Dervin Gilbert (Ichabod Crane) right, and Brandon Wagster (Brom Bones) rehearse the duel they fight over Katrina Van Tassel played by Katie Foshee at the end of Act I in “Sleepy Hollow.” People enjoying the River Walk in West Columbia these days are noticing strange goings–on as they pass the amphitheater at the top of the path. Depending on the time of day, they can see a charming village from yesteryear going up, hear what appears to be a church choir or even, near the end of the day, see a headless horseman chasing a hapless school teacher.

Christopher Cook is the author of the adaptation of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The tale takes place in a 17th century Dutch village and tells of a school teacher who comes to town and is often regaled with the story of the Headless Horseman, a soldier who was decapitated in battle and now rides the countryside seeking vengeance on his killer but will “lop off the head of anyone he suspects is the culprit.”

Dervin Gilbert is portraying the character of Ichabod Crane, the school teacher who comes to the sleepy village of Tarry Town in Sleepy Hollow and imparts his unheard of ideas of a rotating earth and a thing called gravity that “holds mankind firmly to the globe’s crust like a gigantic magnet.”

Taking place on an unconventional site and having the audience walk “through the haunted woods from their cars sets the mood for ‘a visual feast of spectacle and grandeur.’”

The production is running under the umbrella of the High Voltage Theater Company which is also producing “Frankenstein” that will run Halloween weekend at the Cayce end of the river at Granby Locks.

“Sleepy Hollow” opens Thursday, October 15 and will run every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through October 31 and one Sunday, October 25, with an 8 pm curtain. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or reservations can be made at 960-3200.

Tickets to the October 29 through November 1 performances of “Frankenstein” can also be purchased at the door or by calling 429-8839 for reservations. “Frankenstein’ tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children with an 8 pm curtain.