-
The Ghost of Grand View
“It was not long after that when towels were mysteriously removed from the bathroom and left in fantastic shapes in various parts of the house. Whenever all the occupants left the house, things were sure to be turned topsyturvy. Clocks stopped, trunks were unlocked, furniture displaced, but there was never any evidence that these things had been done for the purpose of plunder.” The New York Herald, August 27th, 1908. Something strange was happening in the Blauvelt house in the summer of 1908. It began when Mrs. Blauvelt came home to find what appeared to her to be an elderly man sitting on her sofa in the sitting room. She…
-
Ghoulish Jokester Robs a Grave
“Echoes of Ichabod Crane’s ghost stories in the Tarrytown cemetery led to the discovery early today that some one had removed a skull from a pauper grave and placed it on top of a tombstone in the conventionally gruesome manner.” -The Washington Times, May 25, 1929 One night in May 1929 a person passing through the hamlet of East View received quite a jolt at the sight of a human skull atop a tombstone in the county poorhouse cemetery. Not bothering to give his name, the individual reported to Town of Greenburgh police that a ghost was roaming the cemetery. Sergeant Dunkel investigated and found the skull placed on top…
-
The Man, The Myth, The Legend: Washington Irving. Part 1: A Venturesome Urchin!
The year was 1783. The day was April 3rd. The place was 131 William Street, Manhattan, New York. It was a surreal week for those residing in old Gotham. After eight arduous years of occupation in the city, the British had called a ceasefire, effectively ending the American Revolution. We were no longer the colonies, but the United States. A new republic! There was a collective sigh of relief from the former colonists. William Irving, Sr. was a Scottish merchant and former petty officer of the British Navy, and his Cornish wife, Sarah Sanders were two of those who were consoled by the end of the hostilities. Right after their…
-
Patriot’s Park
Located on the cusp of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow lies a rolling green space known today as Patriot’s Park. Named for being the famous location of the capture of John André by local patriot militiamen in 1780, the park boasts the capture monument and memorial, but also features other last vestiges of other pieces of local history and folklore. The earliest known historical act of significance where Patriot’s Park is located today is the capture of British Officer, John André as he was attempting to escape from behind enemy lines after helping infamous traitor Benedict Arnold. A large poplar tree supposedly marked the capture site, which was located about 200…
-
Hulda the Witch
“. . . in the days of our nation’s birth-throes he was a brave man who passed the cottage of the witch, even in the daytime. A hundred years ago the people took witches seriously.” –Chronicles of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow Until very recently, the written record of Sleepy Hollow’s reputed witch consisted entirely of seven short paragraphs in Edgar Mayhew Bacon’s 1897 book Chronicles of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. Bacon, an author and historian, separates this tale from the eight historical chapters of Chronicles under a ninth chapter titled “Myths and Legends.” Whether he believed there any truth to the matter he does not say. It is striking, though,…
-
Haunted Taverns of Sleepy Hollow
“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.” “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Washington Irving When it comes to phantoms in these parts, Sleepy Hollow’s Headless Horseman is, to paraphrase Frank Sinatra, top of the list, king of the hill, A-Number-One. Although he is the undisputed top dog he is a bit of a recluse, preferring solitary rides along dark, lonely roads. Fortunately, there are three haunted taverns of Sleepy Hollow where the resident spirits are more sociable. The ghosts we introduce here are reportedly less…
-
The Baychester Depot Ghost
Andrew J. Parker died “suddenly” at the age of 63 in September 1885 in the village of Pelham, NY. For most of his life, he worked as a chemist, and in Pelham, he had been the manager of the Neptune Powder Mill, a dynamite company. As an employee of a dynamite manufacturer, he lived much longer than anyone of that time would have figured; as it was a volatile and dangerous trade. But he was lucky to have survived and retired to spend time with his family. News reports at the time never explained exactly how Parker died, but not being blown to pieces was perhaps the most unexpected part…
-
The Witch of West Nyack
“This neighborhood has the doubtful honor of having been the scene of the last trial for witchcraft held in New York State, possibly the last among a so-called civilized people.” -The History of Rockland County, by Frank Bertangue Green In the hamlet of West Nyack, six miles from Sleepy Hollow as the raven flies, is a historic marker at the site of the last witch trial in New York State, one Jane Kanniff. Some versions of her story use the name Hannah instead of Jane, others recall local Dutch farmers referring to her as “Naut” Kanniff, a salutation of unknown meaning and origin. Whatever her given name, descriptions of Kanniff…
-
Philipsburg Manor
Drive North on Route 9 out of Sleepy Hollow and you’ll suddenly find yourself amidst trappings of a bygone era. An iconic white-washed stone building rests adjacent to a large and placid mill pond. Additional buildings, such as a mill and a barn linger nearby, framed by large picturesque trees. Squint and you might think you took a wrong turn and ended up in the wrong century. This is the remaining vestige of the early-18th century in Sleepy Hollow Country: Philipsburg Manor. In the 1680s, dutch immigrant, Frederick Philipse I had amassed nearly 52,000 acres of land on the eastern side of the Hudson River, bounded on the other edges…
-
Ghosts of St. Barnabas Church
“Most longtime parishioners at Irvington’s Church of St. Barnabas cheerfully accept the idea that there are ghosts that haunt the venerable Episcopal Church and its Rectory.” –The Hudson Independent, October 2, 2011. The Church of St. Barnabas in Irvington, New York, an Episcopal congregation, traces its history to the mid-1850s when The Reverend John McVickar purchased a 30-acre property north of Main Street for a summer residence. This was in part due to his friendship with author Washington Irving whose own home was less than a mile away. Around 1852 McVickar set about improving his property and the spiritual well-being of the community by launching the construction of a chapel…
