HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
1927 Spiritualist Refuge in Florida's Psychic Capital
355 Cassadaga Rd, Cassadaga, FL 32706
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Room rates vary by season; psychic and medium readings priced separately. Walk-in lobby browsing free.
Access
Accessibility not stated
Paved
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1927 · Spiritualist Heritage · Mediterranean Revival Architecture · Florida Land Boom Era
Cassadaga, Florida traces its origins to George P. Colby, a trance medium from upstate New York who arrived in central Florida in 1875 reportedly guided by a spirit he identified as Seneca. Colby filed a homestead claim and, with associates from Lily Dale and the broader American Spiritualist movement, established what became the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association in 1894.
The original wooden hotel was constructed in 1901 to house visitors drawn to the camp's resident mediums. Christmas Eve 1926 saw the building destroyed by fire. The current Cassadaga Hotel, a Mediterranean Revival structure of stucco and tile, opened in 1927.
The National Association of Spiritualists owned the property during its early years. Following Colby's death in 1933, the hotel was sold to private owners, and it has not operated as an official extension of the spiritualist camp since. The camp itself, located across the road, remains the longest-active spiritualist community in the southern United States and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
The hotel today functions as both lodging and a spiritual sanctuary. Daily mediums, psychics, and lecture programming on astrology, numerology, palmistry, Reiki, and sound healing operate from the lobby and dedicated reading rooms. The property's restaurant, bar, and gift shop occupy the ground floor.
Sources
The hotel's resident ghost roster is unusually specific for a property that volunteers it. The most frequently named is Arthur, described in hotel materials as a friendly Irishman who frequented the second floor and is said to have died inside the building in the 1930s. Guests and staff report a tap on the shoulder and the scent of cigar smoke in the second-floor hallway, often attributed to Arthur or to the second figure called Gentleman Jack.
Two child spirits, identified in hotel folklore as Sarah and Katlin, are reported in connection with the lobby and lower floors. Reports describe quiet voices and the sense of small figures in peripheral vision.
The hotel does not stage scripted ghost tours. Investigation activity instead overlaps with the property's spiritualist programming: resident mediums offer readings, and seance bookings can be arranged through the front desk. The Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp across the road runs separately scheduled tours and historical walks.
What distinguishes the hotel from other haunted properties is its unembarrassed embrace of the reputation. Where most hotels with paranormal histories minimize them in marketing, the Cassadaga Hotel treats its ghosts as part of the lineage of a town built explicitly around mediumship.
Notable Entities
Book a room in the 1927 hotel that openly advertises its resident spirits on its homepage. Guests have reported the scent of cigar smoke from a ghost named Arthur, an Irishman said to have died inside the hotel in the 1930s.
Daily access to resident psychics, mediums, and seance offerings. The hotel hosts lectures on astrology, numerology, palmistry, Reiki, and sound healing.
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