A leisurely drive this past weekend in Poughkeepsie led to a frightening discovery.

You never know what you'll see in Poughkeepsie! And this discovery over the weekend was quite shocking! I for one will tell you that I am not a fan of spiders, or most insects or bugs to be honest. Spiders have always made me feel a bit squeamish, not gonna lie. And while I was out over this past weekend cruising down Van Wagner Rd in  Poughkeepsie, I couldn't believe what I saw as I looked out my passenger side window, at a house up on a hill.

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Photo credit: The Rutigliano Archives
Photo credit: The Rutigliano Archives
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I actually had to pull the car over and try to get a better look at what I thought was the largest spider I've ever seen in my life.

Photo credit: The Rutigliano Archives
Photo credit: The Rutigliano Archives
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In all reality, I was intrigued by the site of the massive spider and felt the need to get a closer look. But not too close...

Phot credit: The Rutigliano Archives
Phot credit: The Rutigliano Archives
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As I got closer to the gigantic spider (probably about 10 feet away), I thought it had to be about 3 feet in diameter.

Photo credit: The Rutigliano
Photo credit: The Rutigliano
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The closest I got to the spider was probably about 6 feet away (you know, social distancing recommendations.) And that was close enough. I didn't want to get any closer, not to mention I was on someone's private property and didn't want to cause a scene, but should I have?

I honestly can say that I'm really not sure if the giant spider I saw was real or not. I can say that as close as I got to it, the creature didn't appear to move. I also did some research, and according to Google, the world's largest known spider is a male goliath bird-eating spider (Theraphosa blondi) collected by members of the Pablo San Martin Expedition at Rio Cavro, Venezuela in April 1965. It had a record leg span of 28 cm (11 inches)-sufficient to cover a dinner plate. So it's unlikely that this was real. Also, with October just around the corner, that means Halloween is upon us, and it's very possible that what I saw could have been a Halloween prop. So with that being said, we'll ask the question: Real or Fake? That's for you to decide.

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