CASSADAGA, Fla. – It’s a small town in Volusia County known as the “psychic capital of the world.”
“At one point, nobody used to come here. Then the [Cassadaga] hotel started doing the haunted house. Now we have a festival with vendors and readings during Halloween. A lot of people come here to have a good time and be scared, that’s why I don’t do readings on Halloween because I’m not here to scare people,” said Spiritual Medium Louis Gates.
Cassadaga is home to a prominent Spiritualist Camp founded in 1894 by George Colby, a well-known medium who’s said to have had psychic abilities to connect and communicate with the dead. Colby donated 35 acres to start a Spiritualist Camp in the south after he was led through the wilderness of Central Florida by his spirit guide “Seneca” to fulfill a a prophecy.
The camp has since grown to about 57 acres with dozens of Certified Mediums, Spiritualists and Healers living there.
Louis Gates is a Spiritual Medium with the camp. He also has a doctoral degree in Metaphysics. He grew up in Cassadaga. His mother was a Medium, his father a conservative southern pastor.
Cassadaga has the reputation of being haunted, but Gates said that’s not true.
“It’s not haunted. What it is, it’s the energy of the [Spiritualist Camp] organization. It’s been here for so long. If we contact the spirit and keep contacting spirit in the same area, it’s going to feel like a lot of spirit here. It’s because of psychometry and energy of the space, not because it’s haunted. Spirit only wants to haunt you if they think they can scare you, we don’t feel like it’s haunted, just a lot of spirits walking through here,” said Gates.
Gates said Cassadaga sits on what’s known as a vortex, a point of concentrated psychic energy.
The Cassadaga Camp has become much of an attraction with signs throughout the camp advertising psychic therapy, healing and even a haunted history museum.
One of the most well-known haunted attractions sits at the Cassadaga Cemetery. It’s called the ‘Devil’s Chair.’ Legend has it if you sit there on Halloween, the devil himself with communicate with you. The legend goes on to say if you leave a cold unopened beer on the chair it will be empty by morning.
Gates says it’s just a bunch of hocus pocus, saying the chair was built so families can sit and visit with their loved ones’ spirits.
“We, as Spiritualists don’t believe in Hell, we don’t believe in the devil,” said Gates.
However, there is some truth to the beer myth.
“Back in the day, a bunch of us teenage boys would sit out behind the chair, wait for them to bring the beer out, stake out and drink it. Then place it back there and they’d turn around and say ‘Satan drank it,’” said Gates. “It was just a bunch of us teenage boys getting free beer.”
Gates said the myth has gotten so out of hand the cemetery may be shut down on Halloween with extra patrol to deter visitors.
Other known haunts include spirit-filled buildings like the historic Cassadaga Hotel, Slater House and Davis Hall.
“There’s a lot of spiritual activity in the church because that’s where they have a lot of events. If you go into the Davis Hall. Back in the day when they had the Naval Base, they used to host dances with the servicemen. You can get in there and sit there at night and hear people dancing in the hall,” said Gates.
Gates said while many psychics have moved to the area to work and study Spiritualism, others find it a peaceful place to live.
“Stories get told and people think ‘oh, it’s spooky there’ but it’s just the stories. People come here because it’s quiet, they get to meditate and relax,” said Gates. “The spirit is here to encourage, to help, to bring inspiration. Not here to scare you, unless that’s what you’re looking for.”
Gates said he doesn’t mind the haunted reputation that Cassadaga has and welcomes visitors to the camp to see the Colby Memorial Temple, participate in psychic services and get educated.
“I hope people come and learn about the camp and I hope it’s still here when I pass into the Spiritual World. There’s not a lot of them left. We are a Science of proving that the spirit is here,” said Gates.
Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp is open to the public and offers guided tours and events. Click HERE for more information. The Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Welcome Center and Book Store is located at 1112 Stevens St., Cassadaga.