The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
| "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" | |
|---|---|
"Ichabod Crane pursued by the Headless Horseman",
by F. O. C. Darley, 1849 |
|
| Author | Washington Irving |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Sketch Book |
| Genre(s) |
short story Speculative fiction |
| Published in | The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. |
| Media type | Hardback & Paperback |
| Publication date | 1820 |
| Published in English | 1820 |
| Preceded by | "The Angler" |
| Followed by | "L'Envoy" |
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story of speculative fiction by American author Washington Irving, contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Written while Irving was living abroad in Birmingham, England, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was first published in 1820. Along with Irving's companion piece "Rip Van Winkle", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is among the earliest examples of American fiction with enduring popularity, especially during Halloween because of a character known as the headless horseman believed to be a Hessian soldier who lost his head to a cannonball in battle.
From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by name of Sleepy Hollow ... A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere.
The story is set in 1790 in the countryside around the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town (historical Tarrytown, New York), in a secluded glen called Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow is renowned for its ghosts and the haunting atmosphere that pervades the imaginations of its inhabitants and visitors. Some residents say this town was bewitched during the early days of the Dutch settlement. Other residents say an old Native American chief, the wizard of his tribe, held his powwows here before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson. The most infamous spectre in the Hollow is the Headless Horseman, said to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper that had his head shot off by a stray cannonball during "some nameless battle" of the American Revolutionary War, and who "rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head".
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