In the next installment of Uncommon History, Daniel Hurt speaks to Alissa Keller, Executive Director of the Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County, about Hopkinsville's favorite mystic son, Edgar Cayce. The conversation takes place ahead of Hopkinsville's Cayce Days celebration, during which the city pays tribute to the famous clairvoyant whose abilities drew people from all over the country to western Kentucky. Cayce was born in Christian County in 1877 and became known as the "Sleeping Prophet" and was one of the most well-documented psychics of the 20th century. Although he established a career as a photographer, his legacy lives on due to his special ability to foresee the future and provide solutions to unknown illnesses. As Keller explains, these abilities showed themselves at an early age when Cayce was just a child.
“He was real sensitive, very intuitive to things around them," Keller begins. "The story goes that when he was about ten years old, he couldn't remember his spelling words like he could not when he was studying. And he could not remember how to spell the word cabin. Like over and over again, he kept getting it wrong. So he finally asked his dad, who was quizzing him, if he could take a break, lay his head down on a spelling book, and rest for a minute. He took a little nap with his book under his head. When he woke up, he could spell every word in the book. His dad would flip to the back, and before he could land on a page, Cayce could tell him what words were on that page.”
Keller says that this story was not the only account of Cayce having unique insights or visions. “There's also stories of him communicating with what he called ‘Little People,' which were like imaginary friends, but more advanced, like fairies in the woods. His goal, even as a child, was that he wanted to be able to use it to help people.” One of the ways Cayce decided to use his power for good was through what would be called "readings," where he would connect to a trance-like higher state that allowed him to know and understand things he did not recall or have knowledge of when he was awake.
“While in that trance, he was connecting to some super conscious, higher power. He knew things that he most definitely didn't know when he was awake. He gave over 14,000 of these readings that were documented. And I say documented because when he was in the trance, and when he woke up, he didn't remember anything,” Keller says. “Obviously, when this was happening, they really needed two people; at least one to talk him through the questions and then someone else to write it all down.” Keller explains that the trance-like state was less about becoming the person or thing with which he was trying to communicate and more like hooking up to a universal consciousness of all knowledge in one place.
Keller said Cayce primarily gave readings to those who were sick, though this wasn't an exclusive rule. Often, Cayce was used as a last resort for individuals whose illnesses were unable to be diagnosed by medical professionals. "They would contact this man who supposedly could diagnose and treat illnesses in one visit," she says. "That was how it was billed at first. Overwhelmingly, if treatments were followed, people got better. I say if treatments are followed because the treatments were never like, do this one thing, it's easy. They were very holistic. Another kind of moniker that's been given to him is the Father of Holistic Medicine. It was a full body approach to really healing the person."
Cayce remained relatively unknown throughout the local community until a homeopathic doctor talked about Cayce's alleged abilities at a conference, resulting in Cayce being featured in a New York Times profile. "It was like, 'Illiterate Man in Kentucky Becomes a Doctor When Asleep,'" Keller paraphrases. "It was a sensational version of a sensational story." Nevertheless, the story garnered Cayce widespread attention. Soon, people from all over the country were mailing in questions and requests for assistance from Cayce. Because Cayce didn't need to be in the presence of the individual he was helping to access his psychic abilities, the clairvoyant helped many needy individuals via the U.S. Postal Service.
Keller says Cayce moved to Bowling Green, opened a photography studio, then moved back to Hopkinsville and became a founding member of the Hopkinsville Psychic Reading Corporation. A disagreement amongst members prompted Cayce to drop out of the corporation, and he ultimately ended up in Virginia Beach. "That was supposed to be the place he needed to be, as that was the best place for his soul," Keller says. "He opens a hospital so that he could give readings to people, and they can be treated on-site. But after the stock market crash in 1929, the business failed. He ended up establishing what became known as the Association for Research and Enlightenment. That's still an active organization in Virginia Beach."
Hopkinsville will honor Edgar Cayce and his influence on the local community during the Cayce Days celebrations on Friday, March 22, and Saturday, March 23. Special events include an Edgar Caycle scholar presentation, psychic readings, and other family-friendly activities. A full event schedule and other pertinent information can be found on the WKMS Community Calendar.
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