The landscape of the Hudson River Valley lends itself to the likelihood that ghosts exist. Native Americans storied the territory with mysterious legends. Early Dutch settlers imprinted the strange new scenery with scary fables. Washington Irving s writings enlivened the folklore and added more fuel to the already smoldering supernatural mix. Where there s smoke there s fire, the saying goes, and surely there seems to be truth to the spookiness as evidenced by the plethora of haunted houses. Welcome to the haunted Hudson Valley where some ancient stone dwellings, church rectories, tourist hotels, military barracks, libraries, museums, mansions, and even a castle, claim a resident ghost - or two.