Free Mediums Rare by Richard Matheson Page A
Authors: Richard Matheson
difficult to believe that, moments earlier, it had been no better than a barely audible, rasping sound.
“In the normal state,” said Edgar Cayce, twenty-three, “this body is unable to speak due to a partial paralysis of the inferior muscles of the vocal cords produced by nerve strain. This is a psychological condition producing a physical effect.
“This may be removed by increasing the circulation to the affected parts by suggestion while in this unconscious condition.”
Al Layne’s mouth hung open. It did not occur to him for close to a minute that he needed to respond to the young man.
Abruptly, then, he said, “The circulation to the affected parts will now increase and the condition will be removed.”
Edgar reached up to unbutton his shirt. Al Layne started, then leaned forward quickly to open the shirt, baring the young man’s chest.
He caught his breath.
The upper part of Edgar’s chest was turning pink, the color slowly spreading upward to his neck.
“My God.” Squire Cayce was on his feet now, staring at his son with an awestruck expression.
Now his wife stood up beside him, then Gertrude Cayce. With the hypnotist, they watched incredulously as the pinkness on Edgar’s chest turned to a roselike color, then increased to a vivid, burning red, Gertrude and his mother wincing at the sight.
For twenty minutes, Edgar Cayce’s wife and parents stood in silence, gaping at Edgar’s neck and chest.
They twitched in surprise as the young man cleared his throat.
“It’s all right now,” he said, his voice still normal. “The condition is removed. Make the suggestion that the circulation return to normal and that, after that, the body awaken.”
Layne swallowed dryly and did as he was told and they saw the fierce redness fade through rose and pink, back to normal flesh tone.
Edgar Cayce opened his eyes and sat up. Removing a handkerchief from his trouser pocket, he coughed into it and the four people saw a small amount of blood soak into the white cotton.
Then he looked at Al Layne.
“Hello,”
he said.
A smile of overwhelming joy pulled back his lips. “I can talk!” he cried. “I’m all right!”
His wife and mother, weeping, ran to embrace and kiss him. Squire Cayce, speechless with emotion, moved to his son’s side and grasped his hand.
Al Layne could only stare.
In all his years of working with hypnosis, he had never seen the like.
AFTERWARD
So began the healing life of Edgar Cayce, the most incredible psychic of our century.
For more than forty years, this simple Kentucky man, with no medical training whatsoever, or much education of any kind, diagnosed the nature of every patient’s ailment—
many of them hundreds of miles distant
—and recommended treatment.
Edgar Cayce healed literally
thousands
of men, women and children—of appendicitis—arthritis—tuberculosis—intestinal fever—hypertension—hay fever—polio-diabetes—and hundreds of other illnesses and injuries.
In all, Cayce gave 14,256 psychic readings yielding 145,135 transcript pages over a period of 43 years.
Not once did he contradict himself.
In addition to his physical readings, Cayce also gave psychic readings in which he discussed the history of Man on Earth.
Through these readings, he was able to predict accurately a number of archaeological discoveries decades before they were made, regarding not only known civilizations but lost civilizations as well, the existence of which had not been uncovered when the predictions were made.
Describing this pre-historic world, he spoke about the extreme northern portions—the polar regions—as existing in the southern portions—the tropical regions; the Nile emptying into the Atlantic; the Sahara fertile and inhabited; the Mississippi Basin under miles of ocean, the only visible area of what is now the United States being portions of Nevada, Utah and Arizona.
The Atlantic Ocean, he claimed, was mostly the continent of Atlantis.
The Pacific Ocean,
“In the normal state,” said Edgar Cayce, twenty-three, “this body is unable to speak due to a partial paralysis of the inferior muscles of the vocal cords produced by nerve strain. This is a psychological condition producing a physical effect.
“This may be removed by increasing the circulation to the affected parts by suggestion while in this unconscious condition.”
Al Layne’s mouth hung open. It did not occur to him for close to a minute that he needed to respond to the young man.
Abruptly, then, he said, “The circulation to the affected parts will now increase and the condition will be removed.”
Edgar reached up to unbutton his shirt. Al Layne started, then leaned forward quickly to open the shirt, baring the young man’s chest.
He caught his breath.
The upper part of Edgar’s chest was turning pink, the color slowly spreading upward to his neck.
“My God.” Squire Cayce was on his feet now, staring at his son with an awestruck expression.
Now his wife stood up beside him, then Gertrude Cayce. With the hypnotist, they watched incredulously as the pinkness on Edgar’s chest turned to a roselike color, then increased to a vivid, burning red, Gertrude and his mother wincing at the sight.
For twenty minutes, Edgar Cayce’s wife and parents stood in silence, gaping at Edgar’s neck and chest.
They twitched in surprise as the young man cleared his throat.
“It’s all right now,” he said, his voice still normal. “The condition is removed. Make the suggestion that the circulation return to normal and that, after that, the body awaken.”
Layne swallowed dryly and did as he was told and they saw the fierce redness fade through rose and pink, back to normal flesh tone.
Edgar Cayce opened his eyes and sat up. Removing a handkerchief from his trouser pocket, he coughed into it and the four people saw a small amount of blood soak into the white cotton.
Then he looked at Al Layne.
“Hello,”
he said.
A smile of overwhelming joy pulled back his lips. “I can talk!” he cried. “I’m all right!”
His wife and mother, weeping, ran to embrace and kiss him. Squire Cayce, speechless with emotion, moved to his son’s side and grasped his hand.
Al Layne could only stare.
In all his years of working with hypnosis, he had never seen the like.
AFTERWARD
So began the healing life of Edgar Cayce, the most incredible psychic of our century.
For more than forty years, this simple Kentucky man, with no medical training whatsoever, or much education of any kind, diagnosed the nature of every patient’s ailment—
many of them hundreds of miles distant
—and recommended treatment.
Edgar Cayce healed literally
thousands
of men, women and children—of appendicitis—arthritis—tuberculosis—intestinal fever—hypertension—hay fever—polio-diabetes—and hundreds of other illnesses and injuries.
In all, Cayce gave 14,256 psychic readings yielding 145,135 transcript pages over a period of 43 years.
Not once did he contradict himself.
In addition to his physical readings, Cayce also gave psychic readings in which he discussed the history of Man on Earth.
Through these readings, he was able to predict accurately a number of archaeological discoveries decades before they were made, regarding not only known civilizations but lost civilizations as well, the existence of which had not been uncovered when the predictions were made.
Describing this pre-historic world, he spoke about the extreme northern portions—the polar regions—as existing in the southern portions—the tropical regions; the Nile emptying into the Atlantic; the Sahara fertile and inhabited; the Mississippi Basin under miles of ocean, the only visible area of what is now the United States being portions of Nevada, Utah and Arizona.
The Atlantic Ocean, he claimed, was mostly the continent of Atlantis.
The Pacific Ocean,