History Literature / TheLegendOfSleepyHollow

* OffWithHisHead: The Headless Horseman is given some backstory; he's believed to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper that had his head shot off by a stray cannonball during "some nameless battle" of the American Revolutionary War, and who "rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head".

* AmbiguousEnding: Was Ichabod killed by the Horseman or did he just flee from Sleepy Hollow and move somewhere else? Was the Horseman actually supernatural or was it just Brom trying to scare Ichabod off? It's up to the reader to decide, and what answer they decide on completely changes the story.

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (also known informally and somewhat incorrectly as "The Headless Horseman") is a short story by American author Washington Irving, first published in February 1820 as part of a series of stories later collected as ''The Sketch-book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.'' As with a number of Irving's stories, the plot is based on German legend (particularly in the re-told versions of Karl Musäus), transplanted to a New York state setting, and mingled with Irving's genial satire of human, and particularly American, foibles.

** It's pretty strongly implied that Ichabod is teaching an all-boys school, since there's never any reference to female pupils and students collectively are referred to as simply "boys" a couple times. Presumably, Sleepy Hollow is provincial enough that they don't think girls need an education at all. Adaptations tend to ignore this and portray Ichabod teaching a coed class.

* The best known silent version appeared in 1922: ''The Headless Horseman'', directed by Edward Venturini, and starring Will Rogers as Ichabod Crane, filmed on location in New York's Hudson River Valley.

* A made-for-TV movie version, ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'', was filmed in Utah in 1980. In this version, which stars Creator/JeffGoldblum as Ichabod Crane and Dick Butkus as Brom Bones, Ichabod has become a [[AgentScully disbelieving rationalist]].

* In 1999 another made-for-TV film, also entitled ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'' (AKA ''La légende de Sleepy Hollow''), starring Brent Carver appeared; this was a Canadian effort filmed in Montreal.

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* An original sequel set in the then present day titled ''The Headless Horseman Rides Again'' was the featured story of Issue Six of ''Creator/MarvelComics'' series ''Supernatural Thrillers.'' The Horseman's appearance was that of a skeleton wearing a green cape and brown gloves and boots, rather than a pumpkin for a projectile he carried a flaming skull and rather than a black horse, his steed was grey.

* In Issue Six of the ''Creator/MarvelComics'' series ''Supernatural Thrillers'', an original sequel set in the then present day titled ''The Headless Horseman Rides Again'' was featured.

* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: The story purports to have originated at some four removes from Irving himself, as 1) [[SameFaceDifferentName Geoffrey Crayon]]'s recounting of 2) the notes of American Dutch "historian" [[SameFaceDifferentName Diedrich Knickerbocker]] containing an account by 3) a poor and [[UnreliableNarrator whimsical storyteller]] of 4) the legendary lore of the old Dutch wives of the New York colony.

** Many adaptations portray the Horsemen using a jack o lantern for a head even though that is a bit of a misconception. The Horsemen of the original tale is out looking for his own head or a replacement. The one that chases Ichabod is carrying a pumpkin but it is on the horse's saddle and he tosses it forward as a projectile. With the two major theories being A. It's Brom Bones tossing a pumpkin to make Ichabod think it's a severed head or B. The horseman needs some kind of weapon to get his prey off a horse, a pumpkin will do. Either way, if the Horseman could just use a jack o lantern for a head, he'd probably have gone home already.[[note]]Though the Disney cartoon gives this a HandWave in its VillainSong, stating the horseman is "tired of his flaming top - he's got a yen to make a swap!"[[/note]] Likewise if the Horseman was real, he damn sure wouldn't have thrown a perfectly good head at an annoying schoolmaster either.

* PumpkinPerson: The HeadlessHorseman is sometimes depicted with a jack-o-lantern in place of his head.

* In 1992 ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' aired an episode entitled "The Tale of the Midnight Ride", in which a boy and girl save the [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghost]] of Ichabod Crane from the Horseman. However, this caused the Horseman to chase them instead.

* In 1949 the story was paired with a pared-down version of Kenneth Grahame's ''Literature/TheWindInTheWillows'' for Creator/{{Disney}}'s "package film" ''Disney/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad''; the ''Sleepy Hollow'' story is narrated (with interspersed songs) by Music/BingCrosby. It's actually surprisingly faithful to the original story (far more so than the very loose ''Wind in the Willows'' adaptation) -- Brom Bones gets his PetTheDog moments, Ichabod's fate is left still ambiguous, and the implication that the Horseman is fake is retained. The animation of the chase scene is particularly impressive, and influenced several later Disney films, notably ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast''.

* In 1992 ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' aired an episode entitled "The Tale of the Midnight Ride," in which a boy and girl save the [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghost]] of Ichabod Crane from the Horseman. However, this caused the Horseman to chase them instead.

* ''The Hollow'' (2004) was a TV movie, starring Creator/KaleyCuoco as a teenage descendant of Ichabod Crane, that premiered on the ABC Family channel.

The story has been subject to a great many adaptations since Irving's time, with the "quilting frolick" of the original frequently getting transferred to [[UsefulNotes/AllHallowsEve Halloween]]. In more than one adaptation it is strongly hinted that the Horseman is a genuine supernatural apparition.

* In a 1976 episode of ''The ScoobyDoo / [[WesternAnimation/DynomuttDogWonder Dynomutt]] Hour'' called "The Headless Horseman of Halloween," Beth Crane, a descendant of the original Ichabod, is haunted by the Headless Horseman, who wants to gain the Crane Diamond.

The story has been subject to a great many adaptations since Irving's time, with the "quilting frolick" of the original frequently getting transferred to [[AllHallowsEve Halloween]]. In more than one adaptation it is strongly hinted that the Horseman is a genuine supernatural apparition.

* There's a HiddenObject game based on the story, released under the Mystery Legends name.

* In 2004 ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' aired an episode entitled "The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell", in which a HeadlessHorseman is beheading the teachers at the Magic School.

* ''WesternAnimation/FilmationsGhostbusters'' included an episode where the Headless Horseman appeared. However, he wasn't really malicious and his heart only went into scaring people in the name of fun. He also wasn't headless.
** Not unlike a similar WesternAnimation/{{Casper}} comic, where the Horseman finally does meet up with his long-lost noggin, who's been going around as the "Horseless Headman".

* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Besides the Horseman himself, references are made to ghostly funeral processions, a wailing woman in white, and the ghost of British spy [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Major John André]].

* A made-for-TV movie version, ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'' was made in 1980, starring Jeff Goldblum as Ichabod Crane and Dick Butkus as Brom Bones. In this version Ichabod has become a [[AgentScully disbelieving rationalist]].

The story has been subject to a great many adaptations since Irving's time, with the "quilting frolick" of the original frequently transferred to [[AllHallowsEve Halloween]]. In more than one adaptation it is strongly hinted that the Horseman is a genuine supernatural apparition.

The story is PublicDomain and can be read [[http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LegSle.shtml here.]]

The story has been subject to a great deal of adaptations since Irving's time. The "quilting frolick" of the original is often transferred to Halloween. In more than one adaptation it is strongly hinted that the Horseman is a genuine supernatural apparition.

* In 1949 the story was paired with a pared-down version of Kenneth Grahame's ''Literature/TheWindInTheWillows'' in Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''Disney/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad''; the story is narrated (with interspersed songs) by Music/BingCrosby. It's actually surprisingly faithful to the original story (far more so than the very loose ''Wind in the Willows'' adaptation) -- Brom Bones gets his PetTheDog moments, Ichabod's fate is left still ambiguous, and the implication that the Horseman is fake is retained. The animation of the chase scene is particularly impressive, and influenced several later Disney films, notably ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast''.