Spiritualists draw tourists to Florida town

updated 2:12 p.m. ET Dec. 6, 2007

CASSADAGA, Fla. - The scent of incense hangs in the air as one passes between the columns saying "Welcome Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp." So does a musty odor.

The smells come from the small houses that line the narrow streets, the porches decorated with chimes and ornaments. The paint peels from many homes and some of the yards are unkempt and cluttered.

The spooky atmosphere is appropriate — the Spiritualists who live here say they converse with the dead, that such communication is a scientific fact. A sign outside the 57-acre camp's bookstore says the town's 30 or so mediums and healers are certified authentic, although none appear willing to be tested by outsiders — even for $1 million.

Founded 113 years ago as a winter retreat for the believers in the once-popular religion Spiritualism, Cassadaga attracted educated and affluent people who would live in tents or hotels until cottages were built. Those days are long gone, but busloads of tourists still come to this national historic district 35 miles north of Orlando and pay for answers about life after death.

"They are coming to confront their own mortality," said Victor Vogenitz, a self-proclaimed physical phenomenon medium and healer. "We've got a wave of people who are looking for answers."

Cassadaga has a hotel and a U.S. Post Office, and offers historic tours and "healing services" to visitors each week. The main seance room is in the Colby Memorial Temple and the camp, which is a federal tax-exempt church governed by of board of trustees, has administrative offices nearby.

But people can't just show up and claim to be a medium — they have to get certified, follow a syllabus and publicly demonstrate their ability to talk to the dead, Vogenitz said. All this can take four to 10 years of study.

And it can be a lonely life, the Spiritualists say.

"My family doesn't know where I live. They think I am strange," said June Schmitt, an elderly medium who won't divulge her age. Her eyes fill with tears. "Nobody has been to see me. Sometimes it upsets me."

"Our families always thought we were weird," said Esther Seymour-Vogenitz, Victor's wife. "The people that are attracted to us are the open-minded people."

If you go ... CASSADAGA SPIRITUALIST CAMP Cassadaga, Florida, about 35 miles from Orlando; http://www.cassadaga.org/. Bookstore and information center, 1112 Stevens St., 386-228-2880. Check Web site calendar for historic and photography tours, medium and healing services and other events offered weekly. Cassadaga Hotel, 386-228-2323; rates starting at $75 per night. OTHER RESOURCES James Randi Educational Foundation: http://www.randi.org/. Skeptic Society: http://www.skeptic.com/

Vogenitz does his readings in a small cream-colored stucco house with a tin roof, the sign in front proclaiming "I believe in ghosts." And for good reason, apparently. He says the ghost of a little girl named Sarah lives in the home, playing with his guests' blond hair. He has bought Sarah several dolls, a jump rope and some markers to play with, which he keeps in his seance room.

"I'd step into the house and she would step back into the wall," Vogenitz said. He differentiates between ghosts and spirits. A ghost is a three-dimensional hologram, while a spirit is made of energy and is a surviving consciousness, he said.

When a spirit is present it will take energy from anything around it including cell phones, cameras and even out of the air, he said.

Seances are Vogenitz's specialty — he charges $45 for a half-hour reading and $45 per person for a two-hour seance. In the main temple under a dull, red light, Vogenitz said he has reached a spirit who had acid reflux before he died. The wooden table spins toward one of the participants and Vogenitz said the table was "hugging" the person. He talks to it as if the spirit inhabits it. The participant confirms his father had acid reflux shortly before he died.

After the seance, the light is turned back on and Vogenitz pushes and picks up one side of the table to show he couldn't have moved it.

MORE FROM U.S. & CANADA

U.S. & Canada Section Front

Deadwood marks 20 years of legal gambling Eat, shop, explore Chicago’s ethnic neighborhoods TV tours a big attraction for N.Y. tourists America’s most attractive people America’s favorite cities Which Hawaii is right for you? Twilight-themed restaurant for Washington town Uncle Remus museum still grapples with race Explore Savannah’s squares, parks and homes Winter Olympics 2010 trip guide U.S. & Canada Section Front   Add U.S. & Canada headlines to your news reader: