'Legend Behind Legend' Tells Story We All Know in Unique Ways

If you haven't been to Sunnyside, either with or without your kids, October is a great time to go. And if you have been, here’s a reason to get there and have a different experience:

The Legend Behind the Legend is a new offering this year from the Historic Hudson Valley geniuses that provide us with something for every occasion – and most especially the Halloween season.

By day, before the screaming and lantern-light of Blaze and Horseman’s Hollow further up Route 9, Sunnyside offers up a quieter, more literary experience, real history mixed in with your legends. Sunnyside of course was once home to Washington Irving, the man who we can really thank for all these Sleepy Hollow tourists we have (along with Fox TV of course).

Here on these idyllic acres, you can wander the grounds with a spooky story tour (on my visit, this was the tale of Tom Walker and the red-eyed devil brought to life by an expressive woman with a great big stick). You can poke around the ground floor and surroundings of Irving’s modest but lovely home, now full with memorabilia illuminating just how far-reaching his legendary Legend has been for nearly 200 years. Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” never out of print since 1820, has spawned everything from an opera to a candy.

Back near the gift shop – well-stocked with great little items befitting the Halloween/Irving theme – there’s treats to eat, a craft room for young artists to go wild with construction paper and glue, and a small theater showing a delicate shadow puppet performance starring none other than the headless horseman.