Talk:The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Film Adaptations
some of the "film adaptations" arent from films such as the epsode of charmed and are you afraid of the darkm this may need editing a little bit. also what about the episode of scooby doo that features the headless horse man and maybe even a mentioning of sleepy hollow, i forget. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.156.184.153 (talk) 01:25, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

RE: Film Adaption(I'm not sure where to put this!) Point of order! Someone has vandalised "The Legend of Sleep Hollow" article attached to this talk page. It now simply reads "Hi"! Shouldn't we restore it?! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Noble Korhedron (talk • contribs) 22:19, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

Villages
The villages of Kinderhook and Valatie, New York (they're actually both part of the Town of Kinderhook) insist that Washington Irving was staying there at the time that he wrote the book, and that Ichabod Crane was based on local schoolmaster Jesse Irwin and Katrina Van Tassel was Katrina Van Allen (or Van Alyn), both of whom were resident in Valatie at the time. Irwin's schoolhouse, known as Ichabod Crane's Schoolhouse, still exists, and has been moved to the property of the historic Van Alyn House (the same family as Katrina is said to be from). The Valatie school district (which also serves most of the surrounding rural area) is the Ichabod Crane Central School District. I didn't want to mess with the page though..

Legend of Sleepy Hollow not based on Sleepy Hollow?
The Modern Library anthology Irving: History, Tales and Stories ISBN 0-940450-14-3 provides a chronology of Irving's life which shows that at the time Irving was staying at the Van Ness home in Kinderhook in the spring of 1809, he was writing A History of New York. It would be another 8 years before Irving began work on The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (including Rip van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow), at which point he had been residing in England for several years. Also major landmarks in The Legend are easily documented in what are now the villages of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. See List of locations related to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Irving himself is buried within sight of the grave stone of Catriena Ecker Van Tassel and Abraham "Brom" Martling. SHC 00:03, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

Frazetta artwork
Has copyright clearance been made for the artwork by Frank Frazetta? — Walloon 20:23, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Real horseman
I read on a site, I'll find it later, that there really was Hessian whose head was shot off with a cannon, and his body was buried in a seperate part of the cemetary of Valatie and Kinderhook. This was part of where Irving got his story, or so I've read. Should we add this? -Alex, 12.220.157.93 00:01, 11 February 2006 (UTC).

Re: Real horseman
Alex, the web page you reference contains unverifiable claims. See my comments above (Legend of Sleepy Hollow not based on Sleepy Hollow?) on the spurious reports of Kinderhook and Valatie being the setting for this story. SHC 12:18, 11 February 2006

Van Tassel
Whether or not "van" is normally capitalized in Dutch surnames, Irving's story does capitalize it, in all usages, including when the surname stands alone. — Walloon 05:55, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
I have revised the sentence, "The denouement of the fictional tale is set at the bridge in the real location of the Old Dutch Burying Ground in Sleepy Hollow (formerly North Tarrytown), adjacent to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery." The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery did not exist when the story was written (much less when the story was set). I'm sure the author of that sentence knew that, but some readers may be confused and assume that it was around in Ichabod's time. The "External Links" at the bottom of the article does provide the distinction that the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery was founded in 1849, and is adjacent to but separate from the Old Dutch Burying Ground. — Walloon 11:37, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

1980 version with Jeff Goldblum
The article doesn't make mention of the 1980 version with Jeff Goldblum. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079453/ Hackwrench 03:47, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Now it does. Thanks for the tip. — Walloon 05:18, 1 May 2007 (UTC)
 * The 1980 version takes a number of liberties with the original story. For instance, it depicts Ichabod Crane as a skeptic regarding the supernatural (in the story, Crane was quite superstitious).  As I recall, Crane doesn't mysteriously disappear at the end, but actually wins over Katrina from Brom Bones.  It's been a long time since I've seen this film, though, so I was reluctant to add too many details to the article.97.73.64.169 (talk) 13:09, 2 February 2010 (UTC)

Doesn't the story take place earlier than 1790?
The article contains the following statement: "The story is set circa 1790 in the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town, New York, in a secluded glen called Sleepy Hollow." I believe that this statement is inaccurate, as by 1790, Tarry Town, as well as the rest of the State of New York, was part of the newly formed United States of America. All Dutch settlements in what was later called New York were ceded to the English in the late 1600s! What is actually the correct time period in which The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is supposed to take place? I always thought that it was set in the early 1700s, during the early years of English colonial rule in America! 172.146.64.44 15:33, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Read the story, first published in 1820: "In this by-place of nature there abode, in a remote period of American history, that is to say, some thirty years since, a worthy wight of the name of Ichabod Crane, who sojourned, or, as he expressed it, “tarried,” in Sleepy Hollow, for the purpose of instructing the children of the vicinity." (emphasis added)


 * And: "It [the Headless Horseman] is said by some to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannon-ball, in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War." The American Revolutionary War was 1775-1783.


 * Also: "Several of the Sleepy Hollow people were present at Van Tassel’s, and, as usual, were doling out their wild and wonderful legends. Many dismal tales were told about funeral trains, and mourning cries and wailings heard and seen about the great tree where the unfortunate Major André was taken, and which stood in the neighborhood." British officer John André was captured near Tarrytown in 1779 and hanged as a spy. — Walloon 16:14, 29 April 2007 (UTC)


 * This is what gets me, everyone assumes 1790 based on when the story came out. But Irving wrote the story not as Geoffrey Crayon but Diedrich Knickerbocker. It says it was found among the papers of the late Diedrich Knickerbocker who he essentially "killed off" as a part of his marketing campaign for his 1809 book A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty (aka the Knickerbocker Tales) which he wrote as Knickerbocker. "Geoffrey Craon" was supposed to have found The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip van Winkle and included them in his Sketch Book. As Irving had "killed" his own pen name that would place thirty years before 1790 if the story takes place in the 18th century. But it's thirty years since, since being after normally when referring to time. It would seem it should be thirty years since the battle that took the Headless Horseman's head. It seems possible this unnamed battle was a skirmish that took place around the time of the Battle of White Plains. White Plains is the county seat of Westchester County, which is also the county Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow are in. Thirty years since the Battle of White Plains would be 1806. And 1809 would be several years since the events of 1806, it would be possible for Knickerbocker to have written the story before his death. -anonymous 10/08/14 6:46 PM EST

Short story infobox
There is an image linked in the short story infobox at the top of this article. But the image is not showing. Why? Is there some formatting error? — Walloon (talk) 17:30, 15 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Wow, sorry I didn't see this sooner. The short story infobox does not have a parameter for images. You'll have to use the book infobox instead. In theory, though, the image in the box should be for a picture of the story itself (i.e. its first publication), not an illustration. See what I did at "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" if you want to pursue this still. --Midnightdreary (talk) 21:43, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

Plot summary and background
Worth mentioning here. Though it seems illogical or counter-intuitive to have "background" come after the "plot", I think this is the best way to go. Shoving aside the guidelines from the short story task force, it makes sense that readers of this article come to see what the story is about first, well before all the other nitty-gritty stuff. Thoughts? --Midnightdreary (talk) 12:53, 8 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 12:55, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Darley illustration?
The information box at the upper right has an illustration with the caption "Ichabod pursued by the Headless Horseman", and "by F. O. C. Darley, 1849".

I am skeptical that this is really a Darley illustration, for these reasons:

1) The facsimile edition of the 1852 edition of "The Sketch Book" with Darley's illustrations (1981, Sleepy Hollow Press), which was meticulously recontructed from the three best copies (printed in 1948, 1852, & 1854) of the Darley-illustrated editions still in existence, does not have that illustration. It is also not included in the list of 22 Darley illustrations in the book, which shows that the illustration is not just missing or cut out of the copy I looked at.

2) The artist's signature does not look anything like Darley's signature in that edition.

3) The artist's signature, though hard to read, does not look anything like "Darley". Darley's signature varied somewhat but in all cases was very easy to read.

4) The artistic style does not really look like Darley's.

Greg (talk) 00:46, 2 November 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't disagree with Greg. A quick Google search found this as a likely source for this information. Anyone want to keep digging? --Midnightdreary (talk) 22:34, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Mr. Toad?
In the Plot, it says: 'who was "to look exceedingly knowing whenever the story of Ichabod was related" Mr Toad and his horse leave because they were too late to stop the horseman'. I just referred to the original text and confirmed there is no mention of a Mr Toad in it. Is this possibly a mistake, referring to content from the derivative works, like Disney's short film based on the story? Pshehane (talk) 19:28, 22 May 2012 (UTC)
 * You came by the article just in time to see some short-lived vandalism, which was removed very soon after. --Midnightdreary (talk) 01:00, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

Proposed merge with The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane
The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane - this painting is only mentioned in context of the famous Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Thus, I believe it is best suited in that article or the article about the character named Ichabod Crane. Mr T (Talk?)  [ (New thread?) ] 09:51, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

Missing Film Adaptation
When I was a child (in the mid 1980s) either one of the local communities or one of the school districts used to sponsor a Hallowe'en festival every year. They would show an old, color live-action film version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow that they had on 16-mm reels. If I had to guess, I'd say that it was filmed during the 1950s or early 1960s. (My mother thinks she saw the same version as a child, and she was born in 1952.) It was not a feature-length film but was perhaps 45 minutes or an hour long. It could have been something created specifically for use in schools. If anyone has specific information on that version, it should be added to the list of film adaptations.

walter brooks needs a hair line
walters hairline is like a wave it keeps on changing — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.148.234.213 (talk) 23:28, 6 December 2013 (UTC)

grade level of book
if you had to what grade level is this book? Grayson Bills (talk) 13:03, 15 September 2014 (UTC)Grayson Bills
 * Scholastic says Grade 9. But I don't think grade levels should be added to articles like this, because both terminology and how reading level is assessed will vary by country. Yngvadottir (talk) 15:01, 15 September 2014 (UTC)
 * thanks this helps a lot I'm in 8TH grade and my teacher wants us to pick a book that we could read. Grayson R Bills 15:14, 15 September 2014 (UTC) Grayson Bills

Some nameless battle
In the plot, it reads: "The most infamous spectre in the Hollow is the Headless Horseman, said to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper who had his head shot off by a stray cannonball during "some nameless battle" of the American Revolutionary War, and who "rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head"."

Problems: --Mr. Guye (talk) 18:19, 29 April 2016 (UTC)
 * How do we know this character was part of this battle?
 * The New York and New Jersey Campaign is "some nameless battle"!?

Background: Tam O’Shanter
The background section includes Burn’s Tam O’Shanter in a list of works featuring headless horsemen. But it doesn’t. There is only one horseman in TO’S and while Tam might lose his reason, and his horse her tail, his head, and guid blue bonnet are still firmly atop his shoulders by the finish.

I’m not an editor and have no wish to be, so could someone fettle that next time they’re doing work on the page? Thanks.

What T O’S *does* have in common with TLOSH is a ‘wild ride’ to gain the keyestone o’ the brig.

A. Cowling

86.140.129.221 (talk) 20:44, 9 October 2017 (UTC)

More on the story's origins on the German-language Wikipedia page
I just wanted to hint towards the German-language Wikpedia page about this story. It goes into much more details regarding the ori9gins of the story. There's even a direct reference to a Rübezahl story from a collection by one Johann Karl August Musäus. Alrik Fassbauer (talk) 16:36, 31 July 2019 (UTC)

My revisions
I've done a big, WP:BOLD overhaul on this article and I thought I'd leave some explanation. First, the Plot section, at over 1,100 words, was more of a retelling than a summary and contained copious quotes, skirting the line of WP:COPYVIO. I've shortened it drastically.

I also revised the WP:EXAMPLEFARM that was the Geographic Impact section. My first instinct was to broom the whole thing, but since several items have articles of their own, I thought it better to exercise discretion. I turned it into prose, which is preferable under policy anyway, and cut down the example cruft.

Any who disagree should engage IGF here on the talk page. Just Another Cringy Username (talk) 07:26, 24 November 2023 (UTC)

Merger proposal
I propose merging Ichabod Crane into this page. The Crane article is full of unsourced cruft and largely fictographical, as indicated by its maintenance tags (which have been there since 2017) and what little properly sourced material there is, is duplicated here. Just Another Cringy Username (talk) 02:25, 25 November 2023 (UTC)