St Margaret’s is a lonely little church near the railway line some way from the village and it has been said that the organ is heard playing at night when the building is empty.

 

Many years ago, four boys had heard of the rumour, so they visited the church one summer evening. They took it in turns to sit in the church alone. As one of the boys sat in the dim, silent church, the only living person in the building, the organ began to play. He fled outside to his companions and was very upset for days afterwards.

 

Mrs Bettany of South Benfleet and a friend visited Bowers Gifford church one day. As they entered, Mrs Bettany saw standing two pews down on the south side of the church an old man with short white beard, who looked like a clergyman.

 

She was laughing at something that had amused her and the old man glared at her and looked as if he was extremely angry that she should behave thus in the holy edifice.

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Mrs Bettany said that she felt rather foolish, lowered her voice and walked with her friend towards the vestry. The church door was shut but when they turned round the man had gone.

 

Still feeling rather annoyed Mrs Bettany said, “Let’s go out” and when they reached the churchyard, she remarked that the man in the church had been most annoyed with her for laughing. “What man?” asked her friend, “There was no man in the church”.

 

Members of the Phenomenist Research League from Southend-on-Sea visited the church one autumn night in 1956 to obtain evidence about the phantom organist. They reported that they saw and felt presences and that there were some very chilly psychic draughts, one ‘presence’ in the form of a vicar in his surplice was very strong and kept appearing.

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During August 2020 a local man visited St. Margaret’s of Antioch with the aim of producing a painting of the church.

 

He saw no one else during his visit to the churchyard.

 

As he finished using paint tubes he put them neatly back in their box.  At one point he leant down to put a tube back and the box was in disarray.  An invisible hand had made a mess of the boxes contents.

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