Sleepy Hollow…Where the Legend Comes Alive

Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow

Every year in Sleepy Hollow, New York,  Washington Irving’s classic tale, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow comes alive.  The event takes place the last four weekends of October and quite popular, so it is helpful to purchase tickets ahead of time online at  www.hudsonvalley.org.

There are several events in Sleepy Hollow that makes celebrating Halloween spooky and fun.  In the daytime, there is a festival called the Legend Celebration.  The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, with its bright  4,000 hand-carved pumpkins is also very popular, and we were unable to purchase tickets weeks in advance.  Irving’s Legend is where you can experience the Headless Horseman terrorizing Ichabod Crane.

The daytime event, Legend Celebration is perfect for younger children and they can be entertained by live music, magicians and games.  For literature enthusiast, a tour of  Washington Irving’s home is available.

When darkness settled in, we headed over to Irving’s Legend where we saw the Headless Horseman!  Legend Nights is at Phillipsburg Manor.  This 18th

Hanging with Katrina

Century farm and gristmill turned into the haunted area with the cast of characters from Irving’s tale roaming the area.  The grounds are lit by candle lanterns and bonfires to give it a ghostly feel.  The boys who wore their skeleton shirts fit in with many of the other visitors in costume. We watched  Washington Irving’s Headless Horseman take his fabled ride on a black steed and ran into witches, pirates, and spooky ghost.  Listening to the rendition of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” allowed the boys to experience a classic tale outside of reading the book.

The Headless Horseman

Posing with the Troll

Spending the day and night at Sleepy Hollow was a perfect way to spend Halloween!  The characters and re-enactments were great, and it was an exciting way to introduce one of the “classics” to my son and his friend.  If you are looking for another option to celebrate Halloween, this is a great alternative than the local haunted house. Just make sure you plan this day trip well in advance!  Happy Haunting!

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