Are There Paranormal Beings Along The Shores of New York’s Hudson River?

New York happens to be one of the oldest settled places in the United States. Before it was settled by the Dutch it was home to many Native tribes who had their own stories and folklore. Many of those stories focused on beings or entities that roamed the land freely.

One place that always captured my imagination was the Hudson River. This 315 mile long river that stretches from the far north in Upstate New York all the way to New York City has been explored by many over the years. The Dutch, and Henry Hudson, may have done the most exploring in the early years. They even came up with some spooky legends along their travels.

In 2025 we have a lot more science and logic to explain why certain things may be happening, but back in the 1600s when Henry Hudson was sailing up and down the river they faced many things that were unknown to them. Blaming something like the weather on a paranormal entity was not uncommon, and that's exactly what Dutch explorers did.

Goblins On Abandoned Island

While Henry Hudson and his crew were sailing the river they faced a whole lot of problems, including some horrible weather. Being on the river and possibly not being in their right mind they claimed the weather was caused by the Goblin King, or better known as The Heer of Dunderberg. That's according to TheHudsonValley.com.

Read More: This Is The Capital Region's Best Ghost Story

I have seen some interesting things along the river while living in the Capital Region, but I've never seen any sort of goblin king or goblins. These sailors, however, claimed that the king had a tribe of goblins to do his bidding and the lived on what is now known as Bannerman Island.

Bird's Eye View

Bannerman Island was once a place only accessible by boat, and some thought that the goblin legends were told to keep people away from certain parts of the river. These types of urban legends always seem to cautionary tales to keep people safe by making them afraid.

If someone had told me that a place was overrun by goblins who could control the weather, it would probably keep me away.

The legend was brought to the masses by none other Washington Irving, who brought some of the greatest ghost stories of all time to us. He used the goblin king in his story about The Flying Dutchman -  a ghost ship that many believe still haunts the Hudson River near the Mario Cuomo Bridge.

Do goblins haunt the Hudson River? Maybe they do, or perhaps it's just a great story.