Hudson River yields floating head -- 7 feet tall and made of fiberglass and Styrofoam

The large head floats on the Hudson River on Tuesday. (Photo provided by Marist College)

It was like something out of a low-budget, black-and-white horror movie.

Early Tuesday, the coach of Marist College's crew team saw a strange object in the distance, floating in the shipping lane of the Hudson River near the town of Poughkeepsie school.

As Matt Lavin moved in for a closer look, he discovered the object was a head -- not a real one, but a 7-foot-high fiberglass head, without a body (or a nose, for that matter), bobbing in the river's choppy waters, according to Greg Cannon, director of public affairs for the college.

It looked like something from atop a Roman or Greek statue.

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"Coach was more than a little surprised at the discovery, but crew members attached it to his launch and they towed the head to the Marist dock," Cannon said on Wednesday.

"The head, made of Styrofoam with a fiberglass covering, was waterlogged and quite heavy," Cannon said. "It took about six crew guys to get up onto the dock."

Cannon said the head measures about 7 foot high and 4 to 5 feet wide.

"The crew guys are fairly tall, and the head is their height or taller," he said.

Cannon said Lavin towed the head because, being in the river's shipping lane, "it was a navigational hazard,."

Asked the obvious question -- Where do you think it came from? -- Cannon said, "We have no idea."

"But it must have been somewhat unnerving, that early in the morning, to find a head rising out of the river mist," he said. "It immediately reminded us of the films 'Planet of the Apes' or 'Cloverfield.'

"We've been receiving messages through social media, suggesting that it's part of a theatrical display or a prop," he said. "But if the head had a body, it would have to be 30 to 40 feet tall. It's hard to imagine something of that scale. ...

"We've contacted Bardavon, Bard College and Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College, but it doesn't belong to them," Cannon said.

"We've put the word out through social media," he added, "and I'm kind of surprised no one seems to know anything about it."

Cannon said the head is being stored in Marist's boathouse and that anyone who can provide information about it should call him at (845) 575-3174.