Someone Kept Touching Me in the Cave

My boyfriend and I visited the Bell Witch Cave while we were traveling through Tennessee a few years ago. I knew the basic Bell Witch story, but not much beyond that. We were already going to be in the area and thought it would be interesting to take one of the cave tours.

During the tour we were walking through one of the tighter areas of the cave when I felt a hand on the middle of my back. It wasn’t hard or scary. It felt like someone putting their hand there to steady me because the ground was uneven.

I assumed it was my boyfriend and told him I was fine.

When he didn’t answer, I turned around and realized he wasn’t behind me. He was several people back in the group.

There was a woman behind me, but she wasn’t close enough to have touched me and I could see both of her hands. I remember thinking it was strange, but we were all moving through a cave in a group, so I figured somebody must have bumped into me without me realizing it.

Later we stopped in another section while the guide was talking. I felt something tug the back of my jacket. This time it felt like someone had grabbed a little bit of the fabric with two fingers and pulled it.

I turned around immediately.

There wasn’t anyone close enough to be touching me.

That bothered me a lot more than what had happened earlier, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to interrupt the tour or be the person announcing that something was touching me inside the Bell Witch Cave.

When we got outside, my boyfriend asked why I had kept turning around during the tour.

I told him what had happened and he said he’d noticed my jacket move a couple of times. From where he was standing, it looked like the fabric had been pulled inward. He assumed I was catching it on the rocks or brushing against something.

That was the part that really got to me because I hadn’t told him about either experience while we were inside.

I’m sure being in a cave gives you plenty of opportunities to brush against things without noticing, especially when you’re concentrating on where you’re walking. There were also other people around us, so I can’t say for certain that nobody touched me.

But the first time felt exactly like someone putting their hand flat against my back.

And the second time felt like fingers pulling my jacket.

I don’t know what it was, but if I ever go back to the Bell Witch Cave, my boyfriend is staying directly behind me.