WSVN — People come to Florida to enjoy the present… to build for the future. Here, they come for the past.
Elizabeth Owens, Pastor at Cassadaga Church: "They might want to speak to their mother, their father or child, so a lot of people come here for a lot of reasons."
Cassadaga is a small town in Central Florida. Just 100 residents with one church, a park, a bookstore, a few homes and an apartment complex. Each of the residents here have one thing in common… they are spiritualists.
Elizabeth Owens: "A spiritualist is a person that believes in communicating with the other side of life. In other words, they believe that we never die, that we keep on living just on a different realm in a different form."
In Cassadaga, they believe each of us has a spirit and after you or a loved one passes away, a spiritualist can communicate with their spirit.
Maeda Jones, spiritualist: "That those people are still around us, still caring what is going on in our lives and it brings a lot of healing and comfort to people."
Margarita Varela, spiritualist: "You have to take care of you, especially your stomach. I have a very strong discomfort."
John Uzerak works with us, Margarita talked to him and did a reading for him.
Margarita Varela: "And I have a big ‘J’, very strong. For me, this could be like a father?"
Talking to spirits is not new in Cassadaga. In 1894, George Colby, who was a spiritualist, moved here and created the community just for spiritualists. Now people come here to learn about themselves and their late loved ones.
Elizabeth Owens: "We have people who come here that are from all over the world. As far away as Japan even."
Don’t believe you have a spirit? Many people don’t and laugh at the thought of being able to communicate with the spirit of a dead loved one… the spiritualists at Cassadaga have heard it from all the skeptics.
Elizabeth Owens: "We don’t want to be seen as fortune tellers. People have a misconception that Cassadaga has a bunch of witches, and we aren’t witches, we are mediums, psychics. We’re healers."
Al Dunaway’s wife was hit with cancer. He says she had the ability to communicate with spirits, and after she died, he came to Cassadaga to try talk to her.
Al Dunway: "I’m going to find out if it’s either the biggest farce that has been perpetrated on mankind or if it’s real. If it’s real, I want to try to contact you. It’s real."
And remember Johnnie sitting with Margarita.
Margarita Varela: "The big ‘J’ is a strong energy, I don’t know if he was a military."
The "J" who might be in the military who was a father to him, Johnnie father’s name was John. He did national security for the U.S. Government and passed away eight years ago.
Margarita Varela: "Very proud of you. There is a message here to you from him, ‘Don’t you ever forget your family history and those that walk before you.’"
In Cassadaga, there is a message here for everyone if you believe, you can take a spiritual journey. I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.