New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Halloween

Knox’s Headquarters Halloween Event

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knox headquartersKnox’s Headquarters in Vails Gate, Orange County, NY, will host a 45-minute scary theatrical presentation between 7 and 10 pm on October 26, and will offer self guided ground tours.

The 1754 Ellison home will serve as a stage for this macabre presentation about ghosts and strange happenings. This program lasts approximately 45 minutes and is recommended for visitors 12 years and older. Reservations are required and visitors are asked to arrive in the parking lot at least 10 minutes prior to their scheduled start time. Admission is free.  [Read more…] about Knox’s Headquarters Halloween Event

In Haverstraw, The House That Inspired Hitchcock

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HaverstrawThe building in my sketch at left, located in Haverstraw NY and the subject of Edward Hopper’s 1925 painting, House by the Railroad, maintains its vigil on Route 9W. Hopper’s haunting depiction of the three-story house came to the attention of the cast and crew of Alfred Hitchcock’s movie classic, Psycho. The painting inspired not only the design of the Bates Mansion in the 1960 production, but the mood of the film as well.

House by the Railroad captures the fading elegance of this victorian-style home, located just south of St. Peter’s Cemetery. His composition shows a solitary structure, cut off from the world by a set of railroad tracks. Today, the building is still visually incarcerated by a heavily trafficked road, power lines, a chain linked fence and the railroad that gave the original painting its name and theme. [Read more…] about In Haverstraw, The House That Inspired Hitchcock

Washington Irving’s Spooky Tale of Mamakating Hollow

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IrvingIt was once without question the best known ghost story set in Sullivan County, written by one of America’s most respected writers, and yet it is largely unknown today.

It combines detailed descriptions of the rich and bountiful beauty of this area in the 19th century with cleverly conceived ghouls as hideous as any in American literature.

It is Washington Irving’s 1838 short story “Hans Swartz: A Marvelous Tale of Mamakating Hollow” and it is still appropriate reading this Halloween season, more than 170 years after it was penned. [Read more…] about Washington Irving’s Spooky Tale of Mamakating Hollow

Remembering Ancestors: Evolution of American Cemeteries

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DSCF0002We remember loved ones. We remember those about whom we care and who are now departed. We remember our ancestors for one, two, and maybe three generations if we are lucky enough to have known them. Beyond that memory becomes difficult, figures become blurred, and people are forgotten.

We do not simply dispose of the body when death occurs, we perform a ritual. Whether or not the ritual aids the one who has died is beyond the scope of this post; the ritual certainly is intended to aid the living to continue their journey in this life. [Read more…] about Remembering Ancestors: Evolution of American Cemeteries

New York’s Anti-Mask Law Has Roots In The Anti-Rent War

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murray249Halloween has swung the spotlight of history back on New York’s anti-mask law.

It was one of the first tools used by New York City police to break up the Occupy Wall Street in 2011. Within days of donning Guy Fawkes masks, demonstrators were charged by police for violating the anti-mask law, section 240.35(4) of the New York Penal Law. Its origins go back to a statute passed in 1845 to suppress armed uprisings by tenant farmers in the Hudson Valley who were using disguises to attack law enforcement officers. [Read more…] about New York’s Anti-Mask Law Has Roots In The Anti-Rent War