Christ Episcopal Church, Poughkeepsie

New York · United States · Church

Dr Alexander Griswold Cummings disliked candles. Since his death the candles used in services have kept going out.

Christ Episcopal Church in Poughkeepsie, New York has been reporting its former rector since his death in the late 1940s or early 1950s, and the reports are entirely in character.

Dr Alexander Griswold Cummings did not like candles being used. Since he died, candles lit for services have repeatedly been blown out.

At one point a bat appeared inside the church and then was not there.

The most memorable intervention came in the 1970s, when Bishop James Pike was rector. He is said to have driven the presence out of the sanctuary by bringing his dog into the church, after which Alexander was quiet for a considerable time.

He returned in the 1990s.

This is one of the few church hauntings in this archive where everyone involved is named and datable, and where the whole account amounts to a disagreement about liturgical practice conducted across the boundary of death. The parish has treated it with more humour than alarm, which seems the right response.

FAQ

Where is Christ Episcopal Church, Poughkeepsie located?

Christ Episcopal Church, Poughkeepsie is in New York, United States.