This is more a sidenote than anything else, but it is full of seasonal spirit! Some friends and I recently went on a short road trip to see “The Sleepy Hollow Experience” put on at Sunnyside, Washington Irving’s estate (general webpage here, and event info there). This involved following a group of actors around the estate as they unfolded a condensed ghost story in only three or four scenes, each scene set in a new location very appropriately decorated for Halloween, and culminating on a bridge with a visit from the Headless Horseman himself. It was very much theater; there were a few interactive portions (and more songs than I was expecting for a ghost story!), but most of the thrill came from wandering around in the dark rather than in a comfortable playhouse.
We had a fun time (it’s hard not to amid spooky decorations after dark at a historic site!) but I was mostly impressed by how efficiently the event was run. And it isn’t just this one — if you poke around on their website, you’ll see they have figured out all sorts of ways for people to have fun engaging with the legend of Sleepy Hollow. I found it interesting too because this sort of theater at historic sites is sometimes decried as ‘disneyfication’ (although I hear that complaint less these days) and yet for a holiday, it seems to be more understood that it’s all in good fun. I think because the “legend” was fiction to begin with, there is more leeway in its presentation to the public. It was actually really neat to see the show at Washington Irving’s estate: in this case, the location — both being outside and being at Sunnyside — is what made it truly special.
And on that note, happy (almost) Halloween!
Enacting the Past 