On October 24th, BYU’s English Society will be attending a performance of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at the Covey Center Theatre at 7:30pm.
If you are like me, the only thing that comes to mind when you hear The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a vague memory from an old Disney film with a super skinny white guy and a scary headless horseman. Since details of the plot had long since faded from my memory, I did a little internet research to figure out what this story is all about.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow began as a book written by Washington Irving. Interestingly enough, it is “among the earliest examples of American fiction with enduring popularity,” or so says Wikipedia. The protagonist is one Ichabod Crane, a spindly schoolmaster from New England set on obtaining the heart of Miss Katrina Van Tassel, the only child of a wealthy local farmer. Ichabod must compete with Abraham “Brom Bones” Van Brunt, the town hero and muscle man for Katrina’s affection.
The Van Tassel family throws a harvest party which both male suitors attend. Bones spends the party telling frightening local legends (particularly one about a headless horseman) while Ichabod tries and fails to secure Katrina’s hand in marriage.
On his ride home, Ichabod start hearing spooky sounds and encounters a silent stranger at a crossroads in the woods. After traveling a ways Ichabod notices to his horror that the stranger’s severed head is on his saddle. Ichabod tries to outrun the horseman in a mad dash through the woods and over a bridge. He recalls the legend he heard earlier claimed that the specter would disappear after crossing water, but when he reaches the other side the headless horseman follows right on his tail and hurls his head straight at Ichabod’s horrified face.
The next day, Ichabod is nowhere to be found. The only things that remain are a wandering horse, a trampled saddle, a discarded hat, and a mysterious shattered pumpkin. Brom Bones marries Katrina and it is said that whenever the story of Ichabod’s disappearance is mentioned he gets a knowing look in his eye.
Though maybe not very gruesome by our modern standards, this tale has haunted people since the early days of this country and continues to be a trademark of the Halloween season. Come out and enjoy this spooky performance of this classic story with BYU’s English Society!