Summary Of The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving is a tale that has many different interpretations. One interpretation, in particular, is that of the supernatural and the headless horseman. The history of the town is peculiar, there is also a history of ghosts and mischief going on in the woods. This story mainly focuses on Ichabod Crane and what really happens to him at the end of the story when he is gone suddenly one night. Through the history and setting, chaos is ensured through people leaving suddenly, which gives Sleepy Hollow a haunted essence. Irving uses the character, Ichabod Crane, to show how the supernatural and history of the town are involved with Ichabod leaving town. The history of Sleepy Hollow is an interesting one. This can be seen through the description of Sleepy Hollow at the beginning of the story. Irving writes, “the whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions; stars shoot and meteors glare oftener across the valley than in any other part of the country, and the night-mare, with her whole nine fold, seems to make it the favorite scene of her gambols” (Irving 292). In this section of the story, Irving is talking about the history of the town. He points out how there are

There is something coming at them and they know that there is trouble. The fact that the horse “made a lateral movement, and ran broadside against the fence” shows just how much the horse didn’t want to go into the woods. Ichabod is the same was as his “his heart began to thump” and he almost considered not going across the bridge just because of the thought of it being late at night and the legend of the Galloping Hessian scares him. Ichabod has a different experience when it comes to the Galloping Hessian but he still had to try and find a way to get to Sleepy Hollow and past the