A residence along Seminole Street.

Walking along Stevens Street.

Walking along Stevens Street.

Walking along Stevens Street.

The entrance to Cassadaga, traveling east along Cassadaga Road.

The Lake Helen-Cassadaga Cemetery is located just north of Cassadaga on Kicklighter Road.

Dating back to the late 19th century, the cemetery largely consists of residents of Lake Helen and Cassadaga and many of the community’s early spiritualists and settlers.

The Cassadaga Cemetery is the home of the infamous Devil’s Chair, a large, red bench made of brick. There are numerous legends associated with the Devil’s Chair. Many say that the Devil himself speaks to you when you sit in the chair, and some report hearing voices in their head when seated. Others say the Devil outright appears to those who sit in the chair. The best-known legend of the Devil’s Chair is that if one leaves a can of unopened beer on the bench, one can find it empty the next morning but still unopened.

The real story of the Devil’s Chair goes back to the 1920s. The chair was built for a man who unexpectedly lost his wife and spent lots of time at the cemetery visiting her grave. Over the years, his arthritis got the best of him, and constantly walking to the gravesite took a toll on his body. He built the chair so he could have a seat after taking the long walk to visit his wife’s grave. There are quite a few similar benches in the Cassadaga Cemetery, but the Devil’s Chair is the most well-known.

Source: https://orlandohaunts.com/lake-helen-the-cassadaga-cemetery/

The town of Cassadaga is located in Volusia County, approximately thirty miles north of Orlando and twenty miles southwest of Daytona Beach.

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com