A trip to Sleepy Hollow isn’t complete without a visit to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and its famous residents, including Elizabeth Arden, Brooke Astor, Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, Samuel Gompers, Washington Irving, and William Rockefeller. Cemetery raconteur Doug Keister sums it up: “Sleepy Hollow has it all; spooky lilting 18th century death’s head tombstones, twisting narrow roads, majestic mausoleums and magnificent statuary, perfectly placed onto a hilly woodland canvas. It’s a cemetery with a capital ‘C’.”
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery’s guided tours run April through November. Other programs and events run year round.
Evening guided tours — 2013 dates
Advanced reservations required.
These popular evening lantern tours introduce you to some of the famous and infamous residents of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery—all by the light of kerosene lanterns. After paying respects to Washington Irving, author of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” you may visit a Revolutionary War militia captain, the cemetery’s Revolutionary War monument, the soaring Gothic monument of a wealthy merchant, industrialists Andrew Carnegie and William Rockefeller, and others. You’ll also be introduced to some of the cemetery art, architecture, and symbols on the grounds, and tours often step into the cemetery’s 113-year-old underground receiving vault.
• May: Saturday, May 25; 8 pm.
• June: Saturdays, June 8 and 22; 8 pm.
• July: Murder & Mayhem themed tour, Saturdays, July 6 and 13, 9 pm.
Questions about Sleepy Hollow Cemetery tours? Email tours@sleepyhollowcemetery.org.
Walking Tours
Afternoon guided tours — 2013 dates
Advanced reservations required.
Dig deeper into the history of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and its inhabitants. On these two-hour walks you’ll hear of Washington Irving, author of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Revolutionary War veterans, wealthy industrialists, and others. You’ll also be introduced to some of the art and architecture on the grounds, learn to decipher cryptic cemetery symbols, and step into a 113-year-old underground vault.
• May: Art Lovers Tour: Saturday, May 25, 10 am.
• June: The Original Knickerbocker tour: Saturdays, June 1 and 8. Sundays, June 2 and 9.
• October: Saturdays, October 5, 12, 19, 26; 2 pm.
Questions about Sleepy Hollow Cemetery tours? Email tours@sleepyhollowcemetery.org.
Questions about Sleepy Hollow Cemetery tours? Email tours@sleepyhollowcemetery.org.
Themed tour. Murder & Mayhem introduces some of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery’s fallen angels and colorful incidents. By the flickering light of a lantern you’ll meet both victims and perpetrators: the flamboyant businesswoman remembered as “the wickedest woman in New York,” a debonair counterfeiter, the scene of a grave robbery, a brotherly murder-suicide, and the celebrated opera singer who was alleged to have assaulted, extorted, and killed various of her seven husbands. • 2013 Dates: July 6 and 13, 9 pm.
The Original Knickerbocker: Washington Irving & the Legend of Sleepy Hollow traces the footsteps of Washington Irving’s most famous character—Ichabod Crane in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”—as we walk to the author’s final resting place. Learn more about the talented Mr. Irving and his influence on popular culture today. We will also enter the cemetery’s 113-year old receiving vault, stop at a Revolutionary War monument, visit wealthy industrialists, as well as admire the cemetery’s lovely art and architecture during this one-hour walking tour. • 2013 Dates: June 1, 2, 8, 9.
Themed tour. There Goes the Neighborhood! Join Sara Mascia and Tara Van Tassell (yep, she’s a real Van Tassell) as they discover our colorful local residents and some of our world famous inhabitants. You’ll visit author Washington Irving, inventor and self-styled frontiersman Alfred Weed, eccentric poet Minna Irving, business owner and social activist Amanda Foster, wealthy industrialists William Rockefeller and John Archbold, labor leader Samuel Gompers, and many others—all by the light of kerosene lanterns. You might even talk Tara into spinning a few tales of her legendary family!
• 2012 Dates: October 21, 27, 28; 7pm.
Schedule a tour
Tour operators, corporate groups, and other organizations, please email tours@sleepyhollowcemetery.org for more information.
Night Photography Workshop with Lance Keimig
Photographer and author Lance Keimig leads a workshop at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in June 2013. A mix of classroom and field sessions, the workshop presents an overview of historical night photography while introducing the latest tools at a photographer’s disposal: high quality digital image capture, RAW file processing, image stacking and HDR imaging, light painting, long exposures, and color management. Come enjoy the creative process and be inspired to make great images!
Lance is one of the foremost night photographers working in the United States today. With Tim Baskerville he is co-founder of the pioneering Nocturnes Night Photography Workshops. Lance regularly teaches at the New England School of Photography and has taught for School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He leads workshops worldwide.
Lance’s first book, Night Photography-Finding Your Way In The Dark was published in 2010 by Focal Press to high acclaim.
A short documentary film about Lance’s night photography workshops:
Night Photography: Finding Your Way In The Dark from Lance Keimig Photographics on Vimeo.
