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Sleepy Hollow Cemetery; New York

Michaela Whipple
Dec 24, 2017
2 min read

Sleepy Hollow, New York has got to be one of the most beautifully creepy towns I have ever been to. Who knew that just a few hours away from my home in Ohio was a place filled with lush greenery, cemeteries galore and historic houses on every corner? My friend Ashley and I randomly passed the sign for Sleepy Hollow on our way home from Salem, Massachusetts and I obviously couldn't pass it up. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was a book originally written by Washington Irving, about a headless horseman who lost his head during battle and comes back every Halloween to chop off heads. Washington Irving is buried inside Sleepy Hollow Cemetery but if you're not familiar with the grounds, you will easily get lost searching for it. I was heavily determined so I searched the interwebz. drove through the 90 acres and ended up having to ask for help. It was about 15 minutes until the cemetery closed, so the guy told us to hurry up and be out exactly by 4pm. Finally, we drove around to the other side of the cemetery and found the other entrance. This side of the cemetery is the oldest and houses graves from the early 1700's. The mausoleums behind Washingtons' grave are said to be the actual characters from his book. Another fun fact about Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is that Washington Irving actually designed and named it. He wanted the cemetery to depict what he wrote in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow which included a bridge, long winding roads, streams of water and beautiful greenery. He insisted that it be named "Sleepy Hollow Cemetery", but the town did not honor his wishes until decades after his actual death. I truly wish that Washington could have been here to see his wondrous creation, because I was floored and I know he would have been too. I would like to think he is still lurking around the grounds.