In my lifetime, this story has had more impact on me than any other – both growing up, and throughout my studies in grad school. On one hand, I feel “Sleepy Hollow” is a gorgeously atmospheric take which captures the spirit of Halloween—the fun, the creeps, the action—better than any in American literature. Yet on the other set of digits, when (as I got older) I discovered that Irving intended his story as tongue-in-cheek, and his seminal scene of the Headless Horseman (AKA: Brom Bones) chasing hapless Ichabod Crane out of town was his idea of a romantic joke, I was crushed.
How the hell could Irving create such a great character (in the Horseman) only to discard it in the end with a coy wink – as if to say “Silly rabbit, there’s no such thing as ghosts!”
Yeah? Well, I’ve got news for you sir: a) I grew up in a haunted house, and believe me, there are such things as ghosts, because; b) I’ve both seen and heard them. At age 12, one even pinched my toe late one night as it stuck out from under my blankets.
Nevertheless, upon finding “Sleepy Hollow” was based on a gag, I felt as if Irving had snookered me. And truly, he had. Bully for him. In a way, the Fake Horseman ending Irving used to scare off Crane so his rival can marry the richest girl in town is brilliant.
But you know what? I don’t care.
The nine year-old kid in me is gonna cling to my original reading of “Sleepy Hollow” (e.g. the Horseman was “real”) no matter what.
Sure, this position is infantile – ignorant, even.
But I figure if Halloween owes me anything—other than loads of free candy—it can owe me this.
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