The Headless Horseman, a Hessian soldier killed in the Revolutionary War, haunts Sleepy Hollow in Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The ghost chases protagonist Ichabod Crane, and the story’s ending is ambiguous. The character has become a literary legend and has been adapted into various forms of popular culture.
Perhaps one of Washington Irving’s best-known characters, the Headless Horseman, terrorized the 18th-century town of Sleepy Hollow in upstate New York. Based on a common folktale, the Headless Horseman fits the mold of many chase stories centered around aggressive apparitions. Supposedly a Hessian soldier around the turn of the 19th century, the Headless Horseman originally appeared in Irving’s short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
While there have been many variations on this specter’s story over the years, including a 1999 film called Sleepy Hollow that adapted Irving’s original short story for the movie screen, the basic concept contains the basic elements of Irving’s original short story. Irving. Originally hired to help end the Revolutionary War in America, the Horseman was killed when a cannonball severed his head. He was later buried in Sleepy Hollow and returned as a ghost, terrorizing the small town and surrounding countryside for centuries.
The protagonist of Irving’s story is Ichabod Crane, a Sleepy Hollow teacher originally from Connecticut who meets the Knight. The Hessian Ghost rides with his severed head resting on his saddle as he pursues Crane. In Irving’s short story, published in 1820, the Headless Horseman chases Crane until he crosses the bridge into town. The Knight does not follow, but instead throws his severed head at Crane.
Later, Crane’s hat is found with a shattered pumpkin next to it, presumably used as a prop to mimic the Horseman’s severed head. At this point in the story, there is much debate as to what happened to Crane. Some villagers claim Crane was killed or taken away by the Horseman, while others believe Crane simply fled in fear. At the end of the story, an implication emerges that the Horseman was actually Brom Bones, the man Crane had been competing with for the hand of Katrina Van Tassel.
The story itself fits the mold of many folk tales about ghostly pursuits, but the Headless Horseman has made his way into popular culture and literary legend in a way few other characters have. Was Irving’s creation, as well as his ambiguity in the story, really a ghost, or was it simply Brom Bones’ ploy to drive Crane away? — It makes him a particularly chilling character as he blurs the line between human aggression and that of ghosts and spirits.
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