Other editions of book The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow is a strange little place...some say bewitched. Some talk of its haunted valleys and streams, the ghostly woman in white, eerie midnight shrieks and howls, but most of all they talk of the Headless Horseman. A huge, shadowy soldier who rides headless through the night, terrifying unlucky travelers. Schoolteacher Ichabod Crane is fascinated by these stories...Until late one night, walking home through Wiley's Swamp, he finds that maybe they're not just stories. A dark, menacing figure rides behind him on a horse, carrying something in its hands. Schoolteacher Crane is never seen in Sleepy Hollow again.

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a gothic story by American author Washington Irving. Written while Irving was living abroad in Birmingham, England, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was first published in 1820. "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 was decapitated by a cannonball in battle.

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 chief part of the stories, however, turned upon the favorite specter of Sleepy Hollow, the Headless Horseman, who had been heard several times of late, patrolling the country; and, it was said, tethered his horse nightly among the graves in the churchyard. The story was immediately matched by a thrice marvelous adventure of Brom Bones, who made light of the Galloping Hessian as an arrant jockey. He affirmed that on returning one night from the neighboring village of Sing Sing, he had been overtaken by this midnight trooper; that he had offered to race with him for a bowl of punch, and should have won it too, for Daredevil beat the goblin horse all hollow, but just as they came to the church bridge, the Hessian bolted, and vanished in a flash of fire. All these tales, told in that drowsy undertone with which men talk in the dark, the countenances of the listeners only now and then receiving a casual gleam from the glare of a pipe, sank deep in the mind of Ichabod. . . .

Set in the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town, New York, in a secluded glen called Sleepy Hollow. It tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a lanky schoolmaster from Connecticut, who competes with Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, the town rowdy, for the hand of 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel, only daughter of a wealthy farmer. As Crane leaves a party at the Van Tassel home on an autumn night, he is pursued by the Headless Horseman, supposedly the ghost of a Hessian trooper who lost his head to a cannonball during "some nameless battles" of the American Revolutionary War, and who "rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head." Crane disappears from town, leaving Katrina to marry Brom Bones, who was "to Look exceedingly knowing whenever the story of Ichabod was related. Lovingly recreated as an mp3 audio this CD contains the timeless story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Now you can enjoy it again and again - MP3 compatible player (or a computer) required to play this CD Version: Unabridged Language: English Reader: Solo Male Format: MP3 Audio CD Tracks / Chapters: 24 Chapters Total running time: 01:23:23

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a famous story by Washington Irving, whose frightening imagery retains popularity to this day. First published in 1820 and set in a small Dutch settlement in the late 18th century, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a ghost story. We witness a gradual buildup of tension as the narrator details a series of explanations for the odd occurrences and supernatural spectres which haunt the locality. The most frightening and enduring image of the book is the headless horseman - said to be a ghost of a soldier who was decapitated during battle by a stray cannonball. Still searching for his head, the rider's quest ensues every night, frightening those who happen to behold him. Our protagonist is Ichabod Crane, a schoolmaster with a penchant for superstitions. He and another suitor, Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, vie for the hand of marriage of Katrina Van Tassel, the young daughter of a local farmer. Failing in his attempt to woo the lady, a saddened Ichabod makes his way home, whereupon the true revelations begin... Today, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has many adaptations to its name, having itself become a hallmark of popular horror culture. This edition presents the complete and original text, as authored by Washington Irving in the early 19th century.

Sleepy Hollow is known for being home to ghosts and spirits, the most famous of which is the terrifying Headless Horseman, a spectre searching for the head he lost to a stray cannonball during the American Revolutionary War. Ichabod Crane, a superstitious schoolmaster, is more concerned with earning the hand of Katrina Van Tassel than worrying about ghosts, but the night that he expects to earn Katrina’s affections holds something quite different in store for him. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is one of the first examples of American fiction writing and has since become a celebrated folk tale. It has been adapted many times for stage, theatre, television and film, including the 1999 Tim Burton film starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, and the hit television show, Sleepy Hollow, starring Tom Mison, Nicole Beharie, and Orlando Jones.