Book Review: THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW

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This classic piece of literature, that I am sure everyone has read, is absolutely one of my favorite books. Washington Irving's classic tale of the headless horseman was originally published in 1820. The tale of the headless horseman was rooted in German, English, Scandinavian, and Irish folklore. The setting of the piece was Sleepy Hollow, New York during the revolutionary period. The horseman, a Hessian, was beheaded, by a stray canon ball, during the Revolutionary War. The Hessian, now a ghost, in the foreboding area of Sleepy Hollow, which is nestled within the bewitched town of Tarrytown, rides to and fro seeking his head. When he doesn't find his, he takes the head of those traveling at night through the forest. Although, the headless horseman is the character most associated with THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW, the story is really that of Ichabod Crane, a fearful and superstitious school master, who is the subject of ridicule and teasing from the town heart throb and bully, Brom Bones. I could write an essay on the brilliance of Irving and contributions to literature in reference to this book. However, for the purposes of this post, I will just state it is an intriguing and entertaining read. It is one of those books I could read over and over again. The book has resulted in several movies (in 1922 with Will Rogers, 1980 with Jeff Goldblume, 1985 with Ed Beagley Jr., 1999 with Johnny Depp, and 2004 with Kevin Zegers) just to name a few. There have also been children's versions of the movie released. My friends and family know that I am obsessed with this story. My best friend surprised me one year by having the horseman and his horse on our family halloween trail. She bought an animated horseman and made the horse, herself, with paper mache'. One year, I hope to have our trail dedicated to this legend and have a live horseman wandering our woods.