Located just about an hour north of New York City in the Hudson River Valley is the village of Sleepy Hollow. Although Washington Irving published his classic short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in 1820, the village was known as North Tarrytown and didn't officially adopt the nickname until 1996. The village is small, but it definitely embraces its association with Halloween, and has fully adopted Irving's Headless Horseman as its mascot. He appears on everything from street signs to fire trucks, sanitation vehicles, and police badges—even the high school football team is called The Horsemen.
The area is beautiful year round, but it really comes alive—much like the Horseman himself—in the fall. As Irving wrote, “If ever I should wish for a retreat whither I might steal from the world and its distractions, and dream quietly away the remnant of a troubled life, I know of none more promising than this little valley.”
Charleroi, Pennsylvania, United States
27 Main Street, Blairstown, New Jersey, United States
11 Sand Pond Road, Hardwick, New Jersey, United States
Family owned since 1981, Horsefeathers is exactly the kind of dark, wood-paneled bar that you’d expect to find in the area. Settle in to a booth and order the Knickerbocker burger and a seasonal cider. If you're lucky, a Halloween-themed movie might be playing at the bar, and every table comes with its own box of vintage Trivial Pursuit cards.
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is home to a number of famous residents, including a Rockefeller, a Chrysler, the Helmsleys, Andrew Carnegie, Elizabeth Arden, and Washington Irving himself. Formally opened in 1849, the cemetery is 85 acres and has more than 40,000 in-ground interments. Day and night walking tours are offered, but if you’d like to explore on your own, keep in mind that the grounds close promptly at 4:30 p.m. every day.
Charleroi, Pennsylvania, United States
Banner Photo Credit: Alexandra Charitan