Fringes

Talking to Dead People in Florida

Cassadaga is a small town in Florida that’s just like any other bedroom community except that it’s filled with psychics. Stroll down its streets and you’ll bump into clairvoyants, mediums, and past-life shamans. But it’s not all crystal balls and tarot cards in fact, many of the psychics here don’t use those materials at all. Established in 1894, Cassadaga was one of many camps that sprang up around the U.S. during the Spiritualist movement. It’s said that the town is built around a natural energy vortex, which might explain why people are drawn here. Today, many of its residents still identify as Spiritualists and believe communing with the dead through mediumship is proof of life continuing on after our bodies die. It’s no wonder Cassadaga has garnered a reputation for being a freaky place. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? In this episode of FRINGES, VICE’s Zach Shucklin visits the “Psychic Capital of the World” to investigate.