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...

  The shadows in the cemetery that day were unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It was more than a cloudy afternoon. It felt ominous, like a warning. A warning I should have heeded ages ago, if I'm honest. I look back on every tear shed, every whispered word, every time I should have put a stop to a desperate fairytale that was spinning out of control. I question my sanity, when I look back on it. Who was I? Or perhaps, who was I  trying  to be, and for what purpose?  Why was I looking for something I'd had all along?  I'll never forget how blue the sky was, the moment hope returned.  I had to shut my eyes to see clearly, but when I opened them again, the world was vivid, as if that shadowy night never happened. Or, at the very least, happened somewhere far, far away.  As I finally stood up again, I nearly tripped over my own feet, like a newborn animal. Rebirth, it seems, was the theme of the day. I felt something catch me, holding me steady once mo...

 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...