A Halloweenish Story

A few weeks ago, the girls both auditioned for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at a local theater... it wasn't a story we knew much about, just that it was a little spooky and perfect for the Fall Season. Well, we were all jumping up and down when the director called and offered them parts in the play! So for the last 6 weeks, we have LIVED down at the theater in rehearsals.... but have truly enjoyed every minute of it. Ellie was cast as a phantom and Kami a schoolgirl. Their parts fit their personalities really well. Last weekend was "opening weekend" and this weekend is "closing weekend," but they will have a total of 8 performances. The crowds last weekend were GREAT! More than scary, it is a funny play, with lots of comic moments from Brom Bones, my personal favorite character. Kami gets to scream "Beehive!!!!" in Home Alone style and do the Virgina Reel on stage. Ellie gets to be very spooky and chant things like "Beware of the galloping hooves/ Beware of the cries in the night. When the Headless Horseman rides/ You'll probably die of fright!!!"

Here, in a super duper abbreviated version, is the story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving :

There once was a town named Sleepy Hollow, a town that seemed to thrive on superstition and ghost stories.They had a town prankster named Brom Bones, a ruffian who every one loved to hate. He was brash and bold... ... and was in love with a local girl named Katrina. He tried to win her over with pure persuasion and crude gifts like an old coin. One day a funny looking man named Ichabod Crane, a lanky yet educated individual, came to town to be the new school master.He was a very strict schoolmaster, his favorite saying being "spare the rod and spoil the child."He, of course, quickly fell for the beautiful (and rich!) Katrina, but this didn't set well with the rough and tumble Brom Bones. Bones quickly came up with a plan to chase Ichabod Crane out of town, like he had done to other schoolmasters before. He and the Sleepy Hollow Boys threw a bee hive into Ichabod's classroom. That prank didn't scare Ichabod away. They tried other pranks that weren't successful either, but when they started scaring him with stories of ghosts from the town graveyard, Ichabod began to become uneasy. One night, after a party at the Van Tassell home......Brom Bones told an elaborate story of the Headless Horseman. (this by the way is a GREAT scene!)Ichabod Crane, who had eaten far too much that evening, began hearing funny sounds as he made his way home through the forest. He thought he encountered the ghost of an old pirate, the spirit of the Woman and White and other cute (mine especially!) phantoms. Ichabod's final encounter was with none other than the Headless Horseman himself!!!! (This chase scene gets EVERYONE roaring!) After that night, Ichabod Crane was never seen again. What do you think may have happened to him?