The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is truly my favorite ghost story. I was first exposed to it thanks to Disney. A family friend gifted me the storybook version of it when I was a kid. I think it was by Golden Books. Ah memories. Then, I discovered the cartoon on Disney Channel. I loved listening to Bing Crosby’s silky voice sing and narrate the tale. It was also one of the first ghost stories to really freak me out when I was a kid.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving is one of America’s first ghost stories, and there’s truth behind the legend. Why not celebrate the spooky season by discussing true ghost stories?
Don’t want to read the blog? Watch the video!
The Real Town
As I got older and my need for spooky content grew stronger, which would have been the mid-to-late 90s, I decided to try to do some research about Sleepy Hollow at the library. At first, I was shocked to find that there was a REAL town called Sleepy Hollow in New York. Then, I was disappointed when the town where it’s located adopted the name in 1996 or 1997. It was originally called North Tarrytown, so you could say that the town was taking advantage of the tourism.
So, Washington Irving was living in Manhattan during his early years. But then the yellow fever epidemic took over the city in 1798. So, Irving was sent to Tarryton to stay with a friend to ride out the illness. While he was there, he learned about the village that would become Sleepy Hollow, the Dutch culture from its residents, and the local ghost stories. He wrote in letters that stated, “Villagers spoke in hushed whispers of the strange cries heard in the woods where the captured British spy John Andre had been hanged.”
At the time that The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was written, the town didn’t actually exist. One could argue that Irving may have named the town himself? The bridge was real, and it went to the Old Dutch Churchyard. But, I read that the bridge no longer exists today. The town did build a memorial bridge in the cemetery and they have a plaque where the original bridge once stood. What’s so special about this? This brings me to my next point about the Headless Horseman!
The Headless Horseman
The Headless Horseman might be my favorite ghost…ever. And he could be real! They say there’s an unmarked grave of a Revolutionary soldier who was decapitated by a cannon ball during the Battle of White Plains. He’s also known as the Headless Hessian of the Hollow. He was apparently a Hessian trooper. Hessian, meaning he was of German descent…not to mention he would have been dispatched by the British Army. Hessians didn’t see the patriots as favorable and even spread rumors about them.
This is a great example of Washington Irving creating a story that helps people process the trauma of the Revolutionary War. Literally having a figure to represent America’s enemy as the villain of the story. It’s hard to tell if there was really a decapitated Hessian that existed, let alone learning his name since record keeping back then was a bit…messy.
In a TikTok video by Carter Rodney, he says that on November 1st, 1776, Major General William Heath wrote in his diary about how a cannon took off the head of a Hessian artilleryman. I did find this diary entry and it lines up. So thank you for the tip, Carter. White Plains is also less than 10 miles from Tarrytown.
The Source of the Headless Horseman
In the story, Irving’s alter-ego, Diedrich Knickerbocker, hears about the legend of the headless horseman from a Black mill worker and a Dutch housewife. I haven’t been able to find solid evidence that this was where Irving also heard the legend.
Fun fact, the lore of the headless horseman isn’t just American. There’s the dullahan in Irish folklore and in Scotland, there’s a headless horseman named Ewen. He was decapitated during a clan battle at Glen Cainnir on the Isle of Mull. Because of his premature unaliveness, he was denied the chance to be a chieftain and haunts the area.
Ichabod Crane
Yes, Ichabod Crane was a real person, but his only inspiration in the Sleepy Hollow legend is his name. Irving saw his name in a paper and really liked it. The real Crane served during the War of 1812 and was alive at the same time as Washington Irving. However, the two never met. Crane was a military man and served for 45 years. What’s funny is that he wasn’t exactly thrilled about Irving using his real name in the story. He’s also the exact opposite of the fictional Crane. Had the real Crane come across the Headless Horseman in real life, he definitely wouldn’t have ran away. Irving and Crane were both stationed at Fort Pike, but again, they never met. The real Ichabod also never lived in Sleepy Hollow.
So where did Irving come up with the personality of the fictional Ichabod? School teachers Samuel Youngs and Jesse Merwin seemed to have served as inspiration. Youngs and Irving were actually pretty close friends. He was honestly delighted to be the inspiration for Ichabod. He’s buried at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow. The other person who was believed to be Ichabod’s inspiration is Jesse Merwin, who was a teacher in Kinderhook, NY. The one-room schoolhouse he taught in still stands today and you can see it in person. It’s been appropriately named the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse.
Van Tassels
Irving’s sister boarded at the Van Tassel home and they were neighbors. He reimagined the Val Tassel’s as a wealthy family. Eleanor Van Tassel Brush is likely to be the inspiration for Katrina Van Tassel. The name Katrina likely came from Elanor’s aunt, Catrina.
What’s interesting is that the real Van Tassels may have ties to the Hessian soldier. The farm of Cornelius and Elizabeth Van Tassel was burnt down by Hessian and British soldiers in 1777. Elizabeth realized that their baby, Leah, was nowhere to be found. One of the Hessian soldiers took her to a shed, where one of the shoulders had baby Leah wrapped in a blanket. Legend says that the Van Tassels were so grateful that when the headless soldier was found, they insisted on giving him a proper burial in case it was the soldier who helped them. Given that the Hessian soldier lost his head in 1776, it’s likely not true, but it’s nice to think about.
Brom Bones
Yes, even Brom Bones was inspired by a real person. His real name was Abraham Martling, nicknamed Brom. He was the town blacksmith and he rode a giant black horse, much like the Headless Horseman in the story.
Now you know the true story behind The Legend of Sleepy Hollow! What do you think? Let me know in the comments. If you enjoyed this video, feel free to share this with your friends and family who also enjoy the Spooky Stuff. Thanks so much for watching and I’ll see you in the next round.
Sources
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/20017/sleepy-hollow-and-its-legend
https://www.delawarepublic.org/post/washington-irvings-headless-horseman-sleepy-hollow-turns-200
https://www.history.com/news/legend-sleepy-hollow-headless-horseman