By Karen Parr-Moody
HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. – With Halloween nearing, it’s timely to note that one of America’s most famous and well-documented psychics was born and is buried in nearby Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Psychic Edgar Cayce predicted the end of Communism in Russia and the stock market crash of 1929, but most of his readings dealt with diagnosing health ailments and providing cures.
Born in 1877, Cayce witnessed his grandfather’s death when he was four years old, according to Alissa Keller, the executive director of the Museums
of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County. The museum, located at 217 East 9th Street in Hopkinsville, features a permanent exhibit on Cayce.
Following his grandfather’s death, Keller said, Cayce began to see him as a ghostly presence and to have conversations with the apparition. Such events were early indicators that something was different about this young farm boy.
“He figured out at a young age that he had these abilities,” Keller said, noting that his childhood nickname was “old man.”
As a young man, Cayce held a job at Hoppers Bookstore, where he also worked as a talented photographer. At this time he discovered his clairvoyant abilities while under hypnosis (hence his nickname, “The Sleeping Prophet”). While in this state, Cayce would give “readings” in which he diagnosed illnesses and prescribed cures, which were as elaborate as any doctor’s (despite his having only a ninth-grade education).
A deeply religious Christian, Cayce also talked about spiritual growth and reincarnation while in a trance, as well as offering enlightenment about humanity’s origins, destiny and purpose.
“Most of the readings he gave were about health,” Keller said, noting that he also would talk about past lives and ancient civilizations, as well.
Due to his readings about health he gave advice that was unfamiliar at the time, including the recommendation to eat locally grown and seasonal foods. He is known as the “father of holistic medicine” for that reason.
“It’s kind of the way we look at health now,” Keller said of Cayce’s readings.
Keller said that about 50 percent of visitors that arrive at the museum are from outside Hopkinsville; of those visitors, half come to seek out information about Cayce and his supernatural powers.
Some of Cayce’s personal effects are located at the Hopkinsville museum at 217 East 9th Street./Karen Parr-Moody
Cayce died in 1945 and is buried in Hopkinsville’s Riverside Cemetery, but his influence is felt far and wide, in particular due to the holistic nature of his medical advice. The Association for Research and Enlightenment, a foundation that operates in Virginia Beach, Va., where Cayce briefly ran a hospital houses the manuscripts of his 14,306 readings that can be studied.
The gift shop at the Hopkinsville museum is filled with books about Cayce and his holistic health message, including “The Edgar Cayce Handbook for Health Through Drugless Therapy” and “Edgar Cayce: The Sleeping Prophet.” The museum also offers a variety of products created in accordance with Cayce’s readings, including Egyptian Oil, Hazel Vera and Formula 208, a tonic for digestive disorders.
Every March the museum hosts a seminar of experts who discuss the legacy of Cayce and his ideas about health. In 2015 the dates will be March 20 to 22. For more information, contact the museum at 270-887-4270.
Photos by Karen Parr-Moody
Karen Parr-Moody began a career as a New York journalist, working as a fashion reporter for Women’s Wear Daily, a beauty editor for Young Miss and a beauty and fashion writer for both In Style and People magazines. Regionally, she has been a writer at The Leaf-Chronicle newspaper and currently writes about arts and culture for Nashville Arts magazine each month.