This fall the Nancy Drew Sleuths gathered for another fun-filled convention in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Nestled in the Hudson River Valley, Sleepy Hollow (formerly Tarrytown) traces its fame back to the 1820 short story by Washington Irving, about a headless horseman thundering down a winding road at night, scaring the hapless Ichabod Crane senseless.
Each convention is a chance to "walk in Nancy Drew's footsteps" and the event is themed after a particular Nancy Drew Mystery. This year it was number 15 in the series, The Haunted Bridge. Nancy fans were treated to a visit to Mohonk Mountain House (owing to its similarities to Deer Mountain Hotel in the book) and a nighttime tour of the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (Nancy is known to haunt cemeteries, especially at night) to pay our respects to Washington Irving, who is buried there.
The original wooden bridge that spanned the Pocantico River where Ichabod Crane was violently unseated from his horse no longer exists. It has long since rotted away, and there is a plaque commemorating the spot.
But this same river wends its way northeast, beside the cemetery, and there in the woods sits the Old Style Horseman Bridge, which fills the role of "haunted" very nicely indeed.
I was invited to speak at the convention about my books, and how Nancy Drew has influenced my writing. I explained that reading Nancy Drew as a girl in the sixties was the first time I realized that girls could do the same thing boys could do (and maybe do it better!)
Every year the Nancy Drew Con attracts new fans, and Nancy was celebrated everywhere--by booksellers, illustrators, art collectors, computer gamers, merchandisers, authors and readers.
Next year's convention is set for October 2025, in Lancaster, PA. Theme book: The Witch Tree Symbol.
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