I’m a resident of Poughkeepsie, and there’s nothing I like to see more than new businesses coming to the area. There is a lot of excitement about the brand new Shop-Rite of Poughkeepsie-Fairview just off of Rte. 9 (North Road) across from Marist College, and it sure is nice to have a grocery store so close to my home. However, there are some people who believe that the new store may be cursed and/or haunted. Why? Because it’s built on the grounds of the abandoned Hudson River Psychiatric Center.

The old psychiatric center has been abandoned for years, and it became somewhat of an eyesore over the past several years. It has been the victim of graffiti and even arson. But is there any truth to the idea that it may have been haunted, and maybe still is? I guess that depends on what you believe in. If you don’t believe in ghosts and spirits this probably sounds ridiculous to you. But there are plenty of believers. Educated people who are open to ideas not necessarily embraced by the general public.

If you do believe that bad things can come out of building on land that was once a burial ground or a former psychiatric center where people may have been mistreated, will that make a difference as to where you shop? Would you drive further to get your groceries just because you think you might see and hear things like ghosts and spirits in the frozen food department?

As for me, I do believe in spirits and ghosts although I’ve never actually seen one. Will I still go to the new Shop-Rite? I’m pretty sure I will. I believe that spirits know who is responsible for their past misery, and those people are long gone from those grounds. So, we should be okay. Good luck to the new Shop-Rite of Poughkeepsie-Fairview and happy (ghost-free) shopping.

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