Judging by the response to writings, reviews, venue visits and native seasonal excursions supplied annually, residents of Bowling Inexperienced and Warren County have an interest within the occult, the paranormal and out-of-this-world experiences, significantly these referring to our space. Halloween feeds this curiosity with its accents on ghosts, witches, haunted homes and dancing skeletons. Actually, Gallup Information Companies polls reveals such curiosity is on the rise as over half the inhabitants believes in psychic or non secular therapeutic and extrasensory notion, although fewer individuals consider in things like possession by the satan, haunted homes, ghosts, telepathy, aliens visiting the earth, and clairvoyance. These beliefs are as previous as mankind itself. The unknown and unexplained occasions feed the paranormal issue. Normally generally in a yr, people will discuss the discuss on this topic and normally conclude with the thought, “I ponder?”
Historic information reveal the names of many people claiming data of those matters and/or experiences within the occult. To southern Kentuckians, one such man’s experiences are effectively documented, so Edgar Cayce is a well-recognized title to many residents.
Edgar Cayce was born on March 18, 1877 on a farm close to Beverly, Kentucky, a small city between Hopkinsville and the Kentucky-Tennessee border. Edgar was one in every of six youngsters of farmers Leslie Burr Cayce and Carrie Elizabeth. Throughout his early years of childhood, nothing uncommon occurred to him, solely he believed he noticed the ghost of his well-loved grandfather after the latter’s interment. A extra important expertise was at age ten when he was introduced into the church. He grew to become a prolific reader of the Bible, studying it six instances from cowl to cowl as a teen (later years, the whole was sixty instances or extra). It was a day within the woods alone when he mentioned he was visited by a non secular being, a lady with wings who requested for his desires. He answered, “To assist individuals.”
Hopkinsville grew to become the brand new house of the Cayce household on a December day in 1893.
Edgar attended native faculties there till the ninth grade, the very best stage at the moment for working-class households. Later he revealed what made him the highest scholar of his class. He associated that whereas getting ready for a math take a look at, he fell asleep and the girl with wings instructed him to sleep together with his head on the e-book. Edgar mentioned he did and on awaking he understood the whole lot within the e-book and will recite it. Ever after he did all his learning this fashion.
Edgar Cayce was a deeply non secular man. He attended the Disciples of Christ church recurrently, taught Sunday faculty and promoted missionary recruitment. It was throughout these years he would hear voices of departed family members, communicate to angels and would normally view individuals with auras round them. At all times he questioned the validity and that means of those happenings as being non secular.
Earlier than Mr. Cayce launched into his years of clairvoyant experiences for which he’s most remembered, he got here to Bowling Inexperienced looking for employment. In 1902 he was employed at L. D. Potter’s bookstore on State Avenue. Throughout his work there he developed a card recreation referred to as “Pit” or “Board of Commerce” – based mostly on capturing the wheat market on the New York Board of Commerce. He joined the Christian Church, married Gertrude Evans of Hopkinsville, and rejoiced within the start of Hugh Lynn, the primary of three sons (Milton Porter and Edgar Evans). Whereas right here on this metropolis he grew a eager curiosity in images. He started his personal picture studio in 1906. When his Faculty Avenue store burned, he moved to 932½ State Avenue and expanded his employees to a few assistants. His picture work was spectacular and fashionable. The Inexperienced and Gold, a literary journal of the Enterprise College and Potter’s Faculty, proclaimed, “There is no such thing as a use speaking, the images that come from Cayce’s are the best ever made.” The picture included with this text attests to his means.
The Cayce household remained residing in Bowling Inexperienced for nearly eight years. To this point, no information have surfaced of his out-of-this-world experiences regionally, though he’s listed as speaker at native teams. Following his return to Hopkinsville, Edgar labored for a time with the H. P. Tresslar images agency. In the meantime, his clairvoyant actions elevated as he agonized concerning the religion healings. A 1920 newspaper article introduced extra calls for on his self-proclaimed religion healings. He claimed the flexibility to channel his greater self in a trance-like state. On this stage he would search solutions on a wide range of topics individuals requested for assist or options to issues. His phrases spoken whereas on this stage have been recorded first by his spouse after which by others. In his lifetime, it’s mentioned he gave greater than 14,000 psychic readings whereas on this hypnotic trance. He was also known as The Sleeping Prophet or as American Self-Proclaimed Religion Healer.
In 1925, the Cayce household settled in Virginia Seaside, Virginia the place he established a hospital in 1928 and continued his legacy by establishing the Affiliation for Analysis and Enlightenment in 1931. By way of the years, Cayce’s alleged talents had been challenged by science reporters and others as pretend or nonexistent. But it was tough to disregard readings coping with misplaced objects, afterlife, diagnoses of sicknesses confirmed to be appropriate, dream interpretations and a number of different requests he honored. He was by no means subjected to correct testing by recognized authorities.
Edgar Casey died in Virginia Seaside on January 3, 1945 and was laid to relaxation in Riverside Cemetery in Hopkinsville. Shows within the Museum of Historic Hopkinsville will allow a customer to stroll within the footsteps of Edgar Cayce.
Doubter, believer, skeptic, follower, observer, participant or just somebody simply not , regardless of the reader’s response to the paranormal experiences, we will say with confidence what an old-timer as soon as mentioned, “Sooner or later it might all be revealed.”
-by Mary Alice Oliver
Concerning the Writer: Mary Alice Oliver is a Bowling Inexperienced native who’s a 1950 graduate of Bowling Inexperienced Excessive Faculty. She retired from Warren County Faculties after 40 years in schooling. Visiting acquainted websites, researching historic information and sharing recollections with mates are her passions.
