When Jess Stearn’s Cayce biography was published in 1967, titled Edgar Cayce: The Sleeping Prophet, it caused a sensation. Public interest in the psychic and A.R.E. soared—so much so that Cayce’s grandson, Charles Thomas Cayce, now 66, left his teaching position at the University of Maryland in the late 1960s to return to Virginia Beach to help his father, Hugh Lynn Cayce, run the organization. He never returned to Maryland. Retired now, Charles Thomas still lectures occasionally at A.R.E. conferences and does fund raising.
Like his uncle, Charles Thomas says that he received relief for a health condition from Cayce readings. “I had a heart problem in my late 40s,” he explains. He consulted a cardiologist who prescribed meds and a shock treatment to help his heart beat regularly. They didn’t work. “Then I tried osteopathic adjustments and low-voltage vibration, and it worked. I went back to my cardiologist, and he said my heart was normal.” Cayce was a believer in the health benefits of vibration—and often prescribed a mild form of electrotherapy. A.R.E. sells a vibrating machine, the Radiac, for $200.
Cayce never referred to himself as a prophet, his grandson asserts. He preferred the term “clairvoyant,” which in French means “clear seer.” Charles Thomas says the word “psychic” has a negative connotation today. He considers his grandfather’s readings as “a gift from God, like a fine musical talent or an athletic ability, that needs to be used.”
Linda Caputi, a retired RN who works at the A.R.E. library, believes Cayce’s treatments cured her daughter of epilepsy. She recently wrote a book about the experience and says that her daughter hasn’t had a seizure in years. “Every day, someone comes into the library looking for an answer,” Caputi says. She helps visitors find information pertaining to their health problems. “They leave with a smile,” she says, “or at least hope.”
James H. Carraway, M.D., a professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School, asserts that Edgar Cayce’s regimens “improve the health and lives of people.” Carraway has a surgery practice in Virginia Beach and says that he often sees patients who follow Cayce’s teachings. “Most of these people are ‘self-help’ people,” he explains, “who are capable of pursuing a better diet [and] exercise, and relieving mental stress.”
While Dr. Carraway thinks some of A.R.E.’s recommended treatments are “off-the-wall,” he believes Cayce’s dietary ideas are sound. “Most of the diseases of our culture—including cancer, diabetes, coronary thrombosis and even arthrtitis—are a result of the foods that we eat,” Carraway says, “so it’s not hard to see how Cayce’s treatments would make you better.”
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