Head to Hollow’d ground!
Town of Sleepy Hollow celebrates 200 years of its headless tale all month long
Hold on to your head! After COVID-19 axed many Halloween celebrations in 2020, October festivities are back in historic Sleepy Hollow. And this year they’re not to be missed, as the quaint Westchester County village — just 45 minutes from Manhattan — finally fêtes the delayed bicentennial of the town’s namesake, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the Washington Irving short story first published in 1820.
Irving would have related to the scheduling kerfuffle caused by COVID. After all, the Manhattan native was sent to the area to escape the city’s 1795 yellow fever epidemic at age 15, which is where he heard the old Dutch tales he later famously co-opted.
“Irving was an impressionable teenager,” said Sara Mascia, executive director of the Historical Society of Sleepy Hollow & Tarrytown, which organized the illfated bicentennial ceremonies. “He really connected to the people here and heard the stories they would tell.”
In 2020, Sleepy Hollow was slated to host several events, including a literary conference, in honor of the man who introduced Ichabod Crane and the gory Headless Horseman to the masses, which now attracts thousands of tourists.
“He fought in the War of 1812, and in 1814, he was stationed on Staten Island where he met a soldier named Ichabod Crane, and he created the character,” Mascia explained.
Those and other characters, inspired by locals, went on to become American archetypes.
“Brom Bones was the lovable bully,” said veteran storyteller Jonathan Kruk, who this year will bring “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” to life outdoors at Sunnyside, Irving’s real-life home. “Ichabod Crane was the first nerd.”
When his iconic creepy tale was published in the expanded version of Irving’s collection of short stories and essays, “The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.,” it brought Irving fame and fortune after years of failure. He’d been unpopular as a local writer, especially after dubbing the local Dutch elite “Knickerbockers” — which conjured up images of old-fashioned kneebreeches at a time when slacks were the fad.
“Some people didn’t like being called that, but it stuck around.
Look at the New York Knicks,” said Mascia.
Irving is also responsible for first calling New York City “Gotham,” the name of an English village where inhabitants feigned lunacy. That stuck too.
He even literally put Sleepy Hollow on the map: The village was officially North Tarrytown until 1996. Neighboring Irvington is named for the man himself.
“Things are always pretty much about Irving around here,” said Mascia, whose Historical Society gives walking tours of the village throughout October.
Mascia went to Sleepy Hollow High School, whose gruesome mascot is a headless horseman. “He was very tongue in cheek,” she said of Irving. “He didn’t take everything too seriously.”
Here’s how to get in on all the October fun — even if you’re not
up on your Irving.
‘Bicentennial Blues’ evening talks at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
This year, the village is dubbing their main attraction “Bicentennial Blues!” because COVID robbed revelers of celebrating the 200th birthday of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
To make up for it, a speaker will impersonate the dryly humorous Irving and reminisce about his “fabulous adventures and amazing career” with talks among the tombstones in the village cemetery throughout the month.
Oct. 1, 2, 8, 9, 29 and 30, 7:30 to 9 p.m. $40. 540 N. Broadway; 914631-0081, SleepyHollowCemetery.org/Special-Events
Tour the Old Dutch Church
A tour of the Old Dutch Church, founded in 1685, and the adjacent Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, which includes Irving’s grave, is a must.
Stroll through for free in the daytime, or take a guided tour on weekends. For full spooky effect, try a nighttime lantern tour (kids under 10 not permitted — which are operated daily through October and Saturdays and Sundays through November. These fill up quickly, so book ahead.
Daily through October; Saturdays and Sundays through November. $15. 430 N. Broadway; 914631-4497, VisitSleepyHollow.com/ Old-Dutch-Church
Sleepy Hollow Haunted Hayride and Block Party
Jump aboard a hay wagon and travel down Albany Post Road past the Old Dutch Church — the exact route Ichabod Crane took as he was pursued by the Headless Horseman.
Once the wagon glides into the dark of the woods . . . anything could happen!
Wagon rides are available Oct. 22 and 23, and there’s a block party on Beekman Avenue both of those nights featuring live music, entertainment, family activities and vendors.
Make sure to book early, because this one’s popular.
Oct. 22 and 23, 5 to 11 p.m. $40 per person for the hayride. Sleepy Hollow Village Hall, 28 Beekman Ave.; SleepyHollowNY.gov
Step inside Washington Irving’s home, Sunnyside
Head on past the statue of the Headless Horseman — a definite selfie magnet — for a tour of Irving’s estate here, called Sunnyside.
Irving bought his idyllic home in 1835. It retains the man’s genial presence — especially in his office and library, where he wrote his later works, including his extensive biography of President George Washington.
This year, for the first time, veteran storyteller Jonathan Kruk will bring “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” to life outdoors at Sunnyside.
“I add drama and use quotes from Irving,” said Kruk. “It’s more true to the story than the movies, Tim Burton’s included.”
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 31 at 6:30, 8 and 9:30 p.m. $10, $8 for seniors and children. 3 W. Sunnyside Lane, Irvington; HudsonValley.org
Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor
If you’re willing to branch out from Sleepy Hollow, Van Cortlandt Manor is hosting the popular Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze.
Set in an 18th-century landscape, it features more than 7,000 illuminated, hand-carved jack-o’-lanterns, synchronized lighting and an original soundtrack.
For the first time this year, the event will feature a New York City skyline created from glowing pumpkins, and there’s even an immersive river display.
Through Nov. 21. $48, $40 for children. Van Cortlandt Manor, 525 S. Riverside, Croton-on-Hudson; HudsonValley.org