Katie Pumpkinhead’s Pumpkin Patch

I live in a state of perpetual hunger. A constant craving for things that, for some, only exist once a year.  It gets difficult, living in that constant state of starvation.  But I've learned to search for scraps, everywhere I go.  When I visit Sleepy Hollow, though, that is when I truly feast. A long four months went by between visits, this time. All the way from my actual celebration of Halloween, from October 29th through the morning of November 1st, until March 6th.  Winter was cold, and brought sickness...It wasn't easy to be away for so long. But, at last, there was a day with a favorable temperature, and so it was time to return to the one true home of my heart, under a gloomy sky, on the most autumnal pre-spring day one could ask for.    It felt like a gift from the universe, almost like a do-over of Halloween. Halloween had been so hot, like an August day. It was fun, sure, one of my best if I'm honest, but the fact that it felt like summer did put...

 When I was younger, I spent a lot of time wondering if I actually had a place in the world.  I was an only child, quiet and shy, who never really fit in. My interests were somehow always all wrong in comparison to my peers, and my family, even if they tried not to show it, were often disappointed in the fact that I didn’t have “normal” priorities, from school, to socialization, etc. I was always the odd one out. And, of course, there was the fact that my favorite holiday was Halloween, not Christmas as everyone around me and society as a whole seemed to insist it should be. I also spent a lot of time wondering why I liked Halloween so much. There had to be a reason, some place that I really belonged that would one day call me back, like the little girls in movies who suddenly found out they were the rightful princesses of fairytale realms. I pondered this thought daily, well into my adult years. In 1999, though, a movie called Halloweentown was released on the Disney Channel....

 Most people who know me, know that Sleepy Hollow, New York is what I call my heart’s home. It was a place that had been on my “bucket list” to visit practically since the cradle, and I first took a drive through the town on Halloween 2018, on my way to my first ever experience at The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze. Though I wasn’t there for very long at all, as it was just a quick detour, I immediately felt at home, as if this was some place I’d been waiting to find for my entire life. I thought about it constantly until I went back to stay for a few days for Halloween 2019, and I knew during that stay that this was my place. It’s a hard thing to explain, but it’s like one of those moments that you think only occurs in fiction, when the stars align and you just know you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.  I initially planned to take different spooky-themed vacations every Halloween, maybe going to Salem one year, Spirit of Halloweentown in Oregon the next, etc., and while I ...

 If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen me post recently about a song I made up as a child.  Though music has never been my strong suit, or even a major interest of mine, like most kids, I went through an “imagining myself as a pop star” phase, and would often make up little songs that would, maybe, one day, end up on my chart-topping debut album.  One such song was something called “The Halloween Flame Is Still Burning”. I have been racking my brain trying to remember all the lyrics since November 1st hit, but alas, I can only remember small bits. The opening line was a solemn declaration: November first, and the day’s gone by… The chorus culminated with: From inside the window of the car I am yearning, ‘cause the Halloween flame on the candle’s still burning! And, of course, the big finale, because what song could ever be complete without it?: …And it burns BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!! (Actual Halloween candle from ObscuraHortus on Etsy/Instagram) There’s a ...

 If you know me well enough, you probably know how attached I am to the village of Sleepy Hollow.  I visited for the first time three years ago and it instantly felt like home to me.  I make every effort to visit whenever I can, and when I am there, my most favorite place to spend time is Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. It’s a magical place to me, filled with so much history and so many stories and hidden gems among the graves.  And, over by the Old Dutch Church, you can find many headstones that bear the names that inspired many of the characters in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It’s beautiful and truly feels like stepping back into another time. If you look long and hard enough, I promise you, you will start to see reflections of the Legend itself, and those who lived during the time in which it was written. Sadly, though, it seems not everyone has the same kind of respect for the deceased, as, last weekend, a terribly distressing crime happened at this beautiful place. (Pi...

 Hard to believe, it’s already been a week since Halloween Eve. I truly don’t know where the time goes. Only one short week ago, we were anticipating the magic of Halloween night, and now, we’re staring down another 359 days on the countdown.  But, I figured today might be a good day to recap my trip to Sleepy Hollow for Halloween 2020. We left on Thursday, the 29th. It was the perfect weather for a little spooky road trip. I’ve come to appreciate gloomy, rainy days as Halloween approaches. I don’t want to see it so rainy or stormy that Halloween night events get cancelled, but that ominous feeling a few days leading up to the holiday definitely helps get you into the mood. We had no events planned for Thursday night, and thankfully so, as they likely would’ve been cancelled, but it was still just an amazing feeling to be in such an amazing place on a day that felt so spooky. There is a grocery store right by the hotel that always has vintage style decorations for sale, and of...

  You’ve always dreamt of a place where you could feel like yourself all year round. You’ve watched movies about towns of eternal Halloween, and they enchant you, but it’s not very realistic, is it? Is there anywhere in the world where the light doesn’t go out on November first? You’ve resigned yourself to the fact that this world is only truly your home during the month of October. You say it makes you ‘like a pumpkin’, rotting away and dying in November, only to be born again, bursting off your vine at the first signs of Halloween the following year. It’s a strange existence, and you sometimes feel alone in it, but you know it is what you need. But then you find a place. From the second you enter this little town, you can feel someone, or something, calling you. You wonder if it’s an entity of some kind, but start to realize it sounds more and more like yourself...a higher piece of your being that wants you to take this all in.  Stay here, it tells you, and you may never hav...

"Why so sad, little pumpkin?" the girl asked. "I don't think I'm in the right place," the pumpkin replied.  "Whatever do you mean?" the girl questioned. "You are, after all, in a pumpkin patch." "It's not that I don't believe I fit in here," the pumpkin said. "I know that I'm loved. My family is here, or so it seems." "Then why do you seem so out of place?" the girl wondered.  "I just think that maybe I'm meant to be somewhere else," the pumpkin mused. "Have you ever seen a place that felt more like home than anywhere you've lived?" The girl nodded, remembering a place that lit up her heart. She closed her eyes as she remembered an autumn breeze, the sound of it rustling through the trees, bringing to life the scarecrows that lined the fence in the park that gave her peace like nothing she'd ever experienced before. She thought ...