A legend, according to the Handbook to Literature (Harmon and Holman), is "a narrative or tradition handed down from the past; distinguished from a myth by having more of historical truth and perhaps less of the supernatural." One of the more perfect legends of American literature is the one that was produced by the father of American literature, Washington Irving, in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
The tale begins with a narrator's description of the Tappan Zee vicinity of the Hudson River. Setting is a critical element of this legend, and a fair examination of the plot must give at least a summary of this information. Tarry Town, according to the story's narrator, was named by wives in the villages of the area because their husbands "tarried" in the town on market day. Sleepy Hollow, located about two miles from Tarry Town, is "one of the most restful and quiet places in the world" and a perfect retreat from troubled life.
Within this community, the author explains that many legends and tales had been handed down to explain its somnolence; for example, an early settler (a German doctor) bewitched early residents, or that an old Indian chief cast a tranquilizing spell on the area. The most notable of the legends was that of a Hessian trooper who was decapitated during the Revolutionary War. According to local lore, he had been seen riding his horse at breakneck speed at night along various paths, presumably searching for his head. This tale even had a name: the "Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow."
Next, the narrator turns to the main character or protagonist of the story: Ichabod Crane, the village school teacher. This lanky, awkward character even looked like a crane, or perhaps a "scarecrow escaped from a field." He kept a strict, authoritarian control over his classroom, but due to very cursory wages was forced to live with the families of his students for a week at a time. Thus, he was a sort of village gossip, very familiar to the entire community. Ichabod had a particular interest in local folklore: his favorite book was Cotton Mather's History of New England Witchcraft, and he loved to hear and relate tales of witches and the supernatural. According to the narrator, "No tale was too gross or monstrous for (Ichabod) to swallow."
Katrina Van Tassel was the lovely and coquettish daughter of a relatively wealthy farmer in the community. She was also a music student of Ichabod's. Perhaps because of her family's wealth, Ichabod pursued her. However, she already had a suitor: Brom Bones, a roughneck character in the village. When Ichabod was invited to the Van Tassel farm for a "quilting frolic," he helped himself to large quantities of food, became a little intoxicated with the social occasion, and even danced with Katrina, as Brom Bones brooded in a corner. Finally, conversation turned to local legends and superstition. Brom Bones told a story of how he had raced the Headless Horseman a few nights before, but that the spectre had vanished in a flash of fire as they approached the church bridge.
Ichabod finally left the party with tales "crowding upon his recollections," and he urged his borrowed nag, Gunpowder, into a gallop. Then he spotted a large misshapen figure by the brook. He called out, with no response, and then pushed his horse to an even faster pace as the figure raced after him. Ichabod made for the church bridge, where he believed he would lose his ghostly pursuer, but as he crossed its planks he looked back and saw the spectre rise up in its stirrups and throw its "head" at Ichabod. The poor school teacher was hit in the head and knocked off of his horse.
The next morning, Gunpowder returned home to his master without a rider or saddle. Ichabod was nowhere to be found. By the bridge, the searchers discovered Ichabod's hat next to a shattered pumpkin.
Shortly thereafter, Katrina and Brom were married. From that point on, whenever Brom heard the story of Ichabod and the Headless Horseman, he listened "with a knowing laugh". At least in the mind of its author, Stephen Crane, it seems that this particular tale has more of an element of truth and less of the supernatural.