This church has an urban legend attached to it which we have heard referred to as the Absaraka Lights (strange description) but more commonly as the Glowing Cross. Visitors have reported a Glowing Cross above the altar. If you have a story about the Glowing Cross, please feel free to comment below. Make sure you check out the comments anyway, because that’s where the really good stories are.
There are several other “lights” urban legends in North Dakota, including the Kindred Lights, the Horace Lights, and the Mooreton Spook Lights, and we’re not too clear on whether Absaraka has a “lights” phenomenon as well, or if someone is confusing it with Absaraka’s Glowing Cross.
This church was once in worse condition, but the owner has done a great job of cleaning it up. It was also the subject of a lot of vandalism back in the day, so it is now boarded up tight and locked. Trespassers beware, Absaraka’s residents are now quite vigilant with regard to this church and unannounced visitors.
Ghosts of North Dakota 
Back in the early 1900s the minister of the church locked the doors and killed all of his congregation. I’ve personnally witnessed the glowing red cross inside the church, also one time when me and a couple friends drove through the town and on are way back both sides of the road had a line of people kind of like children of the corn. I’ve also checked with local authorities and back in the late 90s and early 2000s there was alot of satanic rituals reported in and around the city. If you have any questions u can contact me.
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Please call me, 701-237-5211
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I grew up here , my Dad has had a business here since 1962. There were no satanic rituals in the 90’s or 2000’s. I have asked my Dad about this in case there was something I didn’t hear of. He said there were no authority reports and no activity of this kind. Being the only business, law enforcement that he knows stop in from time to time. I have read many of the comments on here and it is like the game of telephone, 1 person tells a story, truth or not and by the time it gets down the line the story is totally different and wrong. I grew up going to this church until it closed . My oldest Son was baptized here. There is fact of the street light and the way it shined in the church through the windows. These were special windows ordered for the church. There is no ghost connection. As far as the glowing cross, growing up here and living across from the church, since 1962, I have never seen a “glowing cross” Not sure where in the church anyone saw it. In the front of the church beyond the Altar at the front wall is a big picture of Jesus knocking at a door- Representing the scripture ” Revelation 3:20. If you are telling people to contact you if they have any questions. I would say get your facts right first. My Dad has lived in Absaraka since 1962 and has been in the close area (being born 9 miles away) for 84 years. I can direct you to him or to another resident that has lived there longer and is 99 yrs old.
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Actually, when I was in High School (1990’s – must have been about 1992 or 1993), some friends and I drove to Absaraka to see this church. My best friend had relatives that had told her about the glowing cross inside the church. Of course, we did not believe, but were bored one night and decided to check it out for ourselves. When we got there, we had to strain a bit to see inside the window (they are higher up than they look). The window I looked in was the one on the far left of the picture shown here. I kind of had to prop my feet against the side of the church in order to boost myself up to see into the window, which was only partly covered at that time. To this day I can’ t explain it (I wish I could) – but it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I saw a glowing cross at the front of the church, and not a red one, either. It was a huge, glowing white cross. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was powered by electricity – but I knew that the church was abandoned and had no power. I tried to explain it – I tried to come up with some explanation as to why that cross was glowing. Reflection of street lights was all I could come up with – but no way – it was too perfect. That cross that was glowing, it was too beautiful to be an accident. And it was huge!
I don’t understand why the people of Absaraka want to hide this. I don’t understand what the big secret is. I don’t understand why the windows are boarded up the way they are now if they have nothing to hide. And I really don’t understand why some people have to make up stupid “children of the corn” and murder stories about this. A glowing red cross and satanism? Whatever…rent a movie people. This is an amazing thing that belivers and non-believers alike should be able to see. It’s not evil in any sense of the word. It is a true miracle. I wish I knew more about it. It’s something I will never forget.
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I too went with some college friends in spring 1994 and saw a white glowing cross. We could see it clearly from the road without going up to look in. it looked like a reflection of a lit up cross from the street or something but there were no streetlights of any kind and it was pitch black out there.
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Susan Your comment —- ” I don’t understand why the people of Absaraka want to hide this. I don’t understand what the big secret is. I don’t understand why the windows are boarded up the way they are now if they have nothing to hide.” Susan, If you knew what the residents of Absaraka had to put up with every single night, until they were forced to board up the windows. Absaraka had people every night coming into town all hours of the night. Trying to break into the church, driving up and down the street in town. There was no peace in town. Many nights my Dad, across the street from the church had to go and talk to the people and explain the story. Many times he had to “police” the area to make sure that my Momma and he would be safe from these people that came to town that would act like fools. There was no complete rest for our town, and as I said the town people didn’t want to board up these windows but because people would not be sensible they were forced to have normalcy in town again. It is only common sense why something had to be done so that the people of Absaraka, a very small town, could have peace and feel safe. I like your support of the satanic rituals stories because being from Absaraka, this couldn’t be more of a lie. In many ways this whole thing brought such bad things to Absarka. My Dad a permanent resident since 1962 and born 9 miles from Absaraka, or a resident that is now 99 yrs old could give a lot of true answers to the all the farce tales.
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My friend lives across the street from the church and his grandpa owns it so i’ve been inside of it multiple times i have yet to see the cross be glowing but i can tell you what’s inside the church all the seats are full of boxes and all the boxes are full but the ‘stage’ is cleared and all of the bible’s are still there. I haven’t been to the basement because the stairs are rotted away so i would fall through if i tried but the windows are boarded up because they had another abandon building which kept getting its windows smashed by people throwing rocks so they just covered them up to try to not ruin it. But the inside main floor could still be used if they cleaned it up but the basement is done unless they rebuilt the stairs.
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Drew
I was just watching Ghost Hunters tonight with a friend. I started telling him of my experience back around 1989 or 1990 when me and some high school friends, both from the immediate area and in fact one of them lives across the street to this day discovered this. We were blowing time like high schoolers do. My friends were walking around checking out the old school, checking on my friends uncle’s house next door, and walked over to the church. Both of them are actually taller than me. For whatever reason that day, they decided to look in the front window.
Suddenly they BOTH BOLTED LIKE JACKRABBITS running toward my buddies house across the street almost shrieking. I was startled and wondered what in the world was going on and what they saw. So, I got on my tiptoes and looked in the window. I saw a large Catholic shaped cross with enlarged tips glowing very bright in what I assumed was the front of the church, though difficult to make out because of the dirty windows. I thought that was interesting because of how bright it was and turned around to run after my friends trying to figure out what the problem was.
When I caught up with them and they were panting… looking back at the church in a seemingly horror like look… I asked what was wrong. They looked at me and said “There is no cross in that church!”. I thought they were just messing with me like they have done NUMEROUS times in the past. But there were no cracking smiles or giveaway gestures. One of them went on to say he has been in there before (he lives across the street after all) and there is no cross!
All I can say is, up to that point in time, no one had ever reported or seen what we saw. It mysteriously started at some point and was discovered by us. My friend and his family living across the street reported it to the authorities. Everything went from there.
I can personally attest it is a vision in my mind that has never gone away and I can remember their reactions and faces. No it is not a red cross. There is no “Children of the Corn” going on except for the fields in the area …. or then again when I think about the pranks those guys pulled back in those days endangering my life a few times….. hhhmmm………
Yeah…. I know the locals PERSONALLY and can say… if you have a big tall dude with blond hair approaching you….. well…. nicest guy you will ever meet. Just look out for his CRAZY brothers!
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A friend and I went out there one night in the early 90s, ’92 possibly? Maybe ’91? Anyway, I can understand why the townspeople are vigilant, the doors were broken like someone had kicked them in and got their foot caught while doing so. I don’t remember exactly if they were just open or completely unhinged, but they were open enough we could go in and check out this cross we’d heard so much about.
The thing is… there was no cross inside, and stranger still was that through the ONE unboarded window I saw a super bright cross, kind of a blue-white, like a lighting streak color outside. I hadn’t seen it outside, and it’s not like it was something you could miss. Dark fall night, shining cross…yeah ok.
Long story short, I inspected the window closer and its one of those designs where its inside the pane of glass, with either a beautifully placed facet or one helluva lucky natural flaw. 🙂
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it was the late 80″s we have all heard about the glowing cross. so me and at least 10 friends whent to check it out. we all thought it was a bunch of garb. till we got there. and ;yes we tried to get in. every one tried to open that door. as soon as we turned to leave it opened by itself. and yes it was locked and its a very heavy door to be opining on its own. so inside we go. you can see the light from the outside but you cant see anything once you get on the inside. ; yeah it makes you think. real or not. we all saw some weird stuff that night. who knows. it just makes you think that there is just somthing not right with that place.
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4 of us Valley City students went there at about 2am in 1999. We saw no glowing crosses. We did get chased away by people with flashlights.
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I drove out there from Fargo with two friends in 1995. I wanted to see something because I like to believe in stuff like that, but I am also a hard-core science person with a need to understand things.
I looked in the first window and saw the cross, seemingly floating in the middle of the church. It kinda freaked me out at first, but then I looked around and saw that there way one yard light shining nearby and figured it must of been refracting from that somehow. I went around to the next window and saw the same thing. I thought “That one yard light can’t be refracting in the same way from 2 directions, can it?” I went around to the next window so the light was now at my back, looked in, saw the same cross floating in the same spot, and was officially freaked out. Fourth window – same thing. No matter where you looked in the cross appeared to be in the same place. You can’t do that with special glass. The only way a person could possibly make that happen is to have a light inside the church, and there clearly wasn’t one because there was no power to the church.
I don’t like to not understand things. I can usually find explanations or solutions where no one else can. I left Absaraka covered with goosebumps, with my heart racing, and baffled.
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I’ve been there multiple time since my friend lives across the street from the church and his grandpa owns it and i haven’t seen anything like that even when we were there at night and nobody ever said anything about a glowing cross anytime i went there.
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