Genre: Horror
Author: Washington Irving
Plot overview: Published in 1820, this short story by washington Irving was set in 1790 in a secluded village known as Sleepy Hollow, New York. As the story goes Ichabod Crane (a school teacher, not a private investigator. Seriously hollywood?) comes to town and takes on the job of Sleepy Hollow's school teacher. However, what he doesn't know that the town holds a dark secret...the legend of the ghost of a revolutionary war Hessian ( a german mercenary during the time of the revolutionary war in case you were wondering) who lost his head by a cannonball and now haunts the woods of sleepy hollow.
Review: In the day and age of graphic gore, bloody body parts, sexuality and graphic violence...sleepy hollow is a tad mild if bordering on hardly scary at all. Though the atmosphere of this novel is more than creepy and the description of the lifestyle of our american ancestors is one of the many things I treasure about this book. To me, it isn't scary, but the foreboding and spooky atmosphere makes for a great read. By the way, if you have difficulty understanding old english I wouldn't really suggest this book. It was written in the early 1800's and was written in the prose of the day.
