14 year old Rachel Lambert thinks she has photographed the ghost of writer Washington Irving (“The legend of Sleepy Hollow”, “Rip Van Winkle”) while taking a walking tour of Irving’s cottage.

Rachel is an aspiring writer and has since taken the “apparition” as a sign sent to her from Washington Irving himself to inspire the young girl.

Listen, I’m all for encouraging kids to excel in education. Arts, sciences, literature, sports…..what have you; But you don’t have to lie to a child to encourage them. Especially about telling them that some ethereal manifestation is telling her to become an author. Children will figure things out as they experience life, just let them live their own.

Maybe I’m being to hard on the parents and adults here, but when you read statements like the following, what do you expect?

Rachel’s father Ed believes that his daughter’s sighting of the spirit may not have been a sheer streak of luck. Just before the family stopped outside the cottage, they were having a conversation with the guide about Rachel’s achievements as an English honors student and her dream of becoming a writer. They additionally spoke about her interest in Sleepy Hollow and how she had planned out sights to see and goals for the trip, which included stopping at Washington Irving’s grave in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery beforehand. The family thinks that Irving’s spirit may have overheard this conversation and acted. Perhaps Irving’s thoughts were, “I’m gonna let her see this and do this for an aspiring author,” as Rachel’s father put it.

Is it me, or isn’t it apparent that what little Rachel has photographed is sunlight reflecting off the window screen?

Here’s some advice to Rachel:

Listen, strive to become a writer. Write until your heart is content. For all you know your last years in high school you might want to pursue a different path. Just do what you feel like doing, and do it well.

Full source: Tarry Town Patch.com

On June 26, 14-year-old Rachel Lambert saw something a bit unusual in a photograph she took earlier during her trip to Washington Irving’s Sunnyside.

After seeing Tim Burton’s film, “Sleepy Hollow,” Rachel pursued her interest in the paranormal and convinced her family to take a trip from Rotterdam, N.Y. to see what the town of the horseman is really like.

They ended up wandering the estate of Tarrytown’s Sunnyside and as they did, Rachel saw something strange in a window of Irving’s cottage. She snapped a picture and moved on, as not to miss any of their tour guide’s fascinating historical speech. When Rachel got home the next night and viewed the picture on the 27-inch screen of her computer, she found that the creator of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow had not let her down.

She and her family were able to make out a figure that looks like the head and upper body of a ghost holding a quill pen. Rachel determined that before her eyes was a picture of the ghost of Washington Irving.

Rachel’s father Ed believes that his daughter’s sighting of the spirit may not have been a sheer streak of luck. Just before the family stopped outside the cottage, they were having a conversation with the guide about Rachel’s achievements as an English honors student and her dream of becoming a writer. They additionally spoke about her interest in Sleepy Hollow and how she had planned out sights to see and goals for the trip, which included stopping at Washington Irving’s grave in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery beforehand. The family thinks that Irving’s spirit may have overheard this conversation and acted. Perhaps Irving’s thoughts were, “I’m gonna let her see this and do this for an aspiring author,” as Rachel’s father put it.

When Historic Hudson Valley, the organization entrusted to maintain the estate, was contacted, spokesperson Rob Schweitzer said he was “unaware” of any ghosts at the estate.

But some ghost enthusiasts maintain the Sunnyside is known for holding the spirit of Washington Irving.

“The legend says he still haunts the house,” said Donna Davies, of Haunted Hudson Valley. “He passed away in the house. If he was going to haunt any place he would haunt Sunnyside.”

Read more: Tarry Town Patch.com