the legend of sleepy hollow.

   When Jason told me that we lived only 20 minutes away from the village of Sleepy Hollow, my first thought was a sarcastic, “grrreat.” I wasn’t thrilled knowing that one day I would be convinced by Jason to go there, where I’d be totally freaked out. I’ll be honest, I haven’t even heard the full story of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, but I know there’s a headless horseman in it and going to the village that it was based on was sure to be a scary visit.

     We went on a semi-gloomy, freezing day. Driving through Sleepy Hollow, the town really cherishes the history of the story, for example, there was a high school named after the author Washington Irving and their mascot is the Headless Horseman.

     We parked at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where certain parts of the story take place and Washington Irving is actually buried. The cemetery was huge and we had no idea which way was Washington Irving’s grave. The cemetery wasn’t very organized since it had been around since the 1600s, but we eventually found the gravesite from a map at the front entrance. Jason printed out a copy of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” beforehand that I started reading at the gravesite.

Thank goodness for this map

You can tell this cemetery has been around for a long time

Reading Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

     We continued to read the story, and eventually moved to the car to keep warm. Once we were finished reading, we found the Headless Horseman Bridge, where Ichabod Crane is supposedly chased by the Headless Horseman. After reading the story and seeing the landmarks that the story was based on, I actually really enjoyed the story. It kind of made it real. I can see how it would excite kids and make the story come to life.

Headless Horseman Bridge

The Old Dutch Church also has it's place in the story

     Of course, we know the Headless Horseman only comes out at night looking for his head, which must be why the cemetery closes at 4:30 PM to avoid any confrontation with him. By the way, I can guarantee, I will not be visiting the cemetery on Halloween.