Sleeping Hollow Chilling Tour
Written by @DashHaber
Attraction Type: Indoor walkthrough
Queue
Queue: Situated in an old-fashioned wooden building is the Harbortown USA Historical Society. Entering in, guests discover a variety of signs within, discussing the history of Sleepy Hollow. In particular, they discuss the history of the superstitions and legends that surround the town. Most famous of all is the legend of Ichabod Crane, which signs say is the subject of a special tour being offered by the Historical Society. Approaching the end of the queue, guests reach an “exit” door that is manned by a Historical Society member. One final sign says that the tour will follow the path that Ichabod Crane is said to have traveled in the legend. Guests are let in group by group, so that they can be spaced out as they walk through and absorb the atmosphere. Once ready, the Historical Society member lets the group enter.
Attraction Description
Stepping through the door, we find ourselves back in the Colonial Era, as night covers over Sleepy Hollow. We walk through the quiet streets, past establishments like the Bakery and Ye Olde Schnooker Shoppe. There is not much sound to be heard, though a faint background instrumental of “Ichabod Crane” offers a playful tone to ease our nerves. Wandering on, we leave the town and follow the country road. We now pass the Van Tassel Farm, with a jack o'lantern set out front. In comparison to Sleepy Hollow, the lights are on in the large house and we can hear a party. We may even find ourselves hearing Brom Bones sing about the “Headless Horseman”. The words paint a playful but spooky picture as we pass trees blowing in the wind.
Heading deeper into the words, the atmosphere is darker and more foreboding. A haunting wind can be heard, along the occasional distant cry of a dog. We pass by what looks like a robed phantom with outstretched limbs…until slight lighting adjustments reveal it to just be a weirdly-shaped tree with fireflies looking like eyes. An owl stares out of the darkness at us, giving an occasional hoot as we pass.
Further on, we see some life in the woods, though it doesn’t ease our nerves. We pass projected shadows of crickets rubbing their legs, making a noise that sounds like “Ichabod”. Another projected shadow this time shows a frog, whose croaking pattern sounds like “Headless Horseman”. A wooden bridge we walk over creaks with each step, and an occasional splash can be heard. Eventually, we take a break from the woods and enter through a graveyard. The sound of what seems like hooves fills the air. However, it turns out to be some cattail plants drumming against a log. We turn a corner, and with a crack of thunder and flash of purple light, we see him (as represented with a 2D cut-out figure): the Headless Horseman, sword and jack o’lantern held aloft as he lets out a vicious laugh.
Our path takes us on a winding way through the dark woods once more, the sound of steady hoofbeats filling the air. Once such turn takes us past a gap in the trees where another flash of purple light reveals the Headless Horseman (again a static 2D figure), this time in mid-swing of his sword. We even hear the sound of his sword, as if we’ve narrowly avoided his strike. Hurrying on down the twisting path, we see a directional sign that reads COVERED BRIDGE. Following the path, we can see the covered bridge in front of us, offering our escape. The Headless Horseman appears once more (one final appearance as a 2D figure), this time with a bright orange glow as he holds out his jack o’lantern. His laughter fills the air as we rush for the bridge, entering in and heading for the other side. As we do so, a hidden air jet fires some wind around our head and shoulders, as if something were thrown past our heads from behind.
We emerge from the covered bridge, still in the woods but with daylight creeping through the branches. On our right-hand side, we can see a knocked over tricorner hat on the ground by a broken jack o’lantern. We can also see a trail of hoofprints that lead us to the exit, and back into Harbortown U.S.A.
