Washington Irving 
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories 

'There was something in the moody and dogged silence of this pertinacious companion, that was mysterious and appalling. It was soon fearfully accounted for. On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow-traveller in relief against the sky, gigantic in height and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horror-struck, on perceiving that he was headless!–but his horror was still more increased, on observing that the head, which should have rested on his shoulders, was carried before him on the pommel of the saddle.’


 


With these words, Washington Irving introduced the Headless Horseman, the nemesis of nervous schoolteacher Ichabod Crane and the specter who casts his dark shadow over 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.’
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories collects the contents of three of Irvings best-loved books:
The Sketch Book, Tales of a Traveller, and
Wolferts Roost and Other Papers, including the classic stories 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, ’ 'Rip Van Winkle, ’ 'The Adventure of the German Student, ’ and 'The Spectre Bridegroom
.’