and gently shoves tour guides. He has also been known to blow out the flames of candles and torches used during lantern tours.

Another prominent ghost is a woman known only as Melissa. In 1858, a woman calling herself Melissa sent a letter to the Knickerbocker, a prominent magazine. In the magazine, Melissa revealed that in 1843 she had been a lovely Southern Belle infatuated with her tutor, a man she identified only as Mr. Beverleigh. When Beverleigh fell in love with Melissa's neighbor, the jilted girl led her teacher into Mammoth Cave. Once they were deep into the caverns, near a spot along the Echo River known as Purgatory, she slipped away and let the darkness claim him. Beverleigh never escaped the cave: he may have stumbled into a crevice and plummeted to his death, or perhaps he slowly wasted away. Regardless, it is clear that he died alone while waiting for Melissa to return and save him.

Melissa spent the next fifteen years consumed by guilt. Eventually, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and her impending death prompted her confession. Yet the note did not absolve her of her guilt completely, and today it is clear that Melissa is still seeking forgiveness. She wanders Echo River, mournfully calling out to Beverleigh in the hopes of saving him from his fate. In her anguish, she is also known to whisper unintelligibly and weep for hours on end.

Due to the circumstances of his death, it is likely that Beverleigh also haunts Mammoth Cave, perhaps searching for a way to escape the caverns. One as yet unidentified ghost who may in fact be Melissa's murder vicitm is a stately gentleman who has appeared in the area of the cave known as Chief City. The phantom wears the formal dress of the mid or late 1800's, commonly described as a black and
white suit with a cummerbund. Children and tour guides have spotted the ghost, and at least one psychic detected the spirit's presence.

Other ghosts reported in and around Mammoth Cave include two pairs of strangely disembodied legs. The four legs run side by side down a grassy hill near the Visitor's Center and are said to be wearing denim pants and heavy work boots. There are no records of murders or grisly accidents near
the Visitor's Center, so the identities of these phantom limbs remain unknown.

Additional spectral manifestations may be caused by ancient spirits of the Native Americans who inhabited the cave prior to its discovery by whites. The former occupants, who left behind mummified remains, bones, pottery, sandals, and other artifacts, may still be reluctant to leave.

In 1842, Dr. John Croghan converted the cave into a hospital for those suffering from tuberculosis. He theorized that the cave's steady temperature would benefit his patients, but his experiment was ill conceived, and all of his eleven test subjects were brought to the edge of death while in his care.
Ten months later, shortly before Melissa murdered Beverleigh, the hospital closed. However, the patients, most of whom died shortly after leaving Mammoth Cave, may have been drawn back to the site, as visitors have reported disembodied coughs and moans throughout the caverns.

The most exciting of the Mammoth Cave hauntings revolves around Crystal Cave, located about five miles from Mammoth Cave, but still within the park's confines. Like Mammoth, Crystal Cave is plagued by disembodied voices, phantoms, mysterious noises, and poltergeist activity. By
all accounts, the spirit of a man named Floyd Collins is responsible for this wide range of ghostly manifestations.

     Sand Cave, KY

    Floyd Collins

In 1917, Collins, who lived near Mammoth Cave discovered Crystal Cave. For the next several years, he worked to make the cave a tourist attraction, but Crystal Cave was too far removed and could not compete with Mammoth Cave's size and renown. In 1925, he was mapping nearby Sand Cave when he was suddenly trapped beneath a rocky outcropping. Although Collins was trapped some sixty feet below the earth's surface, rescuers could see and hear him. They lowered Collins food and water, but could not find a way to extract him without causing the cave to completely collapse. For sixteen days his story dominated the press as rescuers searched for a solution. Sadly, shortly after Collins spoke with his best friend, Johnny Gerald, a cave-in separated him
from his rescuers. He died hours later. The body was eventually retrieved and buried, but the new owners of Crystal Cave realized that Floyd's story had drawn huge crowds to the attraction. To increase profits, Collins was exhumed, placed in a glass coffin and put on display in the cave.

However, Floyd Collins would not be allowed to rest in peace. As they witnessed Crystal Cave's sudden growth, a group of competing cave owners stormed Crystal Cave late one night and absconded with the corpse. Later, they retired to a local tavern and drank themselves silly and admitted to the crime. During the theft or sometime shortly after, Collins lost his left leg. Despite this disfigurement, when Collins was eventually recovered, he was again put on display in Crystal Cave, where he remained until recently. Today, his corpse resides in a nearby cemetery, but his ghost clearly lives in Crystal Cave.

Floyd Collins most often makes himself known by hollering the name of his best friend, Johnny. On other occasions, he throws whiskey bottles about or snatches small objects from geologists exploring the cave. He also wanders the area around his old home, leaving behind large bootprints.

THE BELL WITCH CAVE
Adams, Tennessee

Located near where the Bell Farm once stood and near the old family cemetery, where many of the Bell's still rest, is what has become known as the Bell Witch Cave. The cave has no real connection to the legend of the witch but it is located on property once owned by the Bell family. Many in Robertson County believe that when the witch departed, she fled to the sanctuary of this cave. Whether the Bell Witch is here or not.... the cave is a very haunted place. The former owner of the cave reported that strange events still went on in the cave and near the home that he had built on the bluff where the cave can be found. The steep incline over the Red River hides a narrow path that leads down to the cave. Strange figures have been reported here and knocking sounds and poltergeist-like events still take place in the house.   The current owners still open the cave for tourists and they too report that eerie events sometimes take place in the house and in the cave itself. visitors to the cave have seen strange apparitions and have heard unexplained sounds, coming from deep in the hidden corners of the cave.