Journey from Sleepy Hollow to the Catskills, exploring the folklore, hauntings and magic of this historic region
Save $3.00 if you order by November 30 … only $16.99!
Essays, travelogues – the story of my ramblings through the Hudson river valley, looking for the inspiration Washington Irving found and imbued into the landscape. With over a hundred original images, it’s a great companion for those with a hunger to explore this mystic corridor of America, even if you only do it from your armchair.
One of the things that’s always interested me was how the landscape, and the mythology of a place inspires writers, artists and musicians. Perhaps no place in America has exemplified that idea as clearly as the Hudson river valley.
Plus there are some really spooky tales from the region. What’s not to love?
Includes:
- Return to Sleepy Hollow … Washington Irving returned to Sleepy Hollow and revisited the inspiration for the legend, wanting to see if the old magic was there. Includes tours of his home, Sunnyside, Philipsburg Manor, the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow and other sites featured in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
- Daily Life of the 19th Century: Patent Medications and Homeopathic cures at Washington Irving’s Sunnyside
- True Confessions: In which the author relates his own supernatural encounters in the land of Sleepy Hollow
- Daily Life of the American Colonies: Spoons
- The legend comes to life with Jonathan Kruk in the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow
- Tip your hat to the Imp of Donder-Berg mountain, who still haunts the highlands of the Hudson River
- Peter Stuyvesant: A citizen of old New Amsterdam, carrying on nearly 400 years later in New York City
- Eating Poe Part III: Poe’s life New York City, where he found fame, tragedy & madness, and I search Il Buco for The Cask of Amontillado
- Historical attractions in Gotham: A gin-soaked stroll through Manhattan
- Christmas Ghost Stories: The Ghost of Christmas Past Goes Further Back Than You Might Realize
- Exploring the imagination of Washington Irving and early American folklore along the Rip Van Winkle Trail in the Catskills
- Into the Mystic: Looking for the beating heart of the Hudson valley and finding it inside myself
Over a hundred original images, 176 pages, 6″ x 9″. Ebook coming soon!
Browse a gallery of images for fine art prints from the book, along with an essay on Washington Irving and his role in folk horror
About The Sketchbooks
From the beginning this website was envisioned as a sketchbook of my travels, writing down what I found so I could remember it. Along the way I’ve compiled a lot of interesting, useful and sometimes damned chilling information about some of the most mystical regions on the planet.
The Sketchbooks are a way to collate and offer this content in book form, because let’s face it, a book is a lot nicer to curl up with, or take along on a journey than staring at a screen.
And it helps keep me on the road, looking for the historic, the haunted and the downright strange. Thanks for your support!
Available now from Blurb! Coming December 1st on Amazon in book and digital format
Order by November 30 from Blurb and save $3.00
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