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The Headless Horseman Industrial Complex The Headless Horseman Industrial Complex
(3 days later)
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., is autumn’s answer to a winter wonderland. It glows with something close to 10,000 hand-carved, illuminated pumpkins, drawing crowds all month long and well past Halloween, through the weekend after Thanksgiving.The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., is autumn’s answer to a winter wonderland. It glows with something close to 10,000 hand-carved, illuminated pumpkins, drawing crowds all month long and well past Halloween, through the weekend after Thanksgiving.
Even on its opening weekend in September, the line of cars to the parking lot stretched far down South Riverside Avenue, overseen by a conspicuous police presence.Even on its opening weekend in September, the line of cars to the parking lot stretched far down South Riverside Avenue, overseen by a conspicuous police presence.
The grounds of stately Van Cortlandt Manor are packed as well: children in strollers and on shoulders wearing glow necklaces and waving pumpkin light sabers. Grown-ups gather at a tent that sells pumpkin spice ale and hard cider before heading to a two-story spider web, a carousel of skeletal horses, and a covered bridge where bats flicker blue in synchrony with the disquieting soundtrack and whooshing wind of the Headless Horseman galloping by.The grounds of stately Van Cortlandt Manor are packed as well: children in strollers and on shoulders wearing glow necklaces and waving pumpkin light sabers. Grown-ups gather at a tent that sells pumpkin spice ale and hard cider before heading to a two-story spider web, a carousel of skeletal horses, and a covered bridge where bats flicker blue in synchrony with the disquieting soundtrack and whooshing wind of the Headless Horseman galloping by.
He is, after all, the reason for the season.He is, after all, the reason for the season.
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze is the vivid orange jewel in the crown of the Sleepy Hollow region’s thriving Halloween industry, which would not exist if not for the Washington Irving short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze is the vivid orange jewel in the crown of the Sleepy Hollow region’s thriving Halloween industry, which would not exist if not for the Washington Irving short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
In October, approximately 100,000 tourists descend on the Westchester County village of 10,000, where a schoolteacher named Ichabod Crane was tormented by the Headless Horseman. The story has become a small town’s salvation, its centuries-belated namesake, and for the historical purist, something of a curse.In October, approximately 100,000 tourists descend on the Westchester County village of 10,000, where a schoolteacher named Ichabod Crane was tormented by the Headless Horseman. The story has become a small town’s salvation, its centuries-belated namesake, and for the historical purist, something of a curse.
Despite the eternal charms of William Rockefeller’s mausoleum and Andrew Carnegie’s ornate Celtic cross, the most-visited grave in all of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery’s 90 acres is Washington Irving’s simple headstone. Since his death in 1859, the cemetery has been forced to replace it not once but twice, because the author’s admirers would once routinely chisel away pieces as souvenirs of their pilgrimage.Despite the eternal charms of William Rockefeller’s mausoleum and Andrew Carnegie’s ornate Celtic cross, the most-visited grave in all of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery’s 90 acres is Washington Irving’s simple headstone. Since his death in 1859, the cemetery has been forced to replace it not once but twice, because the author’s admirers would once routinely chisel away pieces as souvenirs of their pilgrimage.
The vandalism is behind us, but the fascination persists: The lantern-light tours the cemetery offers nightly in October have been known to sell out.The vandalism is behind us, but the fascination persists: The lantern-light tours the cemetery offers nightly in October have been known to sell out.
Irving’s wildly successful short-story collection “The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.,” serially published from 1819 to 1820 and featuring both “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle,” made him a celebrity at home and abroad. The town of Sleepy Hollow (and neighboring Tarrytown and Irvington) is currently observing an 18-month celebration of the story’s bicentennial, but make no mistake. It is never not Halloween in Sleepy Hollow.Irving’s wildly successful short-story collection “The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.,” serially published from 1819 to 1820 and featuring both “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle,” made him a celebrity at home and abroad. The town of Sleepy Hollow (and neighboring Tarrytown and Irvington) is currently observing an 18-month celebration of the story’s bicentennial, but make no mistake. It is never not Halloween in Sleepy Hollow.
The street signs and the fire trucks are orange and black. The ambulances are emblazoned with full-panel murals of the Headless Horseman. The most famous pair of empty shoulders in American literature moonlights as Sleepy Hollow High School’s uniquely unsettling mascot (go Horsemen!) and is a fixture in local parades, even on St. Patrick’s Day. The median on Route 9 — the road down which Ichabod Crane fled the “goblin rider” — is home to an 18-foot-tall Headless Horseman sculpture, an artfully faux-weathered shade of rust since its 2006 installation. You’ll find an unexpectedly deep selection of “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”-themed tees for sale at the gas station across the way.The street signs and the fire trucks are orange and black. The ambulances are emblazoned with full-panel murals of the Headless Horseman. The most famous pair of empty shoulders in American literature moonlights as Sleepy Hollow High School’s uniquely unsettling mascot (go Horsemen!) and is a fixture in local parades, even on St. Patrick’s Day. The median on Route 9 — the road down which Ichabod Crane fled the “goblin rider” — is home to an 18-foot-tall Headless Horseman sculpture, an artfully faux-weathered shade of rust since its 2006 installation. You’ll find an unexpectedly deep selection of “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”-themed tees for sale at the gas station across the way.
And yet Sleepy Hollow has been Sleepy Hollow only since the mid-1990s, when it changed its name from North Tarrytown.And yet Sleepy Hollow has been Sleepy Hollow only since the mid-1990s, when it changed its name from North Tarrytown.
Since then, tourism has expanded tremendously, particularly in the last decade. But 2019 has been a banner year, from a “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” stage musical to the inaugural Sleepy Hollow International Film Festival. Neither, though, can match the excitement surrounding the arrival of the Sleepy Hollow Experience, an elaborate production whose first run sold out entirely.Since then, tourism has expanded tremendously, particularly in the last decade. But 2019 has been a banner year, from a “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” stage musical to the inaugural Sleepy Hollow International Film Festival. Neither, though, can match the excitement surrounding the arrival of the Sleepy Hollow Experience, an elaborate production whose first run sold out entirely.
It is an immersive musical adaptation of the legend that borrows freely from Irving’s short story, staged outdoors with ample special effects and what the creative director Brian Clowdus describes as a “communal, festival vibe.” The Experience started in Chatahoochee Hills, Ga., in 2013, and there are now simultaneous productions in Ohio, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. The Sleepy Hollow Experience opened Oct. 4 at Sunnyside, Irving’s estate in Irvington. It is an immersive musical adaptation of the legend that borrows freely from Irving’s short story, staged outdoors with ample special effects and what the creative director Brian Clowdus describes as a “communal, festival vibe.” The Experience started in Chattahoochee Hills, Ga., in 2013, and there are now simultaneous productions in Ohio, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. The Sleepy Hollow Experience opened Oct. 4 at Sunnyside, Irving’s estate in Irvington.
“I’m an artist,” said Mr. Clowdus, “but I’m also a businessman.” He immediately recognized the commercial appeal of the Headless Horseman, the most iconic figure of Halloween: October’s own unjolly Santa Claus. “And the great thing about the ‘Legend’ is that it is public domain,” he added, “so it’s easy to reinvent it.”“I’m an artist,” said Mr. Clowdus, “but I’m also a businessman.” He immediately recognized the commercial appeal of the Headless Horseman, the most iconic figure of Halloween: October’s own unjolly Santa Claus. “And the great thing about the ‘Legend’ is that it is public domain,” he added, “so it’s easy to reinvent it.”
Reinvention is something this town understands intimately.Reinvention is something this town understands intimately.
The enterprising venture of rebranding North Tarrytown as Sleepy Hollow followed the 1996 closing of the local General Motors plant — which had once employed 4,000 workers — that very year, a devastating blow to the village economy. The mayor of the town then, Sean Treacy, celebrated the result of the vote against the backdrop of a Headless Horseman banner: “This is now the place,” he proclaimed, “where legends are made.”The enterprising venture of rebranding North Tarrytown as Sleepy Hollow followed the 1996 closing of the local General Motors plant — which had once employed 4,000 workers — that very year, a devastating blow to the village economy. The mayor of the town then, Sean Treacy, celebrated the result of the vote against the backdrop of a Headless Horseman banner: “This is now the place,” he proclaimed, “where legends are made.”
For Henry Steiner, the village historian and an outspoken advocate for the name change, the opportunity was more profound. “I wanted to see this community called North Tarrytown not labor under a lack of identity,” he said. “I wanted to seize this world-famous identity that had been buried.”For Henry Steiner, the village historian and an outspoken advocate for the name change, the opportunity was more profound. “I wanted to see this community called North Tarrytown not labor under a lack of identity,” he said. “I wanted to seize this world-famous identity that had been buried.”
And so the town that lost its head replaced it with a jack-o’-lantern.And so the town that lost its head replaced it with a jack-o’-lantern.
No one better exemplifies this resourcefulness than Jonathan Kruk. Mr. Kruk is a professional storyteller, best recognized in the uniform he will wear for nearly 50 performances in Sleepy Hollow this fall: tricorn hat, ruffled shirt collar and cuffs, and a carved wooden walking stick. “In North Tarrytown, the Headless Horseman was kind of an afterthought,” Mr. Kruk said. “But now he’s, as Washington Irving says, the ‘commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air’ in that whole central Westchester region.”No one better exemplifies this resourcefulness than Jonathan Kruk. Mr. Kruk is a professional storyteller, best recognized in the uniform he will wear for nearly 50 performances in Sleepy Hollow this fall: tricorn hat, ruffled shirt collar and cuffs, and a carved wooden walking stick. “In North Tarrytown, the Headless Horseman was kind of an afterthought,” Mr. Kruk said. “But now he’s, as Washington Irving says, the ‘commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air’ in that whole central Westchester region.”
As he recalls it, in the months before the 1996 referendum, the nonprofit Historic Hudson Valley decided to revamp the popular but relatively limited “Legend Weekend” Halloween programming held on several of its sites, which featured screenings of Disney’s animated version of the “Legend,” apple bobbing, and other family-friendly seasonal activities. Spooky costumed characters would roam the grounds of Philipsburg Manor, where the Headless Horseman had been forced to share billing with a werewolf, Frankenstein’s monster, and other nonnative species of ghoul.As he recalls it, in the months before the 1996 referendum, the nonprofit Historic Hudson Valley decided to revamp the popular but relatively limited “Legend Weekend” Halloween programming held on several of its sites, which featured screenings of Disney’s animated version of the “Legend,” apple bobbing, and other family-friendly seasonal activities. Spooky costumed characters would roam the grounds of Philipsburg Manor, where the Headless Horseman had been forced to share billing with a werewolf, Frankenstein’s monster, and other nonnative species of ghoul.
In a gesture toward authenticity, Mr. Kruk was hired in 2010 to spin a condensed version of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in the 17th-century Old Dutch church, a crucial landmark in Irving’s story. Attracting sold-out audiences, his spirited, candlelit one-man show has become a fixture of Halloween in Sleepy Hollow country.In a gesture toward authenticity, Mr. Kruk was hired in 2010 to spin a condensed version of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in the 17th-century Old Dutch church, a crucial landmark in Irving’s story. Attracting sold-out audiences, his spirited, candlelit one-man show has become a fixture of Halloween in Sleepy Hollow country.
That very season, it seems, was when Sleepy Hollow realized just how much the market would pay for Washington Irving. As Mr. Kruk first held forth from the pulpit of the Old Dutch Church in 2010, a very different flavor of Halloween attraction moved in.That very season, it seems, was when Sleepy Hollow realized just how much the market would pay for Washington Irving. As Mr. Kruk first held forth from the pulpit of the Old Dutch Church in 2010, a very different flavor of Halloween attraction moved in.
During daylight hours, a visit to Philipsburg Manor is a visit to 1750, complete with butter-churning costumed interpreters and a working grist mill. But for 16 nights in October, the Historic Hudson Valley property shape shifts into “Horseman’s Hollow,” a haunted trail teeming with scare actors playing 18th-century characters, some of which are based on real Revolutionary War-era figures. The sets are a creepy simulacrum of the surrounding village, alchemizing local history and lore into horror. This Old Dutch Church’s burying ground harbors gravediggers and graverobbers alike. Undead redcoats lurch from their cursed encampment. Of course, the marquee talent is on hand to chase visitors (38,000 of them, in 2018) on the back of his horse.During daylight hours, a visit to Philipsburg Manor is a visit to 1750, complete with butter-churning costumed interpreters and a working grist mill. But for 16 nights in October, the Historic Hudson Valley property shape shifts into “Horseman’s Hollow,” a haunted trail teeming with scare actors playing 18th-century characters, some of which are based on real Revolutionary War-era figures. The sets are a creepy simulacrum of the surrounding village, alchemizing local history and lore into horror. This Old Dutch Church’s burying ground harbors gravediggers and graverobbers alike. Undead redcoats lurch from their cursed encampment. Of course, the marquee talent is on hand to chase visitors (38,000 of them, in 2018) on the back of his horse.
“Nobody’s running around with a chain saw,” said Fiona Galloway, director of event production for Historic Hudson Valley. “Everything is period to the story.”“Nobody’s running around with a chain saw,” said Fiona Galloway, director of event production for Historic Hudson Valley. “Everything is period to the story.”
If 2010 was the year that the commodification of Halloween demonstrated its full potential to reverse the fortunes of the Sleepy Hollow region, it was also the beginning of a backlash. After Horseman’s Hollow first opened, some residents made their displeasure known to Sleepy Hollow’s village administration. The primary source of friction was traffic — which remains the most commonly cited seasonal complaint among locals — but others lamented an apparent shift in Historic Hudson Valley’s governing philosophy.If 2010 was the year that the commodification of Halloween demonstrated its full potential to reverse the fortunes of the Sleepy Hollow region, it was also the beginning of a backlash. After Horseman’s Hollow first opened, some residents made their displeasure known to Sleepy Hollow’s village administration. The primary source of friction was traffic — which remains the most commonly cited seasonal complaint among locals — but others lamented an apparent shift in Historic Hudson Valley’s governing philosophy.
For Mr. Steiner, who published an annotated edition of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in 2014, the region’s Halloween-forward branding is a source of both pride and anxiety. “I would like the things that are genuine and authentic to remain genuine and authentic, but ultimately, there’s more money in tourism than there is in historic preservation,” he said.For Mr. Steiner, who published an annotated edition of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in 2014, the region’s Halloween-forward branding is a source of both pride and anxiety. “I would like the things that are genuine and authentic to remain genuine and authentic, but ultimately, there’s more money in tourism than there is in historic preservation,” he said.
To Historic Hudson Valley, its slate of Halloween events, some more conventionally historic than others, represents an outside-the-box gambit to renew modern audiences’ waning interest in historic sites.To Historic Hudson Valley, its slate of Halloween events, some more conventionally historic than others, represents an outside-the-box gambit to renew modern audiences’ waning interest in historic sites.
When the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze made its debut in 2005, Van Cortlandt Manor had been “scrambling to stay open,” said the Blaze’s artistic director, Michael Natiello, then a recent art-school graduate working as a historical interpreter on the property. Big earners like Blaze now enable Historic Hudson Valley to fulfill its year-round educational mission in a way that would not otherwise be possible. (According to their most recent public records, Historic Hudson Valley reported more than $5.6 million in program service revenue in 2017.)When the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze made its debut in 2005, Van Cortlandt Manor had been “scrambling to stay open,” said the Blaze’s artistic director, Michael Natiello, then a recent art-school graduate working as a historical interpreter on the property. Big earners like Blaze now enable Historic Hudson Valley to fulfill its year-round educational mission in a way that would not otherwise be possible. (According to their most recent public records, Historic Hudson Valley reported more than $5.6 million in program service revenue in 2017.)
Mr. Steiner enjoys seeing the crowds October brings and readily praises Historic Hudson Valley as “responsibly run,” though he worries the organization has grown more invested in “show business” and less in education. “The Horseman’s Hollow is not going to tell you how people lived 300 years ago,” he said. “It’s basically a haunted house.”Mr. Steiner enjoys seeing the crowds October brings and readily praises Historic Hudson Valley as “responsibly run,” though he worries the organization has grown more invested in “show business” and less in education. “The Horseman’s Hollow is not going to tell you how people lived 300 years ago,” he said. “It’s basically a haunted house.”
But if you’re the creative director of a Headless Horseman-themed national theatrical franchise, Irvington is bigger than Broadway. This production of the Sleepy Hollow Experience transports its steampunk-inflected colonial costumes, mood-setting fog, and wholehearted embrace of the accordion to the cottage that Irving actually lived in. By making local history “sexy,” Mr. Clowdus said, he hopes his production will inspire audience members to return to Irving’s estate for a tour. And yet the Sleepy Hollow Experience’s pitch to other potential venues characterizes it as something of a turnkey operation — in a promotional video titled “Bring the Sleepy Hollow Experience to You!” recently posted on YouTube by Mr. Clowdus, he touts the show’s “incredible team that can do it anywhere now.”But if you’re the creative director of a Headless Horseman-themed national theatrical franchise, Irvington is bigger than Broadway. This production of the Sleepy Hollow Experience transports its steampunk-inflected colonial costumes, mood-setting fog, and wholehearted embrace of the accordion to the cottage that Irving actually lived in. By making local history “sexy,” Mr. Clowdus said, he hopes his production will inspire audience members to return to Irving’s estate for a tour. And yet the Sleepy Hollow Experience’s pitch to other potential venues characterizes it as something of a turnkey operation — in a promotional video titled “Bring the Sleepy Hollow Experience to You!” recently posted on YouTube by Mr. Clowdus, he touts the show’s “incredible team that can do it anywhere now.”
Even as Irving’s spellbound, “sequestered glen” rejoices in the author’s legacy, time marches on. The long-vacant General Motors site is now under construction as Edge-on-Hudson, a $1 billion residential and commercial development. “We don’t want people to think that Sleepy Hollow is, year-round, all about spooky stuff, because it’s not,” said Ken Wray, the mayor of Sleepy Hollow. “We don’t want to be the Santa’s Village of Halloween.”Even as Irving’s spellbound, “sequestered glen” rejoices in the author’s legacy, time marches on. The long-vacant General Motors site is now under construction as Edge-on-Hudson, a $1 billion residential and commercial development. “We don’t want people to think that Sleepy Hollow is, year-round, all about spooky stuff, because it’s not,” said Ken Wray, the mayor of Sleepy Hollow. “We don’t want to be the Santa’s Village of Halloween.”
Christmas, in fact, could be the final frontier for Sleepy Hollow, as the village looks to expand its tourism season. After all, Washington Irving’s writing on Yuletide customs and traditions has been widely credited for shaping the American conception of the holiday and of St. Nicholas as we know him.Christmas, in fact, could be the final frontier for Sleepy Hollow, as the village looks to expand its tourism season. After all, Washington Irving’s writing on Yuletide customs and traditions has been widely credited for shaping the American conception of the holiday and of St. Nicholas as we know him.
Charles Dickens, a boy of only 8 when “The Sketch Book” was published, eventually wrote to Irving to tell him how he loved his stories featuring a sumptuous English Christmas celebration. In December, you can catch Mr. Kruk, having swapped the tricorn for a red top hat adorned with a sprig of holly, performing his version of “A Christmas Carol” in the Old Dutch Church.Charles Dickens, a boy of only 8 when “The Sketch Book” was published, eventually wrote to Irving to tell him how he loved his stories featuring a sumptuous English Christmas celebration. In December, you can catch Mr. Kruk, having swapped the tricorn for a red top hat adorned with a sprig of holly, performing his version of “A Christmas Carol” in the Old Dutch Church.