Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp — Attraction in Deltona

I spent 3.5 hours in the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp on Wednesday. During this time, I parked behind the old hotel and simply wandered around, allowing my interest to guide me. There were four places that really stood out:

#1: Colby-Alderman park located toward the eastern portion of the camp. Here, there is a sizeable playground for kids, but as a solitary adult traveler, I was much more interested in the paths and hiking around Lake Helen. My favorite spot was a dock at the end of the concrete path. The day was downright beautiful, so I sat there on the pier for about 30 minutes just soaking up the sun, the breeze, and the sounds of water lapping at the rough wooden posts down below.

#2: Horseshoe Park & Fairy Trail located toward the western portion of the camp. Here, there are a number of paths wending their way through an assembly of items that bear no rhyme or reason other than to inspire an aura of playful curiosity. The people who frequent this park are often as intriguing as the place itself.

#3: Cassadaga Hotel & Sinatra's Ristorante. I ate soup & salad here for lunch. The minestrone soup was a tad bland, as was the Caesar salad. The blackened salmon atop that salad, however, was tremendous—cooked to medium-rare perfection with a crusty outside and juicy inside. Waitress Shannon was swift and efficient.

#4: Cassadaga Psychic Spiritualist Center. I spent much of my time in this town building up the nerve to visit a Psychic, and by the end of the stay, I succeeded in doing so. Thus, I stopped by Cassadaga Psychic Spiritualist Center and received a "Past / Present / Future" reading from a fellow whose name I never found out. It was far from a professional setting, he started out a tad rough, and he said "Ok" and "As I said" quite a lot. However, as the session went on, his points hit much closer to home, and I discovered that the previously mentioned phrases were his focusing words and/or words that separated the various points he was attempting to make. I should note that his eyes were closed the entire time, and at the end, they were visibly misted over when he reopened them. After I paid him, he stated, "I hope I helped." I told him, "You gave me a new experience, and that is help enough." I stand by that verdict. $40.00 is a small price to pay for something that opens your mind to new possibilities for the days, months, and...

Terribly disappointing. After having had various positive experiences either with one of the mediums or being in nature itself, this visit was TORTUOUS 😵‍💫 My friend and I agreed to get a reading and after perusing our options choose 2 separate mediums. Then came the cost. BEWARE: 140 dollars for a 1 hour session. They accept cash only. Okay, they can set their prices as they wish; however, 140 dollars exceeds some top notch psychologists with 8 years of upper level graduate training. The reason I’m noting this is my medium relayed to me she learned her skill through a workbook 🤔. So the front desk assistant took our money and off I went. The medium whom I will only refer to by her initials (LA) was a disaster. She has me hold a stone then chant a phrase 3 times . All the while she was frantically roaming around her room looking for some board and other items she said she left on a cart. She then proceeded to tell me how she acquired all her furniture. All the while I am screaming in my head “I paid 140 for this sh&@! She does a Chinese version of tarot. Good luck to you making sense of what it all means. The medium was often derailed by a thought that flew out of a cuckoo’s nest and straight into her head. It took about 1/2 the session to break the code and understand what she was doing with these cards. And yes, I did ask her to help me understand. My request was met with a deaf ear. I spent the whole session planning how I would get away from this women, as my own psychic prediction told me she was going to talk even more after the session was over. BINGO ! I was right ! Minutes after the session I found myself in a communicative choke hold which I had to abruptly get out of. She asked for my telephone number and then intimated I should think about becoming a psychic, as the cards pointed towards a new vocation. So I think you can look forward to a slow and relaxing vibe from the trees and natural ambience. However, exercise extreme caution selecting your medium. And if you see LA, as in Los Angeles, you may want to head out the back door and mind meld with a squirrel....

My review is regarding a reading and not the town of Cassadaga. I usually don’t do reviews (or readings) but I felt I should share my experience after a couple weeks of thought. I have been coming to cassadaga for over 10 years. I really enjoy walking around the town and visiting the bookstore. I visit the bookstore frequently for books, herbs and crystals and a few weeks ago I brought my mother, who was visiting from Northern Florida. We decided to both get separate readings from one of the mediums, Lori Carter. I called her and made two back to back appointments, one for me and one for my mother. It was only a short walk to our reading from the bookstore, and when we arrived Lori Carter seemed friendly and invited us onto her porch. I went in for a reading first. I had never had a reading before and didn’t know what to expect. The reading was actually very short. In the beginning everything was fine, but the times I didn’t resígnate with the things she said, when I would say “no” or ask for clarification, Lori Carter began to get increasingly agitated and said I wasn’t connecting to “Spirit”. She actually ended the reading early and did not give my Mother a reading because she said she had to pick up her Grandson. As my mother and I left, although we did not have to pay for Mom’s reading, it seemed all the “niceness” Lori Carter greeted us with before the reading, had completely vanished. She was very rude as we were leaving, slammed the door and sped away in her vehicle while we were still right outside. I felt a bit scammed for being honest about the information I was receiving during the reading. This does not mean we will stop visiting cassadaga because we love the history, the town and the bookstore and Spirit Pond. We just know enough now to stay away from...