How did the creepy mood and crazy legends affect everyone in Sleepy Hollow? In the story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving, it is made clear through the author's choice of words to describe the setting, that the mood of the story is dreadful, eerie and just overall dark. Not only did the creepy setting of the town mold the characters but the lore of the headless horseman also made the characters into these extremely superstitious and isolated people. Both of these points can be proven by quotes from the story.
Firstly, the author creates this haunting, almost lifeless atmosphere for the reader by introducing the town Sleepy Hollow and stating “A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere.” The quote shows
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Another example, in the story the town is so dark and unspoken that it was even said that many thought the town might have been cursed into this darkness.
This gives the reader a bad feeling about Sleepy Hollow and is left wondering what may happen in this dark and mysterious town.
Moreover, the story explains to the reader just how the people who live in Sleepy Hollow are affected by its life of folklore and how these characters just can’t seem to escape it. On page two of the story the author goes deeper into the tales of Sleepy Hollow stating how the town seems to be “under the sway of some witching power…” as well as the town folks being subjects to trances, visions, strange sights, hearing music, and voices. This very well could’ve been the cause of these citizens to become isolated and faint. They became untrustful and suspicious of everyone around them. They become so wrapped up in the mystery of their home they have to be careful about what they do, always looking out for themselves and making sure something or someone like the headless horseman doesn’t come after them.
On the contrary, I believe that if the tale of the headless horseman hadn’t been a part