TARRYTOWN, N.Y. – Stepping off the train into Tarrytown on a chilly October morning means more than just visiting a Hudson Valley village.
It means stepping into the scene that inspired Washington Irving and helped make “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” famous.
Published in 1820, Irving's short story immortalized the hills, trails and shadows along the Hudson River through the tale of the Headless Horseman.
More than 200 years later, the story remains part of the area's identity.
Here, history extends beyond museum walls. It's part of the landscape, from the Old Croton Aqueduct to the fog that settles over the Hudson on autumn mornings.
Given Irving's legacy, it's no surprise that Tarrytown goes all out for Halloween.
When I visited the village for the Tarrytown Halloween Parade on October 24, it was my first time experiencing it firsthand. I quickly understood why Halloween is such a big deal here.
Officials estimated before the event that about 20,000 people would pack the streets, which were already buzzing when I arrived.
Scarecrows were tied to utility poles, shop windows sported Halloween decorations, and costumed dogs trotted past their equally festive owners. Children waited excitedly for the parade to begin.
Marchers danced, played instruments, tossed candy and high-fived kids along the route.
The Wildey Street Neighborhood, its members wearing black robes and hoods, hauled a float carrying an animated skeleton making groaning, ghastly sounds.
“Here lies British Spy Major John Andre, justly executed on October 2, 1780,” a large tombstone on the float stated.
Andre, mentioned in Irving's short story, was a British Army officer during the American Revolutionary War who conspired with Benedict Arnold and was hanged on George Washington's orders.
Other marchers included Pac-Man running after and trying to eat life-size ghosts, Ghostbusters reenactment groups, a cosplayer dressed as Ms. Frizzle from “The Magic School Bus” reminding children to wear their seat belts, and energetic high school bands.
Students from the Tarrytown Music Hall Academy performed several theatrical acts, including a horror production of “Carrie” along the parade route.
“Help me! Help me!” a student pleaded, before Carrie, wearing a crown and a bloody gown, struck another student down with telekinesis.
Then came the star of the parade.
In Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, the Headless Horseman is a rockstar. The crowd roared whenever he came into view, but the biggest reaction came when he and his horse broke away at a full gallop down Main Street.
Four or five rows deep, spectators whistled and clapped as the legendary Hessian soldier thundered through modern-day Tarrytown. For a moment, Irving's 200-year-old tale seemed to step right off the page.
Maybe that's why Halloween works so well here. People come for the costumes, the parade and the Headless Horseman, but they also come to be part of the legend.
For one October afternoon, Irving's story isn't confined to the page. It's alive on the streets of Tarrytown, with a crowd waiting for the next thunder of hoofbeats.
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