The cave system has formally been known as the Mammoth–Flint Ridge Cave System since 1972, when a connection was discovered between Mammoth Cave and the even-longer system under Flint Ridge to the north. As of 2022, more than 426 miles passageways had been surveyed, over 1.5 times longer than second-longest cave system, Mexico's Sac Actun underwater cave.
One of my favorite childhood memories was taking a tour of Mammoth Cave and the guide stopping us in a part of the cave known as the Great Room and then extinguishing all our light sources. That was my first experience with total darkness, darkness so deep it makes you question any other reality, and the immense impact those moments can have on one's psyche.
The cave, as you can imagine, has also spawned many tales of the supernatural which even taken with a grain of salt, make for great campfire fodder.
Many of the supernatural stories regarding the cave have to do with unusual sounds and lights, which can be explained by the sensation of your eyes desperately seeking to find light in the darkness. But here is a story that is verified as factual.
In 1839, Louisville’s Dr. John Croghan purchased the cave and 1,600 surrounding acres. Two years later, he built some huts in the cave to house tuberculosis patients in the belief that the cave air could cure the afflicted. The theory of the healthy cave air apparently came after some noted that the slaves who once worked in the saltpeter mines in Mammoth Cave reported having exceptionally good health.
The theory was soon proven wrong, as the patients generally got sicker the longer they lived in the cave and, inconveniently for Croghan’s enterprise, kept dying. The bodies were placed temporarily on a natural slab which is now known as “corpse rock,” and some visitors have reported the sound of agonized coughing coming from the area.
Croghan himself died from tuberculosis a few years later.
Perhaps the most famous of Mammoth Cave’s reputed ghosts is that of its most famed “modern” explorer, Floyd Collins.
Collins, a local to the area, discovered Crystal Cave in 1917. In 1925, he was exploring nearby Sand Cave. While shimmying through a narrow opening, a large rock fell on his leg, pinning him in the small tunnel. The efforts to free Collins made national headlines, but they were unsuccessful and Collins was found dead after having been trapped for two weeks. His body was displayed at various locations as a gruesome tourist attraction until he was interred at his current spot in the Mammoth Cave Baptist Church Cemetery.
Collins’ ghost has been reported in not only the cave system, but at his current grave site. The old wooden Mammoth Cave Baptist Church building, now part of the national park, is also the site of alleged paranormal activity, with reports of mysterious lights in the windows.
When I took my tour in the 70's, my guide recounted an unusual experience while leading a tour in a cave chamber called the Big Chief with another guide. The chamber features a large rock upon which it was common for guides to throw a torch to illuminate the room during tours. On one such occasion, a visitor asked our guide who was standing on the rock. Assuming it was his fellow tour guide he called out to his friend, only to see him standing at the back of the cave. “I could make out a figure – it was not a shadow,” he said. The figure appeared to be wearing a distinct hat. It was only much later that he discovered that old tour guides commonly wore a “slouched” hat during tours. This rock is now known as "Ghost Rock".
After Collins, the most well-known cave spirit is that of a woman named Melissa whose story dates to the 19th century. Melissa, according to the legend, was in love with her tutor. The tutor, however, was in love with another woman. In a fit of jealousy, Melissa led the tutor deep into the cave and left him there to die. Now the spirit of Melissa haunts the cave as she searches for her lost love. While Melissa is often touted as a real cave spirit, the facts are that the entire story was a piece of fiction published in 1858 in a New York newspaper.
There definitely were, however, many deaths and burials in the cave. A major draw for early tourists were the various preserved remains found in Mammoth Cave. Nitrates in the soil and the dry conditions led to the discovery of several bodies that were described as “mummies.” Some were displayed in the cave, while others were purchased and put on display in other parts of the country.
Mammoth Cave, of course, has awe-inspiring wonders that fall into the realm of the natural, if not supernatural. These features and the workings of the human mind are likely the explanation for many tales of the supernatural. I remember our guide pointing to the water that runs through most of the cave chambers. “If you stand at just the right spot, it sounds like a whole tour group,” he said of the sound of the cave waters.
So if you would like to experience one of the most awe-inspiring caves on our planet I highly recommend taking a tour in Mammoth Springs Cave. And who knows, maybe you will come away with your own strange experience while touring this national treasure.
