The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
     The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of the most well known Halloween stories. Written by Washington Irving in 1820, and taken from a German folktale, the story was not initially intended for Halloween. The tale was first published by Irving in his work, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., a collection of stories and essays mixing "...satire and whimsicality with fact and fiction" (Encylopedia Britannica 394). Over time this story with the ghost of a headless horseman and the presence of a pumpkin in the end, became an irresistible Halloween treasure that has been adapted and celebrated by millions.

  • The Story

    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the story of Ichabod Crane, a school teacher who lives in Sleepy Hollow and is in love with a farmer's daughter named Katrina Van Tassel. The brawny Brom Van Brunt (Brom Bones) is also in love with Katrina, and picks on poor Ichabod in an attempt to win her love. Brom tells Ichabod the story of a headless horseman who is said to haunt the region. On his way home late one night, Ichabod encounters this horseman and flees Sleepy Hollow, leaving Brom Bones to marry Katrina (Carpenter 308).


  • The "Real" Sleepy Hollow

    In 1996, residents of what was once North Tarrytown, N.Y. voted in favor of renaming the town Sleepy Hollow after author and former resident, Washington Irving. The old Dutch church that is mentioned in the story still sits in the town and visitors are encouraged (Marks 54).



  • Adaptations

    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has been adapted many times. Below are links to information on a movie version of the tale; one for adults, and one for children.


Origins of Halloween
by: Damira Pon
Practices of Halloween
by: Ellen Caffry
Commercialism of Halloween
by: Charlotte Anthony
El Dia de Los Muertos
by: Donald Keenan


Sources:
The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th ed.
Carpenter, Humphrey, Mari Prichard. The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 1999.
Marks, John. "Hello, Headless Horseman: North Tarrytown to be Renamed Sleepy Hollow." U.S. News and World Report 23 Dec. 1996: 54.

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