It’s Bell Witch season in Hopkinsville, and there are a couple of opportunities right before Halloween to hear local storytellers recount the 200-year-old ghost story.
The first event will be at 6 p.m. Oct. 22 at Jeffers Bend, where Christian County historian William T. Turner will lead the presentation for Torchlight Tales. Then at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 27, educator and writer Wayne Goolsby will share the story during a chili supper at the old St. Elmo schoolhouse.
According to the Bell Witch legend, members of the John Bell family had encounters with a supernatural spirit from about 1817 to 1821 at present-day Adams, Tennessee, about 7 miles southeast of Guthrie. Bell Witch storytelling has been a popular tradition in Hopkinsville for decades.
Torchlight Tales guests are invited to dress in 1800s period costumes. Hot chocolate, cookies and s’mores will be served.
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The Jeffers Bend Steering Committee, Pennyrile Resource, Conservation & Development Council and Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority sponsor the Torchlight Tales with support from Bank of Cadiz. Admission is $5 per car.
Jeffers Bend is located off North Main Street at 1170 Metcalfe Lane.
The St. Elmo event is a fundraiser to help pay for restoration of the school. The St. Elmo Homemakers Club will serve a supper of chili, hot dogs, chips and a drink will be served. Tickets are $10 and available at the Christian County Cooperative Extension Office.
The school is located at 12225 Bradshaw Road.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
