For as many years as I can remember, Mike has been talking about visiting Sleepy Hollow in the weeks leading up to Halloween. Yes, Sleepy Hollow is a real place, not just an imaginary town that was the setting for the story of the Headless Horseman. And it's actually quite beautiful. From Manhattan, Sleepy Hollow is a straight shot up the West Side and the Hudson River, and after 40 minutes admiring the East Coast foliage of late October, we were deep in the heart of one of America's spookiest towns.
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With just a few days until Halloween, the festivities in Sleepy Hollow were at their peak. Believe it or not, MOST of the events were sold out. If you didn't purchase tickets 3-4 weeks in advance, you're kind of out of luck! The calendar of events was endless, and included tours of Horseman's Hollow, a midnight lantern tour of the Sleepy Hollow Graveyard, the jack-o-lantern blaze, a haunted hayride through the cemetery, the Washington Irving story telling, and even a walking ghost tour that goes through Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown that tells the tales of mystical and unexplained incidents of the area's eerie and legendary past!
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| Horseman's Hollow |
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We knew that we only had one day to soak up as much of Sleepy Hollow as possible, and I'll admit, we were among those who didn't purchase tickets well enough in advance. But that didn't prevent us from getting the full experience. Everything was within walking distance from the "downtown" of Sleepy Hollow. So after dropping off the car for the day, we headed first to Horseman's Hollow. While the tours were sold out for the day, we still got a great view of the terrifying little house where the legend was based. At night, this turns into the mother of all haunted houses, but people were literally arriving by the bus-load to see the city's most famous attraction. It's definitely something I'll want to come back to see.
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The grave of Washington
Irving |
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Just a few yards down the road from Horseman's Hollow was, of course, the Sleepy Hollow cemetery....one of THE most haunted places in the world! It was straight out of a Tim Burton film. The fall foliage, and the dead leaves crunching beneath our feet and the sunless sky, made the graveyard a beautiful setting for any haunted Halloween afternoon. It was almost as if you could feel the spirits of the Van Tassel family! We decided to forego the 2 hour lantern tour at dark, but navigated through the grounds on our own. The cemetery was massive and spanned over acres and acres for as far as you could see. Started in the mid-1600s, there were headstone that were hardly legible from centuries of weathering.
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Outside of the graves of the Van Tassel family and the headstone of Washington Irving, there were Revolutionary war heroes buried at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery! The haunted past was only a small part of the American history that was such a huge part of this old New England town.
There was no shortage of Halloween-y things to do for the remainder of our day in Sleepy Hollow, and everywhere you turn are images of the Headless Horseman that makes the town famous. Statues and sculptures are erected all over the town. The Headless Horseman is on every street sign, t-shirt, fire engine and police car you see. Even the fire trucks were not, red, but orange and black. It is a town that truly embraces everything about Halloween and the legend that made the town such a tourist attraction and a must-see for anyone who wants to truly get in the spirit.
When the skies turned dark, and the moon came out, it was time for the main event! People from around the country came to Sleepy Hollow for the haunted hayride. We met people from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas...all in town to make the most of the season. We got in line for the hayride very early, but in no time, the line for the Hayride extended the entire block and then wrapped AROUND! We enjoyed each other and a few cocktails while we waited for the hayrides to open up to everyone, but it was quite a wait!
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| Hayride time! |
Where else would be the perfect setting for a hayride through Sleepy Hollow, but the graveyard?! We rode through the cemetery and crossed old creaky bridges and arrived at the top of a hill...the terrorizing ensued. After 15 minutes of screaming, the tour ended with none other than the headless horseman himself...perched upon a feisty black stallion! SO HAUNTED and SO FESTIVE!
Post hayride, we were back in the city in a quick 40 minutes with a few souvenirs and of course, a pumpkin! With such crazy lives and a massive amount of travel, we often feel like holidays can "sneak up on us". After taking a day trip to the town that IS Halloween, we have fully embraced the season. I can't wait to return to Sleepy Hollow for more spooky adventures with our friends and family. Being that festive will just never get old! Have a happy and safe Halloween everyone!!! - Love the Mobleys
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With just a few days until Halloween, the festivities in Sleepy Hollow were at their peak. Believe it or not, MOST of the events were sold out. If you didn't purchase tickets 3-4 weeks in advance, you're kind of out of luck! The calendar of events was endless, and included tours of Horseman's Hollow, a midnight lantern tour of the Sleepy Hollow Graveyard, the jack-o-lantern blaze, a haunted hayride through the cemetery, the Washington Irving story telling, and even a walking ghost tour that goes through Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown that tells the tales of mystical and unexplained incidents of the area's eerie and legendary past! .JPG)
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We knew that we only had one day to soak up as much of Sleepy Hollow as possible, and I'll admit, we were among those who didn't purchase tickets well enough in advance. But that didn't prevent us from getting the full experience. Everything was within walking distance from the "downtown" of Sleepy Hollow. So after dropping off the car for the day, we headed first to Horseman's Hollow. While the tours were sold out for the day, we still got a great view of the terrifying little house where the legend was based. At night, this turns into the mother of all haunted houses, but people were literally arriving by the bus-load to see the city's most famous attraction. It's definitely something I'll want to come back to see. .JPG)
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Just a few yards down the road from Horseman's Hollow was, of course, the Sleepy Hollow cemetery....one of THE most haunted places in the world! It was straight out of a Tim Burton film. The fall foliage, and the dead leaves crunching beneath our feet and the sunless sky, made the graveyard a beautiful setting for any haunted Halloween afternoon. It was almost as if you could feel the spirits of the Van Tassel family! We decided to forego the 2 hour lantern tour at dark, but navigated through the grounds on our own. The cemetery was massive and spanned over acres and acres for as far as you could see. Started in the mid-1600s, there were headstone that were hardly legible from centuries of weathering. 
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Outside of the graves of the Van Tassel family and the headstone of Washington Irving, there were Revolutionary war heroes buried at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery! The haunted past was only a small part of the American history that was such a huge part of this old New England town. 
There was no shortage of Halloween-y things to do for the remainder of our day in Sleepy Hollow, and everywhere you turn are images of the Headless Horseman that makes the town famous. Statues and sculptures are erected all over the town. The Headless Horseman is on every street sign, t-shirt, fire engine and police car you see. Even the fire trucks were not, red, but orange and black. It is a town that truly embraces everything about Halloween and the legend that made the town such a tourist attraction and a must-see for anyone who wants to truly get in the spirit. 
When the skies turned dark, and the moon came out, it was time for the main event! People from around the country came to Sleepy Hollow for the haunted hayride. We met people from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas...all in town to make the most of the season. We got in line for the hayride very early, but in no time, the line for the Hayride extended the entire block and then wrapped AROUND! We enjoyed each other and a few cocktails while we waited for the hayrides to open up to everyone, but it was quite a wait! 
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