We all know about The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, right? Even if you've never actually read it. To be honest, I've owned this book for years and this was my first time reading it. I know the legend. I saw parts of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, the Tim Burton film, an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? and The Hollow (which I watched because Joseph Mazzello, my first ever celebrity crush when I was 8 years old, was in it). But I never read the story. I'd come across some reviews that said The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is boring, so I kept putting off reading it. But, if everything goes the way it's supposed to, I'm going to visit Sleepy Hollow at the end of the month, so I wanted to finally read the story before going there.
This will show you how little I know. I didn't realize The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a short story. I thought it was a full length novel. It's only 34 pages long (in the Barnes & Noble version I own).
I wanted to read this on a chilly, rainy day, but we don't really get those in September anymore and I can't keep putting it off if I'm going to read it before I go to Sleepy Hollow.
The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow was said to be a solider during the Revolutionary War, whose head was taken off by a cannonball. He roams the woods each night and has to make it back to the churchyard where he's buried by daybreak.
Ichabod Crane left Connecticut to teach the children of Sleepy Hollow. He would move week to week, alternating between the homes of the children he taught. While staying with their families, he would assist them with various tasks, such as helping on the farm and with the children. Eventually, he took an interest in Katrina Van Tassel, the only child of a rich farmer. However, it seems his real interest was in everything Katrina stood to inherit one day. Unfortunately for Ichabod, several other men were also interested in Katrina, including Brom Van Brunt, who was arrogant and good at everything he did. (You know...I already mention it, but I saw parts of Disney's version of this story and I'm going to say that their inspiration for Gaston was probably Brom.) Once Brom learned of Ichabod's interest in Katrina, he began to torment him.
Ichabod received an invitation to the Van Tassels' home one night and borrowed a horse in an attempt to make himself more appealing. When he arrived at the farm, he saw many other people gathered there, including Brom, who rode over on his horse, Daredevil. (Of course he would name his horse Daredevil. Of course.)
These people knew how to throw a party, because their idea of a good time was to stand around telling ghost stories, including the tale of the Headless Horseman. He once chased a man through the woods, until they came to a bridge the Headless Horseman couldn't cross. He turned into a skeleton and ran off. Brom also told of his own encounter with the apparition, saying he experienced the same thing when they reached the bridge.
Some time later, the party broke up and we can only assume Ichabod's advances were rejected by Katrina and honestly...I don't blame her. Ichabod is self-serving and unlikable. Are we supposed to like him? Because I don't.
On his way home, Ichabod recalled the ghost stories he heard earlier that night and his imagination began to get the better of him. Eventually, he spotted another horse and soon realized the person riding it had no head. Actually, that's not true. They were holding their own head, as it was no longer attached to their body. The other person gave chase and Ichabod panicked, until he caught sight of the bridge. If he could cross it, he would be safe, right? Wrong. Once he was on the other side, he stopped to look back as the Headless Horseman threw his severed head at Ichabod, knocking him off his horse.
The next day, the horse was found, but no one could locate Ichabod. They began to search for him and actually found his hat near the bridge, along with a smashed pumpkin, but his body was missing. Brom married Katrina and any time someone told the story of Ichabod Crane, he would have a good laugh when they got to the bit about the pumpkin. Did Brom play a trick on Ichabod that night, to scare him off? Or did he actually encounter the Headless Horseman?
Honest opinion? The Legend of Sleepy Hollow isn't as boring as some of the reviews said it was. I do think though, that just knowing what the legend is about is more entertaining than reading the story. It's a bit longer than it needed to be. I can't really sympathize with Ichabod because I don't like him. If you're interested in the story, I actually just went back and watched The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad and Disney's adaptation is pretty true to the story, so I would suggest giving that a watch.
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