I found J. W. Ocker through Poe.  Specifically, through his book Poe-Land.  I guess I read it last year about this time.  We had a brief email correspondence when I told him about my Sleepy Hollow book and he told me he had one coming out as well.  I’ve had Chasing the Headless Horseman on my list ever since.  Ocker is a travel writer.  (Like most writers he’s branched out into other areas as well.)  This book is a kind of memoir travelogue, telling of Ocker’s long-time relationship with Sleepy Hollow.  For some of us, the story is compelling in an almost ethereal way.  In our own ways we explore it.  Ocker also reviews the movies that Washington Irving’s story has begat.  He also explores the intimate connection the Headless Horseman has with Halloween.  He even delves into Irving’s role in Christmas.  These are all things I stumble on in my own book, but what we’re doing is quite different.

Chasing the Headless Horseman is a fun romp through a place I’ve only been once.  We’ve never lived close enough or had funds enough to visit frequently.  When my daughter was still at home, we made autumnal literary trips, one of which took us to Austerlitz, New York.  And on the way home, through Sleepy Hollow.  I still remember looking at the map—yes, a paper map!—and seeing the name “Sleepy Hollow.”  I hadn’t realized that it was a real place.  At this point in time, Sleepy Hollow, as an official place name, had only existed for eleven years.  It was October and it wasn’t crowded.  Reading Ocker I realize that if we ever try to return in October it will be a very different experience.  Since our one visit, it has become a major Halloween town.  With parking problems.  Last year I looked at hotels and realized that if you want to get within about fifty miles of Sleepy Hollow in October, you have to pretty much book your stay a year in advance.

Ocker is more personable than me.  He interviews people.  He asks them about living in Sleepy Hollow.  He also shows us where historical markers and statues stand (I’m a fan of those too), and which archives have what artifacts.  I always read in awe.  In fact, last year when I traveled to Boston for work, I visited as many places from Poe-Land as I could, given the constraints.  Now I have a similar list for Sleepy Hollow.  If you can’t make it there personally, do yourself a favor and read Chasing the Headless Horseman.  I’m glad I did.