The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow

October 27, 2011
Emma Chiu

Legend of the Sleepy Hollow

Once upon a time, there was a small market town off the eastern shore of the Hudson River, which was known as the Tarry Town. Not far from this village, there was a small valley that was unusually quiet. Because of its queer silence, the people that live in Tarry Town called this valley the Sleepy Hollow.

The Sleepy Hollow was said to be bewitched and the community often had tales about the spells and the phantoms that surrounded the enchanted valley. The spirit that was known to haunt the Sleepy Hollow was the appearance of a figure on horseback without a head. This ghost was said to be a soldier that lost his head in an anonymous war. His body was buried in a churchyard, and people often claimed that they hear unusual noises and see strange things at night.

In this mythical region, there was an affable man by the name of Ichabod Crane. He was a humble fellow who worked as a schoolteacher and a singing master. Among his singing students, there was a young woman known throughout the Sleepy Hollow for her exquisite beauty; the daughter of a Dutch farmer, Katrina van Tassel.

As soon as he fell profoundly in love with the girl, his goal was to figure out how to win Katrina’s heart. It was not an east task at all, for Katrina had a numerous amount of admirers. Amongst these men was an irascible man of the name of Brom Van Brunt; who was commonly known as Brom Bones in the neighborhood because of his buff figure. He was admired for his strength and his great skills in horsemanship; and the many folks look up to him in awe. Ichabod thinks of him as an abhorrent man, yet he considers him as the biggest threat out of all the rivals he is about to face.

Brom Bones seemed to catch Katrina’s attention immediately because his horse was seen often inside the Van Tassels’ stable while other suitors whom witnessed it reported the news to their friends in despair; they were impelled to give up by Brom’s confidence and did not dare to challenge him. Although Katrina showed interest in Brom Bones, Ichabod wasn’t despondent and refused to give up on her. He still dreams of being with her and living together. Brom became jealous when he found out that Ichabod was still seeing Katrina; thus, not intimidated by him. He tried to embarrass this schoolteacher with making practical jokes by turning everything in Ichabod’s house upside-down and stopping up his chimney. These jokes seemed to be interminable; as Brom always tries to find a way to ridicule Ichabod in Katrina’s presence.

One day, an invitation was sent to Ichabod’s house for a party in the Van Tassel’s home. He was jumping with excitement and assured himself that he would make Katrina fall in love with him in the party. He wore the best clothes he possessed, and combed his hair until he thought that it was flawless. As he walked confidently into the Van Tassel’s household, he was stunned when he saw his rival, Brom Bones. As the first song started to play, Ichabod hurriedly asked Katrina to join to a dance. Dancing was part of Ichabod as well as singing, so the couple was dancing merrily inside the room while Brom Bones regarded them with jealousy.

After the dance ended, Ichabod joined the conversation with sage elders, including Old Van Tassel himself. They sat talking about the old times and mentioned the incidents happening recently. Few people mentioned that there was a woman in white who haunted the Raven Rock was heard screaming before a storm, her voice reverberated throughout the whole village and the people were terrified. But the main part of the stories, focused upon the Headless Horseman in the Sleepy Hollow, who had been heard several times in a bridge near the churchyard where he has been buried.

It was midnight when Ichabod left the party and decided to go home. He began to feel nervous when he heard the sound of the wind blowing against the branches and mistaking it for whistling; in addition he saw a white branch and mistook it for a ghost. He sighed and when he reached the place where the Headless Horseman always haunted, he saw a man riding on a horse.

Ichabod was so tremulous he shakily told his horse to gallop faster. When he looked back, he was terrified; he knew that no matter how much he entreated the ruthless spirit, he would not be satisfied until he gets what he wants. The Headless Horseman aimed his head at him, and as Ichabod tried to dodge, he fell off his horse. The next morning, a group of people found Ichabod’s horse and a shattered pumpkin not far from it.

Ichabod never came back to the Tarry Town or the Sleepy Hollow. When the people told the story, Brom Bones always wore a smile on his face. The folk questioned whether it was just Brom Bones throwing a pumpkin at Ichabod or is there really the Headless Horseman who caused Ichabod’s death. Nobody knows for sure and it will remain as one of the mysteries of the Sleepy Hollow.