Welcome to Legends & Folklore

You have entered the Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow Folklore Website. You may look through and check the spooky legends and tales. The folklore may contain things that may be true and things that you will have to decide for yourself . Enjoy and enter at your own risk.

One of our informants had heard about two areas reported to be haunted by ghosts. He said that there is one on the Sleepy Hollow Country Club grounds. At night, during June and July,-- around the 10th green by the pond--you can see a ghost running across the green and into the pond. The story is that several years ago a man fell into the pond and was drowned while he was searching for his golf ball. Now his ghost comes out of the pond, drops the ball on the green, and putts it. Then he runs back to the pond. The informant’s next door neighbor told the story and said that he had seen the ghost.

A man said when he was little he saw a lady always dressed in black and she did evil things, at this house.

An informant lived on Depeyster Street for a while and told us that across the street from where she lived, there was a small brick apartment building. Her father told the family that there were ghosts there because of all the old people who had died there.

This is a haunted house next to Depeyster Street. This house is the house where nuns used to live. When the nuns moved out, it became haunted. The owner has problems selling or renting the house, because many people think that is haunted.

On the third floor there is supposed to be the coffin of Katrina Van Tassel. While they were at school, our informant and her friends sometimes heard footsteps up there.

Kids used to say that someone died there and became a vampire here. If you went there late at night, she would get you.

This building was at one time a dress factory with sewing machines. A girl in a delicate condition, and not married, jumped out of the top window. Her ghost wanders around the attic.

Fredrick Philipse founded this church after buying a large tract of land in this Hudson region . Construction of the church was started in 1685, which is the date on the bell, and was not finished until 1697. The foundation of the church was used instead to build a mill-dam on an adjoining stream. The dam was built. Shortly afterward, a freshet came and carried it away. Lord Philipse then built a stronger, better dam, and a freshet washed it away again. When Lord Philipse was in distress an old slave came up to him. Harry was his name. He told Lord Philipse that he had a dream which was repeated for several nights. The dream said, that God was displeased with the building of the church stopping. "Let the church be finished and the dam would stand." So Lord Philipse did just that. He finished the church and built a secure dam. After the church was built, the dam did not fall.

Produced by Stephanie, David, Jose, Crystal, Sarah, Diahana, Robert, and Joey