Nestled against the Hudson River at the far end of the Tappan Zee Bridge lies the small hamlet of Tarrytown. A quiet village, it has a large history, most notably as the setting for the classic story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Though these days, Sleepy Hollow is its own entity, having broken apart from Tarrytown in 1996. Why is any of this relevant? Because it’s one of literature’s most famous towns and is the perfect spot for a Halloween getaway.
Recently, I spent a weekend in Tarrytown. Well, Irvington to be exact but it’s yet another town dedicated to the memory of Washington Irving, the writer of Sleepy Hollow as well as Rip Van Winkle. In case it wasn’t obvious, Irvington is named after Washington Irving, and a statue of Rip Van Winkle sits outside of the town hall in honor of him.
Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow both offer a number of attractions for spook seekers, a few of which I was able to experience for myself. On Saturday, my wife, our friends and I visited the Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, an area slightly north of Sleepy Hollow, for the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze. Featuring massive displays of carved pumpkins amazingly posed and lit, the Blaze was definitely a sight. One of the first things we saw was a rendering of the Tappan Zee Bridge, all in pumpkins, dubbed the Pumpkin Zee Bridge. Things only got better from there.
A Jurassic Park, a Circus Train, even a Pumpkin Planetarium featuring shooting stars and supernovas are bound to astonish even the most jaded visitor. After all, they wowed me and I’m mostly anhedonic.
“Welcome…to Jurassic Gourd.”
Following up the Jack O’Lantern Blaze, we visited the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to join one of their many walking tours. We signed up for “Murder and Mayhem,” an evening walking tour. They provided us with kerosene lanterns to light our way and brought us around to some of the creepier plots in the cemetery.
A few of the stops included a woman who was dubbed “the wickedest woman in New York,” the victims of what was called “the Sleepy Hollow Massacre” and Leona Helmsley. It was a two-hour tour, so definitely worth the price of admission given everything that we saw.
And creepy-ass spiders.
Oh, and we also made a stop at the cross that was used by the Ramones for their Pet Sematary music video.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get many decent pictures, what with the pitch darkness and everything, but the few I did snap came out pretty good (I think, at least).
There are many other attractions (is attractions the right word for the graves of famous dead people?) hidden in the cemetery, like Washington Irving’s plot (duh), Andrew Carnegie’s resting place and the William Rockefeller mausoleum. The cemetery also allows free, self-guided tours so you can visit during the day and check out the sights without fear of running into the Headless Horseman.
Just kidding. The Headless Horseman shows up during the day, too.
That’s all that we had time to experience while in Sleepy Hollow but there’s plenty of other things to check out. Like the Horseman’s Hollow, a haunted house event that takes place in the historic Phillipsburg Manor. Though I wanted to experience Horseman’s Hollow, I was outvoted by my travelling companions so I had to make do with taking pictures of the effigies hanging in the parking lot. If you’re into haunted houses and being scared out of your gourd, check out the Hollow. (In fact, let me know how it is, too!)
“How ya doin’?”
Do also visit the Headless Horsemen monuments right across the street. The marble carving is an elegant tribute to the classic tale but the iron statue in the middle of the roadway is an amazing sight. Believe it or not, we almost missed it when we visited the area during the day. (No, I have no idea how we overlooked something so large.)
There’s also Sunnyside, a tour of Washington Irving’s home. The tour features a number of artworks inspired by The Legend of Sleepy Hollow as well as a look at the space where Irving wrote his famous stories. Sunnyside is named after the town as it was called during Irving’s day.
You can also check out a short performance of the Legend in the Old Dutch Church, which is a spit and a stone’s throw from the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Tickets for the show are $25 and it only lasts for about 45 minutes. Not having seen it myself, I can’t say the cost is justified, but I’d think any kind of live performance of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is worth it, especially during the Halloween season.
Even though I only experienced a fraction of what Sleepy Hollow boasts, I still had a great time. All in all, the town is a great choice for a spooky, Halloween filled getaway, second only to Salem, MA. If you’re looking for an inexpensive jaunt out of town and want to fill it with as many family-friendly creeps as you can, Sleepy Hollow is a great choice.
Are you planning any Halloween themed getaways this year? Let us know in the comments below, or on Twitter @SubCultured! Don’t forget to check out our Patreon page and join our Discord server!
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Halloween is steadily approaching and despite hitting several parties this past weekend, the little zombies are still coming Wednesday for their loot.
How do you make it look like you aren’t that creepy reclusive candy-hoarding curmudgeon? Lil’ geeky Jack-O-Lanterns!
Here’s a quick no-carve pumpkin display that give you instant Halloween spirit that looks like you put much research and thought in it. You don’t have to tell people I did it for you.
Step One
Grab a bag a mini-pumpkin (real or fake) and a black Sharpie marker or acrylic paint if you are particularly good with a brush, and find some fictional geek alphabets online, like Klingon, Aurebesh, Kryptonian, etc.
Step Two
Using the language of your choice, or choosing one from the little suggestion chart I put together, write or paint the word “BOO” on each one. Make several different ones if you have time.
Step Three
Line them up on a windowsill, pile them creatively on a shelf or doorstep, or display them through the house where everyone can see them. Then enjoy the conversations that arise from those who either A) get the message and think you are the coolest person ever, or B) don’t get in and think you are the weirdest person ever. Either way — it’s a win!
If you’re really inspired, these also look great carved into full-sized pumpkins for those rare non-procrastinating types.I hope you liked these small tips this Halloween season, I’m planning a couple when Christmas and the holiday season rolls around. Be watching, and be careful with those little geeklings this Halloween.
Trick or Treat!
Not done with decorating? Give our DIY Halloween Decorations – Countdown Garland a try and wind down with Ten Family Friendly Halloween Movies to help lull the kiddos into a candy coma! Afterward, you can set the mood with Five Albums to Flesh Out Your Halloween Playlist and huddle under the covers with Netflix and Chilling – Halloween Movie Edition. Any other off-beat Halloween music suggestions to throw our way? You can let us know on Twitter @SubCultured or come party like its 1599 in our Discord server!
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – Terra from Teen Titans!
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – Ariel from The Little Mermaid!
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BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – L from Death Note!
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – Regina The Evil Queen!
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – Amaterasu
Quick disclaimer: I’m a jack-o-lantern freak, and I tend to go overboard each year trying to make geeky, elaborate art, especially since there are some great pumpkin stencils out there to be had.
I have been politely confronted on this obsession in past years by my husband who (for the sake of space and sanity) told me to tone down the number of glowing orange things in our home. I love my family and will try to be good…. but I HAVE TO USE SOME OF THESE STENCIL PATTERNS! Ergo, here’s a great use for them…in just three steps!
Step 1
Print out, laminate and cut out that stencil. If you don’t have laminate, go with the “poor man’s ” version I like to use…clear packing tape. I do recommend this before cutting it out, so you can re-use the patterns, especially since those complicated ones that may take some time. I use an X-acto knife for the more detailed patterns, but easier ones can be done with just plain scissors. Since I talked to Ray Keim earlier this month, I used his fantastic “Haunted Mansion Wallpaper” stencil as an example (find it at haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index250.html).
Hint: for “floating” elements in stencils (eye pupils, etc.) attach a thin strip of tape from it to the rest of the pattern to keep it in place. You can fill in any flaws later, if you need.
Step 2
Place your stencil on the shirt where you want it and lightly sponge some cloth paint over it. If you have a black or dark-colored shirt, take a spray bottle of half bleach/half water and gently spray the pattern instead. You’ll be pleased with the results. Do this outside, away from things (and pets and people) that you don’t want to soil or destroy. For the bleached shirt, rinse with cool water and let dry.
Step 3
For a little extra design, take a handful of a different-colored cloth paint, stand back and flick it on the shirt for a splatter effect.
Wow, that’s pretty much all there is to it, and you’ve got yourself some wearable, holiday themed art!
Cut…paint…wear!
Want to find more patterns? my top three Pumpkin Stencil site picks (for today, at least) are:
Zombiepumpkins.com. Around 275 patterns. Some are free, but the rest are worth the site’s subscription price. There are whole sections dedicated to superhoroes and movie icons including Marvel characters, Batman, Hellboy, The Crow, Star Wars, Alan Moore’s “V” (from “V for Vendetta”), Rick Grimes from “Walking Dead,” Ash from “Army of Darkness” and plenty of zombie and Halloween classics. Mucho kid-friendly choices, too like Tim Burton images, Monster High, Paranorman, Harry Potter and video game icons. Go crazy.
StarWars.com. The “official” Star Wars blog has a pdf for 11 pumpkin stencils of varying difficulty from easy sillhouettes to some pretty challenging portraits (Tusken Raider…yikes). My favorite is the Mandalorian symbol, but the Rebel and Empire emblems are both cool and easy. Download them puppies here: starwarsblog.starwars.com/index.php/2011/10/24/star-wars-pumpkin-stencils/.
Thinkgeek.com. Each year, everyone’s favorite geeky catalog hosts a fan-made pumpkin stencil pattern contest, and the results are incredible. The best part is, they keep all the winning stencils from past years available, so there’s is more and more geeky goodness offered each season. I don’t even know where to start; video games, movies and television icons, techy art and even a nice portrait of H.P. Lovecraft for those literary geeks. I made the double-sided MST3K pattern last year and it turned out nifty. Find them at thinkgeek.com/blog/2012/10/
Try this fashion craft with any of these, or get yourself a giant vegetable orb (or twenty) and dig in! Looking for other Halloween madness? Try our Ten Family Friendly Halloween Movies to help lull the kiddos into a candy coma! Afterward, you can set the mood with Five Albums to Flesh Out Your Halloween Playlist and huddle under the covers with Netflix and Chilling – Halloween Movie Edition. Any other off-beat Halloween music suggestions to throw our way? You can let us know on Twitter @SubCultured or come party like its 1599 in our Discord server!
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