Y’all, October is one of my favorite month in the year. The weather in the Appalachian Mountains is mild and crisp, leaves are turning their famously vibrant shades of crimson and orange, the holidays are coming up, and that means that we’re in the midst of one of the best seasons of all — spooky season.
I love the vibe of spooky season. The bit of darkness mixed with ghostly tales and everything pumpkin feels nostalgic. This year, when the season of spooks came around, I realized something rather scary . . . I’m not familiar with many Appalachian ghost stories! Eek! Ahh! . . . Okay, sorry for getting a little dramatic there. But, I did think that since my knowledge of ghostly Appalachian stories was lacking, I ought to do a bit of digging. Now, I’d like to bestow on you all of the ghoulishly fun tales that I learned. Grab a cup of hot chocolate, turn out the lights, and let your imaginations run wild, because today, we are exploring the eerie tales of Appalachian ghost stories.
The Bell Witch
This is likely the most well-known story of the bunch, because the story of The Bell Witch was made into a movie in 2013. But, this film was based on alleged hauntings of the Bell Family that date all the way back to 1817.
John Bell and his family lived in Robertson County, Tennessee near the town of Adams. (Though some might argue that Robertson County isn’t technically in Appalachia, I think it’s close enough, and this story is interesting, so we’re going with it.) John relocated his family from North Carolina to a 320-acre farm in Tennessee in 1804. For many years, they lived peacefully on this farm, but that all changed in 1817 when one day, John noticed a strange animal out in his fields. It had the body of a dog and the head of a rabbit. John shot at this strange creature, but it disappeared. Over the coming months, John’s children also began to witness strange apparitions appearing on their property. Drew Bell tried approaching a bird of “extraordinary size” before it flew away, and Betsy Bell saw a girl in a green dress swinging from the branch of an oak tree. It’s thought that these strange sightings were that of the Bell Witch.
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1612538
From here, the antics of the Bell Witch escalated. The family claimed to hear haunting sounds in their home that sounded like chains dragging the floor, dog fights, and things gnawing at their bedside. They could also hear voices speaking directly to them. The witch seemed to have a particular hatred for John Bell and his daughter Betsy, as Betsy was slapped, pinched, and stuck with pins by the witch. Strangely, The Bell Witch didn’t seem to carry the same disdain for Lucy, John Bell’s wife, or his sons.
Once word got out about this witch, people just had to see this thing for themselves. People started camping out on the Bell property by the hundreds to get a glimpse of the Bell Witch. A few of them left with haunting accounts of their own.
The story of the Bell Witch came to a head when she vowed to kill John Bell three years after beginning her reign of terror on the family. On December 20, 1820, John was found dead with a vial of poison at his side. His death was officially attributed to the Bell Witch, making Tennessee the only state to recognize a person’s passing as “supernatural”. A year later in 1821, poor Betsy was so tormented by the witch that she called off her engagement to a local man, Joshua Gardner.
Pretty wild story, wouldn’t you say? Folks who want to get up close and personal with this story can visit the Historic Bell Witch Cave in Adams, TN. They have preserved artifacts from the original Bell cabin,
Old Stone Church’s Haunted Grave
Moving on to another witchy tale, our next ghost story brings us to Old Stone Church in Clemson, South Carolina at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Folks say that this church is home to a haunted gravesite that no plants will grow on. The grave also appears to attract lightning. It is shattered where there should be a name — the name of the woman resting eternally there, six feet below.
Legend says this woman is from the Lowcountry of South Carolina, and her name is Eliza Huger. The walls around her grave have been built and rebuilt because of the lighting that has struck her resting place time and time again. Locals say that you can toss a coin on her grave for good luck, but that taking one is a fool’s errand that one might regret. I don’t know about y’all, but I’d much rather toss a coin to Ms. Huger than try taking one from her grave.
Eliza Huger is also known as the Queen Witch of Clemson. Though little is known about how she lived and died, there are legends that have made her quite infamous. According to some of the legends, Eliza was born to a wealthy family in Charleston, SC. She found her way out to New Orleans where she was supposedly a bit of a wild child. Some versions of the legends say that two of her brothers went out that way to bring her back home. However, they found her there in a brothel “working” with a client. They shot and killed her, and brought her body back home. Allegedly, due to the unseemly circumstances of her death, Eliza was not welcome back home, so she was buried in the Upstate. The brick walls were supposedly built around her grave to contain her “sinful spirit”.
Photo cred: https://www.reddit.com/r/CemeteryPorn/comments/165pzg2/eliza_huger_old_stone_church_clemson_sc_walls/
If the legends are true y’all, I think that the shattered walls around Eliza’s grave are a version of sweet revenge. Even in death, they can’t seem to contain her.
The Phantom Hiker of Grandfather Mountain
Our final ghost tale takes us to the high country in North Carolina to Grandfather Mountain. Grandfather Mountain and the surrounding geography have some of the most awe-inspiring vistas in the Appalachian Mountains, in my humble opinion. Sitting as a patriarch above the land, Grandfather Mountain has inspired travelers for ages. Adventurers come from far and wide to ascend its lofty peaks, take in the splendor of nature, and enjoy the incredible beauty of the area. In fact, Grandfather Mountain is so alluring, that many hikers might not want to leave once experiencing its grandeur, which seems to be the case of the Phantom Hiker of Grandfather Mountain.
The Phantom is said to be an older, rough around the edges man with a beard, dressed in working man’s attire that’s not of modern times. Some say it looks as though he’s from the mid-1900’s or so. He’s got a walking stick, a canvas pack, and those who have seen him say that he just minds his own business and hikes along the trail. In fact, most folks don’t seem to realize that he’s a ghost until he vanishes up ahead into thin air. As most accounts go, the Phantom hikes quickly along the trail, passes by other hikers without any acknowledgment, and then poof. He’s gone. Usually, people tend to see him around dusk.
So who is he? Many folks believe that he’s a hiker who got lost in the woods, couldn’t find his way out, and possibly died. Others figure that it’s the spirit of a man who just loved Grandfather Mountain and chose to stay on the mountain after he passed on. He doesn’t seem to want any harm — just to hike along the trail of this beloved place. I really can’t blame him, y’all. One day when my soul has gone out into the great beyond, I think it would be fine and dandy to claim a trail as a resting place.
I hope you enjoyed these ghostly stories, y’all!
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