Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a popular story many are familiar with, even if they themselves haven’t read it. It is a classic American ghost story that has spawned many versions and retellings throughout time. The story is centered around the character Ichabod Crane, a school teacher in Tarry Town, who enjoys reading, learning about witchcraft, and revelling in ghost stories. He is aiming to win the affections of Katrina Van Tassel, but is found competing with Brom Van Brunt who is also courting her. Katrina ends up choosing Brom over Ichabod, and on his way home from her mansion, Ichabod runs into the Headless Horseman, a local ghost story of Sleepy Hollow, the area near Tarry Town (Irving). The night Ichabod meets the

The truth is never stated explicitly, but it is heavily implied that the Headless Horseman exists. Early on in the story, the narrator explains that even people that do not live in Sleepy Hollow experience the
“witching influence” in the air around them when they are visiting (Irving 2). This introduces the idea that there is actually some spiritual or paranormal influence surrounding the town. If outsiders feel it as well, it is more believable that the Headless Horseman is a real entity that haunts the area, not just a ghost story.
However, the stronger evidence exists in the personal experiences of the townspeople. Brouwer, a residents of the town, who is known as “a most heretical disbeliever in ghosts” believes that the Headless Horseman exists and even recalls a time he encountered the

Ichabod’s rival Brom also has a tale of the time he met the Headless Horseman, and Brom goes so far as to “make light” of the Horseman’s jockey skills (Irving 8). Greg Smith points out in his literary criticism of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, that Brom’s story “does not deny the spector’s existence” and actually confirms it: “Brom scoffs at the Headless Horseman’s riding ability, not at his tangibility” (Smith 176-77). Although Irving hints that Brom knows more about the night Ichabod goes missing, whether by Brom looking “exceedingly knowing” or laughing at the mention of Ichabod’s encounter with the spirit, the possibility of Brom dressing up as the Headless Horseman that night to scare Ichabod does not cancel out the possibility of the Horseman existing at all (Irving