A Stroll Through History During a Night Walk Through a Famous Cemetery with Sheri Queen



Let me start off by saying that anyone who is visiting Sleepy Hollow, New York, should definitely go on the lantern tour of the Old Dutch Cemetery. It was awesome!

You are given a lantern, which is necessary or you might trip over a tomb stone, and then follow the tour guide through the cemetery. It’s dark and eerie with only the lanterns to light the way.

There are a number of stories discussed as you make your way around the Old Dutch Cemetery, visiting various monuments.

One entertaining stop was at the tombstone of Lydia Locke, who was born in 1886 and was an opera singer. I quite marveled at the tale of Lydia and her Seven Unfortunate Husbands!

We made another stop at the Minor family plot where we learned about Joshua Minor and his life in politics and counterfeiting. Why am I not surprised this man-made political connections?

Then onward we traveled to a mausoleum where a skull is displayed inside an empty vault. This is where some episodes of the show Dark Shadows was filmed. To commemorate the location, the curators even placed a framed picture of Baranbas Collins next to the skull.

Leaving that bit of trivia behind, we encountered the gated plot of Washington Irving. The tale of how he came to write The Legend of Sleepy Hollow inspired me to seek out the battle site that became the source for the idea of the headless horseman character in Irving’s story.

I made my way to Chatterton Hill in daylight. Not much is left to give you the feel of what it was like during the Civil War, except a plaque depicting the lines of battle. It’s here that a Hessian soldier had his head blown off by artillery fire and ever since then goes in search of his missing head!

You guessed it, I’m talking about the Headless Horseman!

And, of course, it goes without saying that the horseman haunts the Old Dutch Cemetery!

The Headless Horseman is not the only character making an appearance in my stories. Hulda the witch of Sleepy Hollow is a major character in my series. She is a real person whose is buried on the grounds of the Old Dutch Cemetery, but in an unmarked grave.

Hulda was a woman of great empathy and courage. She was a healer who specialized in herbal medicine. But she was a foreigner shunned by the inhabitants for her way of life and called a witch. Yet, despite how she was treated, Hulda stood alongside the townsfolk to fight the British invaders.

She was killed in the Battle of White Plains and was granted a burial place at the cemetery in recognition of her valor.

Sleepy Hollow comes to life in October as it regales the myths and legends of the area. It’s worth the trip to explore the town and the surrounding countryside. You may just see snippets of its history showing up in my Sleepy Hollow Hunter series!

Below is a picture I took of Washington Irving’s tombstone. 

 



Pirate Lover’s Curse
Sleepy Hollow Hunter 
Book Three
Sheri Queen

Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
Publisher:Wilda Press
Date of Publication: December 22, 2022
ASIN:B0BQX5Y4S5
Number of pages:274 print pages
Word Count: 76,321
Cover Artist: SQ Flemming

Tagline: Half wolf. Half were-cat. One-hundred-percent kick-ass Bounty Hunter.

Book Description: 

Lykoi shifter Janda Gray never expected to be cut off from her fated mate.

But when a centuries-old pirate curse stands in the way, Janda finds herself in a race to unearth a treasure that will break the curse and set Alex free.

As the past and present collide, she realizes the bounty hunter skills she's honed over the years aren't enough to defeat her nemesis—the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.

Janda struggles with the burden of being the last descendent of the witch who cast the curse—and the only one capable of fixing past wrongs and saving those she loves.

Can she embrace her witch heritage and wield her power before it's too late?

Or, will she lose her mate to the Underworld forever and leave the supernatural community to the mercy of the Headless Horseman?

—————
This is a fated-mate shifter story suitable for 18+. The Sleepy Hollow Hunter series is perfect for urban fantasy fans who enjoy immersive stories of adventure and slow-burn romance. It features witches, ghosts, vampires, demons, and several enticing shifters, and a love story that transcends time. A hybrid shifter discovers her found family and hidden magic.



Excerpt:

“Why does anything pertaining to you have to come with extra baggage?” Uncle Damon said. His dominant pack power surged, affecting the others nearby and making them restless.

The air crackled with his energy. I held my ground. His words stung, but he’d never hear me say it. I’d had lots of practice over the years keeping my hurt from showing, but at this moment, I lashed out with a barb of my own.

“I’m just lucky that way. Kind of like you.” I tapped the desk with my fingertips, knowing he hated it and narrowed my eyes at him.

He sure as hell had his own baggage when it came to relationships and pack bonds, especially when it came to anything with my mother.

“If the two of you are done poking at one another, I’d like to move on to the pertinent issue of the cursed map,” Sebastian said. He stood a good foot away from his desk and peered down at the map as if it might explode.

Everyone had a hands-off approach to the map after I’d blurted out that it was cursed.

“It won’t curse you just by touching it,” I said. “At least, not from what Gwenn or I could tell. It has a hidden layer that will attack you if you try to force it out in the open.”

“That’s just great,” Mutther said. “I suppose you found out firsthand?”

“Not me. Gwenn did. I was the innocent bystander.”

“Right. How innocent?” Nick said. He moved to Mutther’s side and viewed the map from farther away. Neither of them was taking any chances.

Not that I blamed them. They had suffered from being too near me in the past. Mutther was still rebuilding his bar.
About the Author:

Sheri Queen writes immersive stories of adventure and romance.

Her urban fantasy and paranormal women's fiction stories feature snarky bad-ass women, strong female friendships, found family, and sexy romance.

Sheri received her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She grew up in the Hudson Valley region of New York—an area she loves to depict in her stories. She enjoys traveling to new places where she is constantly discovering inspirations for her writing. She especially loves visiting old graveyards.









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