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Informationen zum Autor Sheila Keenan; Illustrated by Andrew Thomson Klappentext "Washington Irving published The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in 1820, introducing the eerie Headless Horseman character to readers worldwide. Readers were both scared and intrigued by the horrific character, who is the ghost of a soldier who had been decapitated during the American Revolution. Now, the character is an American classic, featured in movies, television shows, cartoons, comic books, and even video games, thanks to Irving's chilling story of a lone horseman seeking revenge"-- Leseprobe What Is the Story of the Headless Horseman? Every October, thousands of people flock to an area along the eastern shore of the Hudson River, about thirty miles north of New York City. They stroll down historic streets, imagining what life was like in the early days of the United States. They ooh and aah at an amazing display of seven thousand carved and illuminated jack-o’-lanterns. Some huddle into horse-drawn wagons for haunted hayrides or hold candlelit lanterns high as they roam through the local cemetery. The quaint small towns and villages in this region have a long history. They were established by Dutch and then English settlers on land first inhabited by the Weckquaesgeek people. Revolutionary War battles were fought there. But this is also a place where Halloween comes to life. It’s the setting for America’s first ghost story! Welcome to Sleepy Hollow, New York, home of the Headless Horseman. This dark, menacing figure on a rearing stallion charges through the pages of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” a famous short story by author Washington Irving. More than two hundred years after the story was first published, visitors still flock to Sleepy Hollow. They’re in search of the scary spots where key moments of the ghost story take place. Some of them no doubt secretly hope that the village’s most famous resident will gallop by—and that they’ll keep their heads if he does! Washington Irving’s story has thrilled generations of readers. But how did he come up with this terrifying tale and its terrible main character? And what in the world happened to that horseman’s head? The answers are part of America’s own story! Chapter 1: The Father of American Literature Many historians call Washington Irving “The Father of American Literature.” That’s because at the time he wrote his popular books, articles, and short stories, the United States was a new country. Most literature taken seriously by educated people at that time was written and published by Europeans. A snobby English critic of the early 1800s asked, “In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book?” Everybody! Or at least it seemed like that after Washington Irving started publishing his work. He became the first best-selling author in the United States and the first American to earn his living by his pen. He was a celebrity when the country itself was still celebrating having become an independent nation. Irving was born in New York City on April 3, 1783. Just eight days later the Revolutionary War, which freed the American colonies from British rule, ended with a cease-fire. Washington Irving was named after the war hero who became the first president of the new nation. As a six-year-old, Irving watched the presidential inauguration of General George Washington in New York City, then the capital of the United States. He even met the famous man. Irving’s nanny followed the president around lower Manhattan, with her young charge in tow. She finally cornered President Washington in a shop and introduced his namesake. George Washington patted Washington Irving on the head and blessed him. The boy never forgot this, even when he became famous himself. Washington Irving was the son of i...
