Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp, 'psychic capital of the world,' gears up for busy Halloween weekend

CASSADAGA — For most communities across the country, gearing up for Halloween means buying bags of candy to hand out to trick-or-treaters and stringing up fake cobwebs across doorways.

Preparations look a little different in the small community known as the "Psychic Capital of the World," located just north of Deltona and just south of Lake Helen.

"This is our Christmas," said Varney Pearce, manager of the Purple Rose Trading Co., a metaphysical supply store.

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The store is independent of the religious community, known officially as the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association, but both are preparing for an influx of visitors looking for a unique experience during Halloween weekend.

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There was a time where camp residents leaned into Halloween and the visitors' desires to be scared, said Rev. Louis Gates, a longtime medium, healer and teacher.

As residents got older, they shifted their focus to tours and readings, Gates, 69, said Thursday during an interview at his home.

As a young boy growing up in Volusia County, Gates remembers young people coming to the area around Halloween looking to get spooked.

He and his friends would hide in the Lake Helen-Cassadaga Cemetery, waiting for young folks with beers in tow to come poking around what's known as the Devil's Chair.

The people who came to the camp, which was founded in 1894, in its earliest days generally were wealthier and well-educated, and according to the camp's website, they "added stone seating areas to their cemetery plots for mourning."

Gates said the inebriated visitors would set their beverages on a tombstone while checking out the chair.

While the visitors weren't paying attention, Gates and his friends would drink the beers and return the empty bottles to where they'd been left.

Gates said this would spook the visitors into thinking the devil drank it. 

"We knew at Halloween we'd get all kinds of beer," Gates said with a laugh. "Especially if we made noises, they'd take off running and leave the whole six-pack."

For those looking to be spooked in a more controlled environment, there's Zozo's Fear House at Hotel Cassadaga. The attraction kicked off Thursday and runs from 7 to 11 p.m. through Sunday. Admission is $15.

The hotel was previously associated with the camp, but it's been privately owned since the Great Depression when the camp, a nonprofit, sold it to remain financially stable.

The camp is usually closed to visitors after dark, but an exception is made during Halloween weekend.

At 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, the camp hosts the "Encounter the Spirit Night Tour" for $25 per person. Attendees are encouraged to bring a digital camera to capture images of energy orbs and manifestations of spirit during a two-hour guided tour.

At 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, there's the "Cassadaga After Dark Find the Spirits Tour" for $25 per person. Attendees will learn about the camp's scientific approach to spiritualism and how spirit manifestations are investigated, analyzed and classified.

While the camp will have some spare equipment for investigating the paranormal, attendees are encouraged to bring their own as well as digital cameras.

Seeking spirit and investigating the paranormal in Cassadaga won't necessarily mirror what's been portrayed in Hollywood, according to Jamie Osman, the camp's activities coordinator and historic tour guide.

"It can be fun, it can be positive," Osman said Thursday morning during an interview at the camp. "It doesn’t have to be scary."

What the community is about

The camp's Halloween weekend activities have changed over the years, but the core values, goals and religion haven't, according to longtime residents.

"We teach a philosophy and the science of proving continuity of life," said Richard Russell, a medium and spiritual healer who’s lived in the town since 1997. "Trying to create an atmosphere of love and support and upliftment certainly is my objective, and I hope that the majority of the camp feels that way, too."

A smattering of Cassadaga’s residents, including Russell, have decorated for Halloween.

"I wanna have fun this year," said Russell, 77.

He said he’s sure the fake tombstones and spooky-looking figures on his porch may raise some eyebrows, especially with those concerned about the message participating in the secular festivities might send.

Russell said he feels like most people who visit Cassadaga come with good intentions, though Halloween weekend can get a little wild for the mostly quiet 57-acre community.

The camp hired security officers to patrol the area in the evening, watching for skulduggery.

"[Visitors] aren't supposed to be in the camp after dark unless they're on a tour," Osman said. "That's always a battle with us because there's so many entry points for them to come into the camp."

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Another battle is against the misconceptions people have about the camp and its residents, said Osman, who's lived in Cassadaga since 2016.

Pearce said visitors have reported hearing the town is inhabited by witches or devil worshippers, which isn't true.

"I go home and watch Netflix like everybody else does," Pearce said with a laugh.

Portrayal versus reality

Some of the misconceptions about Cassadaga are due, in part, to how it has been portrayed in the media, whether it be in music, film or written stories.

The late singer, songwriter and musician Tom Petty has a song called "Casa Dega."

The lyrics, in part, read:

He owned up to misspelling the name of the camp, which he described during a concert as "a town in Florida that has, like, 35 acres of weird people."

In 1895, a year after the camp was officially formed, 35 acres were deeded to the founders by George Colby, a spiritualist from New York, according to the association's website.

Colby visited the Central Florida wilderness 20 years prior after learning during a séance he would one day be key in the founding of a community of spiritualists in the south.

The camp in 1991 received designation on the National Register of Historic Places.

The community has since grown to include 57 acres and nearly just as many homes.

Rev. Gates said the camp's church services aren't that different from services held by other Christian churches.

He said there are people who, when they first visit Cassadaga, may not believe in or understand Spiritualism, a religious belief based on the existence of spirits of the dead with whom some of the living can communicate.

"Once I'm done with them or once they finished visiting the camp, they have this new understanding," Gates said. "They might not truly believe, but I've tripped something with them."