More on New York
>Click Here
{
By Renée S. Gordon History & Travel Writer
In 1809 A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty was published by Washington Irving and purportedly penned by Diedrich Knickerbocker, a New Yorker of Dutch descent, to remind people of the state’s Dutch heritage. He related tales of idyllic villages and peaceful people and achieved his goal when the people embraced the character of Knickerbocker as a stereotypical NY personality. In 1820 Washington Irving took on the task of recounting a mystical tale based on local lore and Dutch society of the era. The story takes place in Sleepy Hollow, an incorporated village about 32-miles from Manhattan, adjacent to Tarrytown. It was published in Irving’s collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., and said to have been found among Knickerbocker’s papers. This part of the Hudson -112- | ExtendedWeekendGetaways ~ October, 2023
Sleepy Hollow Isn’
}
“The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback without a head.” Legend of Sleepy Hollow
ing for her husband and baby and the Headless Horseman. New York’s Haunted History Trail includes many of these sites as well as haunted accommodations and restaurants.
Valley is documented as having been first inhabited by the Native American Weckquaesgeek and Sintsinct tribes. Legend has it that you may feel drowsy if you take a path along the river because a Native American shaman had placed a spell on the area to thwart enemy attacks. This may be the origin of the name. There are numerous supernatural sightings, the Flying Dutchman, Van Dam the lost partygoer, a maiden search-
Hudson Valley inhabitants, from the native population on, felt there was something mystical about the land. Early Dutch settlers were superstitous and did not frequent places believed to be haunted. They also shared tales and it is the shiver-inducing tale of the decapitated horseman that was often recounted. Irving’s story revolves around a Connecticut schoolteacher who attends a local landowner’s a party, courts his daughter and makes his way home on a lonely road. The story takes place circa 1790. Ichabod Crane’s trail is well marked, easy to follow and includes all the significant sites from the legend. Crane’s one-room schoolhouse is an 1850 building in Kinderhook in use until the
