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The Headless Horseman Galloped into My Life.


The Headless Horseman, Times-Herald photo by John DeSanto

Once upon a time, the Headless Horseman galloped into my life. Sleepy Hollow Restorations, the organization charged with the Rockefeller funding to care for Sunnyside (Washington Irving’s homestead) Philipsburg and Van Cortlandt Manors, turned into a non-for–profit in 1992. The revamped Historic Hudson Valley new me from performances of local lore and appearances as “Peter Kalm; Colonial Traveler.” They asked me to take a look at their traditional haunted October weekends. Save for the gallant headless horseman rider, I found the event, a goofy collection inauthentic ghosts.

The event’s saving grace was a muscular five-foot-six-inch skilled equestrian. Tucked under a snapping cloak, with flaming pumpkin head in hand, he rode out of the gloom, to shock crowds gathered at Philipsburg Manor. Visitors also mingled with staff interpreters dressed as varied spirits. A white-gowned ghost bride and “tragical” noosed Major Andre, mulled about the site. Ostensibly, these spirits, along with the headless horseman came from Washington Irving’s classic “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The ingénue portraying the “wailing woman in white” however, rarely wailed. The actor as Andre ad-libbed too many lines. Worse an ersatz Frankenstein’s monster and a garish Dracula staggered around this Dutch-American site. Clearly, HHV needed more authenticity.

My mentor, an eccentric self-styled scholar known as He-Who-Stands-Firm, introduced me in 1990 to sources of Hudson River lore. I scoured his exhaustive collection of tattered 1930’s era New York Folklore Quarterlies and cracked open many a musty tome. Their sun-scorched spines featured authors like Benson Lossing, Carl Carmer, the Boyles, (Robert and T.C.) and of course, Washington Irving. I spent ten straight hours in a creaking rocking chair, discovering the region teemed with spirits, pirates, supernatural enclaves, imps and of course, the headless horseman.

Washington Irving ‘s works I decided would provide HHV’s new cast of characters. We added from the Catskills a somnambulant Rip Van Winkle, the mercurial mountain witch and mumbling trollish men.

My wife, Andrea Sadler, who acted in David Bowie’s “The Hunger” stepped up with piteous moans and crowd startling shrieks as the ice-encrusted White Lady of Raven Rock. Our revised “Tragical Major John Andre” kept his noose cravat and stuck to his script lamenting. “Why didn’t they hang Benedict Arnold?” The Hudson River, once a haven for colonial pirates gave Jim Keyes an opportunity to create a buccaneer character. He gave his role whine, aplomb, and song. Historic Hudson Valley added magicians, fortune-tellers and for a time, courtly ghosts contra dancing in the barn. This left me with one role. I told the haunted history of those denizens of the Hudson.

Standing on wooden platform serving as my stage, I refined my show down to three stories; “Major Andre” the “White Lady” and the crowd’s favorite, “The Headless Horseman.” They wanted histrionics over history. Thus, I created character voices, added humor and always gave my audiences jump scares. I boil Irving’s two-hour classic boiled down these two lines.

Dreamy Dutch...eerie ghosts....Ichabod courts Katrina...Brom bullies...Baltus has a ball...Ichabod dances...

the headless horseman scares the schoolmaster once and for all...or was it Mr. Bones?!

On some crackling Legend Weekend nights, I performed without break or breather for four hours. I always left Philipsburg weary, yet with a full heart.

The Great Recession knocked down Historic Hudson Valley’s attendance and drove up debt. The not-for-profit had to lay off one-fourth of the staff and farm out Philipsburg’s beloved farm animals. The organization took another radical step. Only successful events would remain on the calendar.

The wildly imaginative “Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze,” launched by creative director Michael Natiello, drawing tens of thousands of visitors, not only stayed but kept Historic Hudson Valley afloat. The appropriately named Lance Hollowell transformed Philipsburg Manor into the “Horseman’s Hollow.” A shock and gore tour, loosely inspired by “The Legend’s” ghosts, it appeals millennials. Think Major Andre, not just with a noose, but as an animatronic figure getting hanged.

“Legend Weekends” however, got cut. I felt hurt. Then, the main office called with an offer. Rave reviews of my performances prompted them to give me my own show in a separate venue. Imagine this storyteller’s honor (to paraphrase Washington Irving) discovering I would perform in the very setting of the “Legend;” the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow!

My wife appeared the first year wailing in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery as a ghastly ghostly White Lady. She then got her own haunt across the street in “Horseman’s Hollow.” Jim Keyes talked his way from pirate to pipe organist. And “Irving’s Legend- a dramatic retelling by Jonathan Kruk” began with eighteen shows in October 2010.

I knew my audience wanted the rollicking chase with the iconic Headless Horseman ‘hurling his projectile’ at the lovelorn schoolmaster. Thanks to Tim Burton, people also expected the galloping Hessian to wield a bloody broad ax. Fearing competition with Christopher Walken, I returned to text for inspiration. My listeners would get the gothic horror romance laced with Washington Irving's wit and whimsy. My abridged version runs about fifty minutes complete with authentic quotes, laughs, and jump scares. Audiences seeing my dramatic retelling would not only forget gratuitous gore but the church's stiff pews and finicky wood stove.

The author relies on effusive images rather than dialog. Ichabod Crane, for example, looked like “a scarecrow eloped from his post.” I made a creative decision as a storyteller to put some of Irving’s eloquent descriptions into a character’s mouth. My favorite is the crotchety Dutch farmer complaining to his Vrouw's invite of Ichabod Crane to dine. “But, tha' Yankee schoolmaster has th' dilating powers of an Anaconda!”

Often, I take comments to my audience. We often perform during the World Series. Ichabod’s under the spell of a “coquette.” Thus, I ask. ‘Gentlemen, are any of you under the spell of a coquette? You don’t think so? Think upon this. I happen to know there’s a big game going on now as I speak. Yet where are you? Here, under the spell of a coquette!’

Mr. Jim Keyes composed a remarkable score of eerie atmospheric music for my Sleepy Hollow show. He created motifs for the four major characters. An adapted a period folk song pervades the big chase scene Plus, he keeps the entire performance together with a spell made of sounds. He's adept at picking up cues even when I give him the wrong one. I’ve come to rely on the music to guide the Legend from the dreamy drowsy landscape to the horror of headlessness. Yes, this is a dramatic solo show, made magical with Jim Keyes’s compositions.

The Old Dutch Church features a field stone exterior with evidence of musket ports. Illumined by seventy candles, ancient edifice makes people often assume it is haunted. I’ve only found my Muse within those cozy walls. John Paine, the church sexton, works tirelessly to keep those candles lit, and the stove warm. His understated introductions set the tone. He advises ‘one may exit any window in the event of the Headless Horseman crashing through a window. He also notes this place has been a hallowed house of worship continuously since 1685.

Following my first weekend of shows in 2010, word went out. The rest of the run sold out. HHV added more shows. Last year, the entire run of thirty-nine shows, almost 4500 tickets sold out a week before opening night. This year, we are up to fifty shows, many have sold out before Labor Day.

Entering season seven, I plan to make improvements. I’m honored when returning fans note. ‘You always bring something new or surprising to the Legend.’ The chase scene will feature more action and less volume. Watch out for a jump scare when the goblin appears. Jim’s got a new position in the performance too.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was the first piece of literature written by an American to "go viral." People wonder, 'how do perform the same ghost story up to four times a day?' Here's what makes it happen. Every audience entering that venerable church yearns a real spooky story. They tingle with anticipation. It is palpable. A passion stirs. I'll prove they've come to the best place see why this is the classic ghost tale. I'm touched by a poignant mix of fear, honor and joy. Standing in "sabbath day stillness," breathing the "dreamy influence" their solitary Storyteller steadies.

Next, Jim strikes his eerie introductory chords. As I enter I sense the Muse encouraging. 'This new audience deserves the best of the old Headless Horseman. Give it to them and you will and your performance will be renewed.' I have found she is right. I'm energized at every telling. Long will I enchant my listeners with this frightful, romantic, authentic, intimate, humorous and theatrical experience of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

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