Back in 1897, when Trout Shue snapped the neck of his wife, Zona Heaster Shue, the Greenbrier Ghost, he believed his troubles were over. He didn’t know it at the time, but the ghost of his murdered wife had two accomplices – his mother in law and his ex wife – who ensured he remained […]
The Legends and Myths of Sweet Hollow and Mount Misery: Part One, On Mary Hatchet and Sweet Hollow Road
It’s approaching Halloween and we have another film based on the legend of Mary Hatchet of Sweet Hollow Road and Mount Misery. Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet is a hatchet job on the legends, which we look at in detail in this look at one of Long Island’s most popular Urban Legends in the Gothic Cabinet of Curiosities and Mysteries.
Return to Sleepy Hollow, from an essay by Washington Irving
Sleepy Hollow, a remembrance by Washington Irving is a short article which first appeared in the Knickerbocker Magazine in 1839. Unlike Irving’s more well-known short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Sleepy Hollow is autobiographical in tone. He explored the area as a teenager – a valley of the Pocantico River near Tarrytown, New York, […]
Gothic Horror Stories: The Death of Halpin Frayser by Ambrose Bierce
When we say Ambrose Bierce was a western writer, we aren’t referring to western civilization. Rather, Bierce lived and wrote in the western United States, based in San Francisco for much of his career. A journalist by trade, Bierce left his indelible stamp on the short story with the twist at the end, and found […]
The Legends and Myths of Sweet Hollow and Mount Misery: Part III, Research on the asylums of Mount Misery and Sweet Hollow
Legends abound on Mount Misery, perhaps none so popular as those of the asylums which supposedly stood there in the past. Take a look at the facts and decide for yourself, the truth behind one of Long Island’s most famous urban legends, from the Gothic Curiosity Cabinet.
True Confessions: In which the author relates his own encounters in the land of Sleepy Hollow
Above: The shot I was taking in Washington Irving’s Sunnyside when the lady laughed. People are always asking me if I believe these stories, they say “Todd” … That’s neither here nor there. But I will offer up a couple of experiences I’ve had, both coming from the Sleepy Hollow area of New York.
