The Spooky Stuff of Legend

John Quidor’s “The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane” (1858).

“On mounting a rising round, which brought the figure of his fellow-traveller in relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horror-struck on perceiving that he was headless!—but his horror was still more increased on observing that the head, which should have rested on his shoulders, was carried before him on the pommel of his saddle!” weaves The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (1783-1859).

The short story, set in Dutch-settled Tarrytown, N.Y., after the Revolutionary War, follows Ichabod Crane as he competes with Brom Bones for the attention of Katrina Van Tassel. After Ichabad encounters the ghost of a Hessian soldier whose head was removed by a cannonball, he disappears. Was it a spook, or a spirited horseman in disguise who frightened Ichabad?

Today, the tale continues to haunt the area, and visits to Irving’s home and its surrounding scenes are fun in fall with graveyard tours and hayrides. So, in the advent of Halloween, venture festively up the Hudson River; but be prepared for anything, trick or treat!