
As is often the case, this original story published in 1820 bears very little resemblance to the film it became.
It is set in around 1790 in a Dutch settlement known as ‘Tarry Town’ where the inhabitants are extremely superstitious, believing most of all in the Headless Horseman, the ghost of a Hessian trooper whose head was shot off by a stray cannonball during the American Revolutionary War. The ghost now, allegedly of course, haunts the site looking for his head.

Considering that this is rumoured to be one of the earliest examples of American writing still read today, it’s fantastically accessible. The turns of phrase and “old-fashioned” preoccupations like your horse-riding stance, for example, rather than seeming remote just evoke a wonderful sense of history and a more innocent time.
This story won’t chill you right to the bone but it might give you goosebumps on a dark night – Ichabod’s encounter with the ghost (or is it…?) is fast-paced and a good climax to the tale.
Overall: Best devoured in one sitting, this is nothing like the blood bath of the film (aside from the names of characters…) and well worth the short while you’ll spend on it!