diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/AbstractCaster.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/AbstractCaster.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..bf4f8d96b5d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/AbstractCaster.php
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters;
+
+abstract class AbstractCaster
+{
+    /**
+     * The caster options.
+     *
+     * @var array
+     */
+    protected $options;
+
+    /**
+     * Set the caster options.
+     *
+     * @param array $options
+     *
+     * @return \Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters\AbstractCaster
+     */
+    public function options(array $options)
+    {
+        $this->options = $options;
+
+        return $this;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Prepare a value to be stored.
+     *
+     * @param mixed $value
+     *
+     * @return mixed
+     */
+    abstract public function as($value);
+
+    /**
+     * Prepare a value to be retrieved.
+     *
+     * @param mixed $value
+     *
+     * @return mixed
+     */
+    abstract public function from($value);
+}
diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/ArrayCaster.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/ArrayCaster.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e03b88cb1ebc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/ArrayCaster.php
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters;
+
+class ArrayCaster extends AbstractCaster
+{
+    /**
+     * Encode the given value as JSON.
+     *
+     * @param mixed $value
+     *
+     * @return string
+     */
+    public function as($value)
+    {
+        return json_encode($value);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Decode the given JSON back into an array or object.
+     *
+     * @param string $value
+     *
+     * @return mixed
+     */
+    public function from($value)
+    {
+        return json_decode($value, $this->options->asObject);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/BooleanCaster.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/BooleanCaster.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..1e522ece2db5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/BooleanCaster.php
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters;
+
+class BooleanCaster extends AbstractCaster
+{
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function as($value)
+    {
+        return $value;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function from($value)
+    {
+        return (bool) $value;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/CollectionCaster.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/CollectionCaster.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..02b33dcd7f80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/CollectionCaster.php
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters;
+
+use Illuminate\Support\Collection;
+
+class CollectionCaster extends AbstractCaster
+{
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function as($value)
+    {
+        return $value;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function from($value)
+    {
+        return new Collection(json_decode($value));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/DateTimeCaster.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/DateTimeCaster.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..8c0e3f342dd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/DateTimeCaster.php
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters;
+
+use Carbon\Carbon;
+
+class DateTimeCaster extends AbstractCaster
+{
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function as($value)
+    {
+        // If this value is already a Carbon instance, we shall just return it as is.
+        // This prevents us having to re-instantiate a Carbon instance when we know
+        // it already is one, which wouldn't be fulfilled by the DateTime check.
+        if ($value instanceof Carbon) {
+            return $value;
+        }
+
+         // If the value is already a DateTime instance, we will just skip the rest of
+         // these checks since they will be a waste of time, and hinder performance
+         // when checking the field. We will just return the DateTime right away.
+        if ($value instanceof DateTimeInterface) {
+            return new Carbon(
+                $value->format('Y-m-d H:i:s.u'), $value->getTimeZone()
+            );
+        }
+
+        // If this value is an integer, we will assume it is a UNIX timestamp's value
+        // and format a Carbon object from this timestamp. This allows flexibility
+        // when defining your date fields as they might be UNIX timestamps here.
+        if (is_numeric($value)) {
+            return Carbon::createFromTimestamp($value);
+        }
+
+        // If the value is in simply year, month, day format, we will instantiate the
+        // Carbon instances from that format. Again, this provides for simple date
+        // fields on the database, while still supporting Carbonized conversion.
+        if (preg_match('/^(\d{4})-(\d{1,2})-(\d{1,2})$/', $value)) {
+            return Carbon::createFromFormat('Y-m-d', $value)->startOfDay();
+        }
+
+        // Finally, we will just assume this date is in the format used by default on
+        // the database connection and use that format to create the Carbon object
+        // that is returned back out to the developers after we convert it here.
+        return Carbon::createFromFormat($this->getDateFormat(), $value);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function from($value)
+    {
+        return $this->as($value)->format($this->options['format']);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/EncryptedCaster.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/EncryptedCaster.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..284994d80dbe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/EncryptedCaster.php
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters;
+
+class EncryptedCaster extends AbstractCaster
+{
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function as($value)
+    {
+        return encrypt($value);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function from($value)
+    {
+        return decrypt($value);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/FloatCaster.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/FloatCaster.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..a73042270ccb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/FloatCaster.php
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters;
+
+class FloatCaster extends AbstractCaster
+{
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function as($value)
+    {
+        return $value;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function from($value)
+    {
+        return (float) $value;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/IntegerCaster.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/IntegerCaster.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..04d8cf2a6198
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/IntegerCaster.php
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters;
+
+class IntegerCaster extends AbstractCaster
+{
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function as($value)
+    {
+        return $value;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function from($value)
+    {
+        return (int) $value;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/ObjectCaster.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/ObjectCaster.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..852fb87d4bb0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/ObjectCaster.php
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters;
+
+class ObjectCaster extends AbstractCaster
+{
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function as($value)
+    {
+        return $value;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function from($value)
+    {
+        return json_decode($value, true);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/StringCaster.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/StringCaster.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..fc4f2127330f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/StringCaster.php
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters;
+
+class StringCaster extends AbstractCaster
+{
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function as($value)
+    {
+        return $value;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function from($value)
+    {
+        return (string) $value;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/TimestampCaster.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/TimestampCaster.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..988e2d1bffc3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Casters/TimestampCaster.php
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters;
+
+class TimestampCaster extends AbstractCaster
+{
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function as($value)
+    {
+        return $value;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function from($value)
+    {
+        return (new DateTimeCaster())->options($this->options)
+                                   ->as($value)
+                                   ->getTimestamp();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Model.php b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Model.php
index 2008ce7570ba..48a7ba9809e5 100644
--- a/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Model.php
+++ b/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Model.php
@@ -260,6 +260,36 @@ abstract class Model implements ArrayAccess, Arrayable, Jsonable, JsonSerializab
      */
     public static $manyMethods = ['belongsToMany', 'morphToMany', 'morphedByMany'];
 
+    /**
+     * The attribute casters.
+     *
+     * @var array
+     */
+    protected static $casters = [
+        'int' => Casters\IntegerCaster::class,
+        'integer' => Casters\IntegerCaster::class,
+        'real' => Casters\FloatCaster::class,
+        'float' => Casters\FloatCaster::class,
+        'double' => Casters\FloatCaster::class,
+        'string' => Casters\StringCaster::class,
+        'bool' => Casters\BooleanCaster::class,
+        'boolean' => Casters\BooleanCaster::class,
+        'object' => Casters\ObjectCaster::class,
+        'array' => Casters\ArrayCaster::class,
+        'json' => Casters\ArrayCaster::class,
+        'collection' => Casters\CollectionCaster::class,
+        'date' => Casters\DateTimeCaster::class,
+        'datetime' => Casters\DateTimeCaster::class,
+        'encrypted' => Casters\EncryptedCaster::class,
+        'timestamp' => Casters\TimestampCaster::class,
+    ];
+    /**
+     * The user defined attribute casters.
+     *
+     * @var array
+     */
+    protected static $customCasters = [];
+
     /**
      * The name of the "created at" column.
      *
@@ -2855,6 +2885,17 @@ protected function isDateCastable($key)
         return $this->hasCast($key, ['date', 'datetime']);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Determine whether a value should be encrypted.
+     *
+     * @param  string  $key
+     * @return bool
+     */
+    protected function isEncryptCastable($key)
+    {
+        return $this->hasCast($key, ['encrypted']);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Determine whether a value is JSON castable for inbound manipulation.
      *
@@ -2874,6 +2915,10 @@ protected function isJsonCastable($key)
      */
     protected function getCastType($key)
     {
+        if(!array_key_exists($key, $this->getCasts())) {
+            return;
+        }
+
         return trim(strtolower($this->getCasts()[$key]));
     }
 
@@ -2890,34 +2935,30 @@ protected function castAttribute($key, $value)
             return $value;
         }
 
-        switch ($this->getCastType($key)) {
-            case 'int':
-            case 'integer':
-                return (int) $value;
-            case 'real':
-            case 'float':
-            case 'double':
-                return (float) $value;
-            case 'string':
-                return (string) $value;
-            case 'bool':
-            case 'boolean':
-                return (bool) $value;
-            case 'object':
-                return $this->fromJson($value, true);
-            case 'array':
-            case 'json':
-                return $this->fromJson($value);
-            case 'collection':
-                return new BaseCollection($this->fromJson($value));
-            case 'date':
-            case 'datetime':
-                return $this->asDateTime($value);
-            case 'timestamp':
-                return $this->asTimeStamp($value);
-            default:
-                return $value;
+        return $this->getCaster($key)->as($value);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Get a new caster instance.
+     *
+     * @param  string      $key
+     * @param  string|null $castType
+     *
+     * @return \Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casters\AbstractCaster
+     */
+    protected function getCaster($key, $castType = null)
+    {
+        $casters = array_merge(static::$casters, static::$customCasters);
+
+        if (!$castType) {
+            $castType = $this->getCastType($key);
+        }
+
+        if (!array_key_exists($castType, $casters)) {
+            throw new InvalidArgumentException($castType);
         }
+
+        return new $casters[$castType];
     }
 
     /**
@@ -2945,6 +2986,10 @@ public function setAttribute($key, $value)
             $value = $this->fromDateTime($value);
         }
 
+        if ($this->isEncryptCastable($key) && ! is_null($value)) {
+            $value = $this->asEncrypted($value);
+        }
+
         if ($this->isJsonCastable($key) && ! is_null($value)) {
             $value = $this->asJson($value);
         }
@@ -3012,11 +3057,9 @@ public function getDates()
      */
     public function fromDateTime($value)
     {
-        $format = $this->getDateFormat();
-
-        $value = $this->asDateTime($value);
-
-        return $value->format($format);
+        return $this->getCaster(null, 'datetime')->options([
+            'format' => $this->getDateFormat()
+        ])->from($value);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -3027,40 +3070,9 @@ public function fromDateTime($value)
      */
     protected function asDateTime($value)
     {
-        // If this value is already a Carbon instance, we shall just return it as is.
-        // This prevents us having to re-instantiate a Carbon instance when we know
-        // it already is one, which wouldn't be fulfilled by the DateTime check.
-        if ($value instanceof Carbon) {
-            return $value;
-        }
-
-         // If the value is already a DateTime instance, we will just skip the rest of
-         // these checks since they will be a waste of time, and hinder performance
-         // when checking the field. We will just return the DateTime right away.
-        if ($value instanceof DateTimeInterface) {
-            return new Carbon(
-                $value->format('Y-m-d H:i:s.u'), $value->getTimeZone()
-            );
-        }
-
-        // If this value is an integer, we will assume it is a UNIX timestamp's value
-        // and format a Carbon object from this timestamp. This allows flexibility
-        // when defining your date fields as they might be UNIX timestamps here.
-        if (is_numeric($value)) {
-            return Carbon::createFromTimestamp($value);
-        }
-
-        // If the value is in simply year, month, day format, we will instantiate the
-        // Carbon instances from that format. Again, this provides for simple date
-        // fields on the database, while still supporting Carbonized conversion.
-        if (preg_match('/^(\d{4})-(\d{1,2})-(\d{1,2})$/', $value)) {
-            return Carbon::createFromFormat('Y-m-d', $value)->startOfDay();
-        }
-
-        // Finally, we will just assume this date is in the format used by default on
-        // the database connection and use that format to create the Carbon object
-        // that is returned back out to the developers after we convert it here.
-        return Carbon::createFromFormat($this->getDateFormat(), $value);
+        return $this->getCaster(null, 'datetime')->options([
+            'format' => $this->getDateFormat()
+        ])->as($value);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -3071,7 +3083,9 @@ protected function asDateTime($value)
      */
     protected function asTimeStamp($value)
     {
-        return $this->asDateTime($value)->getTimestamp();
+        return $this->getCaster(null, 'timestamp')->options([
+            'format' => $this->getDateFormat()
+        ])->as($value);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -3108,6 +3122,17 @@ public function setDateFormat($format)
         return $this;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Encrypt the given value.
+     *
+     * @param  mixed  $value
+     * @return string
+     */
+    protected function asEncrypted($value)
+    {
+        return $this->getCaster(null, 'encrypted')->as($value);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Encode the given value as JSON.
      *
@@ -3116,7 +3141,7 @@ public function setDateFormat($format)
      */
     protected function asJson($value)
     {
-        return json_encode($value);
+        return $this->getCaster(null, 'json')->as($value);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -3128,7 +3153,9 @@ protected function asJson($value)
      */
     public function fromJson($value, $asObject = false)
     {
-        return json_decode($value, ! $asObject);
+        return $this->getCaster(null, 'json')->options([
+            'asObject' => ! $asObject
+        ])->from($value);
     }
 
     /**