The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

by Washington Irving

What is a legend? Stories from that past that are believed

to be historical. Usually about a king, hero, famous person, event, or war. It is associated with a particular time in history.

Examples: Examples: Sleepy Hollow, Robin Hood, King

Arthur, Beowulf, New Jersey Devil

What is a myth? Myths are sacred stories from the past

that usually explain the origin of life, a culture’s morals, or human behavior

Usually about someone/something great and can involve supernatural powers

Examples: Zeus, Greek and Roman Mythology

What is a folktale? Folktales are stories that are pure fiction

and have no particular location in time or space.

Usually folktales are about people or animals who act like people

Examples: Fairy tales, Tall tales, Aesop’s Fables

What’s the difference? A legend is based on a true, historical

event and twisted through the years A myth was never true but created to

explain an historical event or occurrence

A folktale is not true and has no real link to history

Washington Irving (1783-1859) Youngest of 11 children, named after president George

Washington Born in NYC, spent much of his youth and adulthood in Tarry

Town, NY near the Catskill Mountains Wrote under the pseudonym “Diedrich Knickerbocker for a

time and this name became quite famous among New Yorkers

Became a mentor for aspiring authors like Edgar Allan Poe and friends with established authors like Charles Dickens

Popularized the vision that St. Nicholas soared over rooftops In a wagon at Christmas, the nickname “Gotham City” for NYC, and is credited with the name of New York’s basketball team, the Knicks

Irving (continued)

Died of a heart attack at age 76 in his home, Sunnyside

Some famous works: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle, and The History of New York

The Real Sleepy Hollow Located in New York next to the

Hudson River – 25 miles north of NYC.

Old Dutch Cemetery

The Famous Bridge Although the bridge has been lost throughout

time, (it would be where the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is) there is a bridge within the cemetery’s walls similar to the bridge from the legend.

Who was Ichabod Crane? Washington Irving took the name, not the

character, from a man he knew during the war of 1812

Ichabod Crane’s Character Irving spent several months in Kinderhook,

a town further north along the Hudson river where he met the local school master, Jesse Merwin.

It is believed that the character of Ichabod is based on this man.

Who was Katrina VanTassel? The character of Katrina is thought to

have been based upon Eleanor Van Tassel Brush.

The name comes from Eleanor's aunt Catriena Ecker Van Texel.

Both people were from the town of Sleepy Hollow

What/Who is the Headless Horseman? Thought to be an old Hessian

(German) soldier from the Revolutionary War who had his head taken off by a cannon

What do YOU think is true from the

story?