Getting Spooky In Sleepy Hollow New York
Getting Spooky In Sleepy Hollow New York
The Headless Horseman rides again! You know it’s getting a bit spooky in Sleepy Hollow New York when you can walk around town and see references to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow firsthand yourself. The author of the famous Halloween tale novel, “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow” was the famed writer, Washington Irving. You will discover that Washington Irving himself had been laid to rest here in the local iconic cemetery of Sleepy Hollow amongst many other characters from his famous novel.
Today Sleepy Hollow in New York State is a modern, diverse community with a population of just under 10,000 residents that seem to really embrace the local legend, and all the Headless Horseman tourism related lore it can generate.
The hamlet of Sleepy Hollow is located about 25 miles north of New York City along the eastern shore of the Hudson River and attracts thousands of visitors each year to it’s world-renowned collection of historic landmarks and places of literary interest. Of course once here, everyone wants to discover the history of the Headless Horseman legend.
Visiting Sleepy Hollow New York during the Halloween season seems to be the most particle journey destination one could make. If you think about it the circumstances surrounding the actual legend itself can become downright scary. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, written by famed novelist Washington Irving has become a literary classic over the years. A favorite Halloween tale for sure. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a story as immortal as any tale has ever been. Of course the story centers around a lanky and weak, but book smart schoolteacher by the name of Ichabod Crane and his quest for love and perhaps courage as well.
Ichabod Crane travels to the quaint community of Sleepy Hollow and finds himself competing against Sleepy Hollow’s resident alpha male, Brom Van Brunt known to locals as Brom Bones for the affection of the township beauty, Katrina Van Tassel. While Ichabod was attending an impromptu Halloween party at the home of Katrina’s wealthy father, he starts to tell the story of the Headless Horseman legend. Ichabod is captivated by the tale and then his superstition overcomes him. Later that evening while traveling home, Ichabod is chased by the Headless Horseman himself.
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow tale creates a sense of fascination for all ages every Halloween season. Most people don’t realize that Sleepy Hollow is actually a real place. Most caricatures of the legendary Headless Horseman will show a thundering black stallion will a headless rider dressed in black with a flowing cape, sporting a Jack-O-Lantern as a substitute head. This somewhat scary rendition of that image so perfectly embodies the spirit of Halloween, especially for trick or treaters.
For those who visit Sleepy Hollow New York for themselves, you can read straight out of the book the quote, “There’s a little valley or rather lap of land among high hills which is one of the quietest places in the whole world a small brook glides through it with just murmur enough to low one to repose and the occasional whistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker is almost the only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquility a drowsy dream.”
Something else seems to loom over the land there in Sleepy Hollow and pervade the very atmosphere. The legends of the generational town folk also claim that Sleepy Hollow was bewitched long ago by a high German doctor during the early days of the settlement. Another legend states that an old Indian chief named Narwahro of the Weckquaesgeck Indians served also as a type of prophet and medicine man of his tribe. This Native American tribe was originally a part of the Mohican Tribe. Chief Narwaro often held his pow-wows within the Sleepy Hollow region footprint long before it was years later discovered by master Henrik Hudson.
Tourist absolutely love walking around Sleepy Hollow uncovering it’s history and legends as if they were one in the same. Many comment that there is still some kind of haunting feeling that permeates over this land but at the same time it feels inviting with modern buildings that blend favorably with the old landmarks that are described in the story. The old Dutch Church still remains as the main centerpiece of the legend to see.
This Dutch Church seems always to have made it a favorite haunting venue of troubled spirits as it sits on a quiet knoll surrounded by lofty elms locust and maple trees. The Church’s whitewashed walls glisten modestly like Christian purity beaming through the shades of darkness. You can almost see for yourself the apparition of a dark figure on horseback without a head as some say it is the ghost of a Hessian Officer whose head had been blown away by a Patriot fired cannonball in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War.that haunts this enchanted region and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air is the apparition of a figure on horseback without a head it is said by some to be the ghost of a hessian trooper whose head had been carried away by a cannonball in a local battle during the Revolutionary War.
Getting Spooky in Sleepy Hollow can happen pretty much anytime of the year, however during the late October Halloween season is always the most favorite time of the year when local tourism hits it’s peak.
Did you know that The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, a gothic story by American author Washington Irving was published in 1820. That’s just two years after Frankenstein was published by 21-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, in 1818. Frankenstein is frequently regarded as the world’s first science fiction novel. The gothic story of Dracula came along more then 70 years later as it was written by Abraham “Bram” Stoker in 1897.
As you wander from the Dutch burial ground and into the neighboring Sleepy Hollow cemetery, you can easily locate the grave of author Washington Irving. What makes reading The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow so unique is that it always feels like Washington Irving is more like a narrator talking as he educates you on the culture of the town. It seems like he knows every person in town and like a fly on the wall, you can imagine him at the local pub in conversation with all. This is how all his characters within his story come to life to make the Sleepy Hollow legendary.
Sleepy Hollow – The Motion Picture 1999
In this 1999 Hollywood Movie Classic version of Sleepy Hollow, actor Johnny Depp portrays Ichabod Crane as a constable from New York City, sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitation murders of three people with the suspected culprit being the legendary apparition, the Headless Horseman. Upcoming Sleepy Hollow Movie Synopsis from Fandango Now.
Paramount Pictures, and Mandalay Pictures presents. Johnny Depp, in a Tim Burton film. “Sleepy Hollow.”
Washington Irving’s tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman gets a few new twists in a screen adaptation directed by Tim Burton.
In this version, Ichabod (Johnny Depp) is a New York City detective (constable) whose unorthodox techniques and penchant for gadgets make him unpopular with is colleagues. He is sent to the remote town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of bizarre murders, in which a number of people have been found dead in the woods, with their heads cut off.
Local legend has it that a Hessian Soldier’s ghost rides through the woods on horseback, lopping off the heads of the unsuspecting and unbelieving. Ichabod refuses to believe in this legend, convinced that there must be a logical explanation for the murders.
In time, Ichabod becomes smitten with a local lass, Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Ricci), who is the sweetheart of the burly Brom Bones (Casper Van Dien), and he becomes determined to capture the murderer to prove his bravery and win her heart.
Christopher Walken, Jeffrey Jones, and Christopher Lee highlight the supporting cast; Lee’s appearance is particularly apt, since Burton has cited the Hammer films of the 1960s as a major influence in making this film.
Andrew Kevin Walker and Tom Stoppard contributed to the screenplay.
Rated R for Adult Situations, Graphic Violence
Directed by: Tim Burton – Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Christopher Lee, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid and Michael Gough.
The video below, published in 2009 is a great narrative production of the history of the Legend Of Sleepy Hollow with several images and movie clips. It actually shows present day video footage as well as the producer visits and walks around the town of Sleepy Hollow himself giving great insight and commentary.
Things are getting spooky in Sleepy Hollow, New York only if you allow it. Are you ready to add this trip to your Bucket List yet? Just beware that once you are there, your imagination can go wild like Washington Irving’s did. At least somebody had a good head on their shoulders in Sleepy Hollow.
Happy Halloween!
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