Town of Spiritualists
Cassadaga, Florida
Cassadaga was founded in 1894 as a winter home for northern spiritualists. The town's father, a trance medium named George P. Colby, said that he was led through the wilderness by his spirit guide, Seneca, to this spot. Today's Cassadaga ("The Psychic Center of the World") is inhabited year-round. The old Spiritualist Camp and Colby Memorial Temple still stands, a destination in recent decades by an irregular procession of New Age healers and weekend ghost whisperers.
Though official publications talk of extending a "spiritual carpet of friendship," there have been as many as five separate spiritualist groups sparring for dollars and attention in this tiny town.
Nearly 80 psychic mediums call Cassadga home. Stroll along the streets and you'll see lots of people sitting on screened front porches. You might feel their third eyes silently watching as you walk by, an astral wi-fi network downloading brainwaves....
The historic Cassadaga Hotel offers easy access to its own mediums (Although they are a rival group from the front porch mediums). To clear the spiritual pathways, guest rooms have no phones or TVs, and no hot water after ten o'clock.