The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

If you read my headline, it’s obvious that I should have written this review in October. I digress. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving is a terrific ghost story! WARNING: As another reviewer made perfectly clear, this story is very different from the 1999 movie Sleepy Hollow, directed by Tim Burton. That is actually a great movie that happens to be one of my favorites, but it has so little in common with the book that any readers who first saw, and liked, the movie just might be disappointed with the book—or, at the very least, completely surprised. I read this as a paperback (are YOU surprised) and my only complaint can best summed up with a simple question: Why is this a BOOK??? It’s a short story! Shouldn’t it be part of a collection of ghost stories, or something?? Well, anyhoo, it’s really a fun and spooky book with wondrous characterizations and details! I highly recommend it for Halloween reading! It’s not too late this year because a spooky story can be enjoyed on ANY day of the year. But, if you read it now, you just might have a fun and frightful Halloween traditi🎃n for next year and every year that follows!

It’s hard for me to enjoy this short story considering how much of it *feels* like meaningless exposition. Fortunately, it is a relatively short read, though the fancy writing might make a harder read as well.
Irving is very capable of painting a detailed image with his words, but I think the many later horror writers made much better use of the short story format and imagery. It’s a nice read if you’re a diehard fan of the genre or the writer, otherwise I wouldn’t expect it to be the most engaging story.

I read this every year in October. It is well worth anyone’s time . I especially enjoy how people talked differently all this time ago.