Have You Heard of The Seer of Poughkeepsie?

As if you didn't already know it by now, I'm a nerd. I'll be the first to admit that I dig creepy history especially if it concerns the Hudson Valley.

One of my favorite ways to pass time while driving long distances is listen to podcast. I came across one last year that changed the game for me. It's called Lore. The podcast focuses on folk lore stories and then crosses them with what actually happened in history. It's hosted by author Aaron Mahnke and usually focuses on stories from the New England area.

So you can imagine how surprised I was today while listening to episode 61, titled Labor Pains, when Mahnke dropped the name the "Poughkeepsie Seer." The episode was focused around people in the 1800's who would go into these trances and were able to talk to spirits, so basically mediums. Andrew Jackson Davis of the town of Poughkeepsie was a popular trance medium and author who would fall into a deep trance and have his secretary document everything he said he saw from "the other side."

A quick google search brought me to several pages and a documentary dedicated to the Seer of Poughkeepsie. The documentary, which was released in 2014, was created by Vassar College students and runs about 20 minutes long. If you're a Hudson Valley history nerd like me, it's well worth the watch.