“Sleepy Hollow — is that a real place?” That’s a question I’ve often been asked since moving to the Westchester hamlet on the Hudson River less than a year ago. It is indeed a real place — one made famous by the spooky 1820 short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving, who lived in the area.
More recently, it’s gotten buzz from the new Fox show “Sleepy Hollow,” in which Ichabod Crane — an unassuming schoolteacher in the Irving version — has been resurrected 2½ centuries later as a rather swashbuckling gent in tight pants. He’s come to save Sleepy Hollow — and possibly all mankind — from the forces of evil, as embodied by the Headless Horseman, a coven of witches, a brainwashed police officer, and a goat-headed man who does not speak English.
Fortunately, the real Sleepy Hollow contains no such devilry, unless you count the high property taxes.
The village, portrayed on the show as having a bustling population of 144,000 and multiple Starbucks locations, has about 10,000 people and nary a Starbucks in sight. (If franchised coffee’s your thing, you have to head five miles up Route 9 to Ossining, erstwhile home of Don Draper of “Mad Men.”)
And although I’ve certainly looked over my shoulder when walking back from the train station at night, any disturbance is more likely to be caused by a trash-hungry raccoon than a decapitated Hessian mercenary.
Irving referred to Sleepy Hollow in his short story as “one of the quietest places in the whole world,” a place where a “drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land.” There’s a reason the town isn’t called, say, “24-7 Party Hollow,” but there’s plenty to do on the weekends, especially in the fall, when the area transforms into a sort of historical Halloween headquarters.
If the Fox show’s strong ratings are any indication (and it’s just been renewed for next season), this year’s spooky season should be especially big.
“Hits on our tourism Web site, visitsleepyhollow.com, are through the roof, and we saw a huge one-day spike during each of the first two episodes,” says Anthony Giaccio, Sleepy Hollow village administrator.
“We’re expecting tremendous crowds for our upcoming Halloween season events.”
Looking to take a day trip to the area? Here are some things to add to your itinerary. (Some of the places listed are in nearby Tarrytown, with which Sleepy Hollow shares a public school system. Sleepy Hollow, a 10-minute walk from Tarrytown, was called North Tarrytown until 1996, when residents voted for a name change to honor Washington Irving and his legendary story.) Stay for the day and stroll around — but if a guy on a horse asks you if you’ve seen his head, don’t stick around to give him directions.
COFFEE BREAK
Lighthouse Ice Cream & Coffee 127 W. Main St. at the Tarrytown Harbor, Tarrytown; 914- 502-0339, lighthouseicecreamkompany.com
Kick off a day of exploration with a stop at this coffee and ice cream shop on the waterfront, right by the Tarrytown train station. Grab a hot cider (small, $2.25) and head outside by the fountain — if it’s a nice day, you won’t be spending much time inside.
ON THE WATERFRONT
Hudson RiverWalk Park at Tarrytown 250 W. Main St., just across from the Tarrytown train station
Think of this as the Battery Park Esplanade of the area; once an industrial site, the RiverWalk now offers a beautiful half-mile walking stretch along the Hudson, as well as spectacular views of the Tappan Zee Bridge and the NYC skyline.
SEE THE LIGHT
Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse (a k a the Kingsland Point Lighthouse) 299 Palmer Ave. (northeast corner of Kingsland Point Park), Sleepy Hollow; 914-366-5109
Installed in 1883, this lighthouse lit the way for ships until 1961, when lights on the recently built Tappan Zee Bridge gradually rendered it obsolete. The lighthouse is only open to the public on Sundays; walk right in, and you’ll find yourself in a partially furnished museum complete with navigation charts and old framed articles about the lighthouse and the 12 lightkeepers who lived there over its 78-year history.
TIME FOR LUNCH
Village Dog 18 Main St., Tarrytown; 914-909- 9000, villagedogtarrytown.com
So hungry you could eat a horse? Head over to Tarrytown’s Main Street, a short but charming stretch with antique stores, art galleries, restaurants, a historic Music Hall, and boutiques. A good bet is Village Dog, a spot devoted to creative twists on the hot dog: Try the Seoul Dog (pork dog served with kimchi and plum ketchup, $7.25) or the Deep Blue Sea (salmon boudin with cucumber sauerkraut and lemon aioli, $9), or make your own dog. Wash it down with some homemade ginger ale (small, $2), do a bit of people watching in one of the window spots, and you’re ready to head out again.
HUDSON VIEWS
Rockwood Hall Park at Sleepy Hollow Route 117 & Sleepy Hollow Road
This gorgeous park and hiking area is the site of the former summer home of William Rockefeller, brother of John D., whose spectacular estate, Kykuit, is only a few miles away in the Tarrytown hills. Rockwood now belongs to New York state and is part of the Rockefeller State Park Preserve. It’s an easy, 2.1-mile loop hike; time it just right, so the afternoon light looks amazing on the Hudson.
HISTORIC HOLLOW
“Irving’s Legend” at the Old Dutch Church 540 N. Broadway; 914-366-6900. Call ahead, as many performances are already sold out. Adults, $18; children, $14. (Recommended for children 10 and older.)
Performances on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 2. No visit to Sleepy Hollow would be complete without a retelling of the legend that made the town famous; storyteller Jonathan Kruk dresses in period clothing and performs against a backdrop of live, appropriately spooky organ music.
CEMETERY STROLL
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Tours 540 N. Broadway, Sleepy Hollow. Ticket info at sleepyhollowcemetery.org. Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 3.
For extra spook factor, take a two-hour guided lantern tour through the cemetery behind the Old Dutch Church, where notables such as Washington Irving, Andrew Carnegie and William D. Rockefeller are buried. (So is Leona Helmsley, but she’s a different kind of scary.) If you have in it you, spend a weekend doing Sleepy Hollow Cemetery tours, including an Afternoon Walking Tour, a Murder Mayhem Tour, the Original Knickerbocker Tour and more.
PREPARE TO BE SCARED
“Horseman’s Hollow” at Philipsburg Manor 381 N. Broadway, Sleepy Hollow; 914-631-8200. Ticket info at hudsonvalley.org. $20; $25 on Saturdays. Not recommended for young children. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 2.
Historic Philipsburg Manor, a 17th-century Dutch colony, is transformed into a haunted landscape for this event, which promises to “take the tale of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow to its darkest extremes.” “Heads will roll . . . maybe even your own!” the site advertises. When an event includes a long list of people who should NOT attend, including claustrophobic adults and anyone prone to seizures or with heart conditions, you know it’s going to be good.
GETTING THERE
On the weekend, take Metro North from Grand Central to Tarrytown or Philipse Manor, the stations that serve Sleepy Hollow. While most of the locations mentioned below are within walking distance of each other, the area is also an easy drive from Manhattan; it will take about 40 minutes in light traffic.