By Jared VanDyke Part one of a five-part series The winding backwoods roads of Chautauqua County, New York, are lined with churches and scrap heaps. Trailers and half-completed ranch-style homes, surrounded by skeletal cars and tire piles, fill the gaps between each Baptist ministry, farm, and family-owned garage. It's late February in Cassadaga and the…
By Jared VanDyke Part four of a five-part series Rev. Bonnie White, spiritual artist and medium, pegged my age without asking. "Oh," said Bonnie. "A digital recorder. How does it work?" With all the enthusiasm a nerd of my generation carries, I explained the workings of my recorder. I spent two minutes dissecting my device's…
By Jared VanDyke Part three in a five-part series "(The Church of the Living Spirit is) nothing but bunch of pagan heathens who serve Satan." George Mayer, Lily Dale Spiritualist Church attendee I decided not to bring John this time. Since our first trips to Lily Dale I've contacted dead relatives, survived entering a…