The Leyend of Sleepy Hollow

A Quite Valley

On the eastern shore of the Hudson River there is a small Town called Greenburgh. This place is better known as Tarry Town. It was given this name by the wives of that area because on market days their husband's "tarred", or wasted time, at the local tavern. I cannot confirm this myself but I mention it just to be precise.

There is a little valley surround by high hills about two miles from here. This is one of the quietest places in the whole word. A small stream glides through it so silently that it could lull one to sleep. Only the sound of the birds ever interrupts this tranquility.

I remember that, when I was very young, I once wandered into a grove of trees. It was noon, when all nature is strangely quiet. The trees shaded one side of the valley. I couldn't think of a better place than this little valley where I could escape from the world and its distractions, and quietly dream away the remnants of a troubled life.

Because of the lazy atmosphere of the place and the character of its inhabitants, who are descended from the original Dutch settlers, this valley has been known for a long time by the name of Sleepy Hollow. The young men who live here are called the Sleepy Hollow Boys. A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land Supposedly, a German doctor put a spell on the place during the early days of the settlement.

According to another story an ald Indian chief held his powwows here. Certainly something seems to have cast a spell over the minds of the good people. They have all kinds of strange beliefs. They go into traces, have visions, frecuently see strange sights, and hear music and voices in the air. The whole neighborhood is full of stories of superstition and haunted places.

However, one dominant spirit haunts this magical region. It is the apparition of a figure on horseback, without a head. Some people think it is the ghost of a soldier whose head was carried away by a cannon ball in a battle during the Revolutionary War. The local people often see him hurrying along in the dark of night. He haunts not just the valley, but the adjacent roads and a nearby church.

According to historians the soldier's body was buried in the churchyard and his ghost now rides to the scene of battle in a nightly search for his missing head. It seems he sometimes rushes with great speed through the Hollow because he is in a hurry to get back to the churchyard before daybreak.

This legend has provided material for many wild stories, and at all the country fireside he is known by the name of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.