readers theater play
The
Legend of
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ic
A scary horror
that st story
an
test of ds the
time
Sleepy
Hollow
A HEADLESS HORSEMAN.
A HAUNTED HOLLOW. THIS
CLASSIC TALE IS STILL ONE
OF THE CREEPIEST GHOST
STORIES YOU’LL EVER READ.
BY WASHINGTON IRVING.
RETOLD BY MACK LEWIS.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY GARY HANNA.
characters
*DieDrich KnicKerbocKer:
Our storyteller
*brom bones:
The village brute
*stage Directors 1 & 2:
Narrators of the characters’
actions
baltus Van tassel:
Katrina’s father
olD women 1 & 2
*ichaboD crane: The
superstitious schoolmaster
Katrina Van tassel:
The village beauty
checK it out
AS YOU READ, LOOK FOR:
secret clues
Authors often put clues in
their stories so readers can
predict what might happen
later on. This technique is
called “foreshadowing.”
Can you find two examples of
foreshadowing? HINT: Look
closely at Knickerbocker’s lines.
4
ScholaStic Scope • OCTOBER 25, 2010
Van ax
Van ripper
VanDerblooD
brouwer
*indicates large speaking role
scene 1
Washington Irving got his idea for
the Headless Horseman (above)
from an old German folktale.
enters, reading a book. As he
comes the new schoolmaster.
olD woman 1: Will you be attending
KnicKerbocKer: Wary indeed!
sleepy hollow
walks, he absentmindedly whistles
olD woman 2: Good afternoon,
the Van Tassels’ party tonight?
It’s said the Hollow is bewitched.
KnicKerbocKer: I was never one
“Yankee Doodle.”
Schoolmaster.
ichaboD: That I will. I merely need to
The people are given to all kinds
for ghost stories, not ’til I happened
KnicKerbocKer: My name is
ichaboD (startled): Why, good
retrieve my horse for the ride home.
of marvelous superstitions . . .
upon a little village called Sleepy
Diedrich Knickerbocker. The year
afternoon, ladies.
olD woman 2: Well, you enjoy
including the Legend of the Headless
Hollow. Had I not seen it for myself,
was 1790, and as I wandered the
KnicKerbocKer: He was very tall,
yourself, Schoolmaster. But be wary.
Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.
I would have dismissed it as a bit of
drowsy shadows of the Hollow,
with long arms and hands that
There’s mischief in the air.
superstition, but this . . . I shudder
I encountered a man named
dangled a mile out of his sleeves.
stage Director 2: Ichabod bows,
to think of it!
Ichabod Crane.
His small head had enormous ears
then returns to his reading and
the Van tassels’ estate
stage Director 1: A lanky fellow
olD woman 1: Look there. Here
and a long nose.
whistling.
KnicKerbocKer: Ichabod
scene 2

ScholaStic.coM/Scope • OCTOBER 25, 2010
5
rode a broken-down plow horse.
Stage Director 1: The dance ends.
Van Ripper: He can’t rest until he
bowl of punch. That’s right, a bowl
This horse was all skin and bones,
Ichabod bows to Katrina, then
finds it. He rides at such a speed—
of punch! And I would have won it
and his tail was knotted with burrs.
makes his way toward a group of
like a midnight blast, it is—because
too, but just as we came to the old
Still, he must have had some spark
older guests. They are sitting by the
he’s in a hurry to get back to the
church bridge, the Horseman
in his day, for he went by the name
fire, telling chilling tales of ghosts
churchyard before the light of day.
vanished in a flash of fire.
Gunpowder.
and goblins.
Vanderblood: He’s been seen
Knickerbocker: Aye, it was true.
Stage Director 1: Ichabod
Van Ax: Many a ghost haunts the
several times of late, patrolling the
The old church bridge was
dismounts in front of a huge estate.
Hollow. There’s the old Dutchman
hills. I myself have seen his horse
surrounded by overhanging trees,
Knickerbocker: It was nearly
who walks the docks, shouting for a
tethered among the graves in the
which cast a gloom even in the
evening when Ichabod arrived at the
musket and a sword.
churchyard.
daytime. It was the place the
Van Tassels’. Katrina Van Tassel was
Van Ripper: And there’s the woman
Brouwer: I didn’t believe in the
Headless Horseman was most
as rosy-cheeked as one of her father’s
in white who haunts the dark glen at
Horseman until one night last year.
frequently encountered, but it was
peaches. From the moment Ichabod
Raven Rock. To hear her shriek on a
I met him on the road near the Old
also the place he could not pass.
laid eyes upon her, his only thought
winter night before a storm is a bad
Tree. I suspect he was returning
Brom: If ever the Horseman
was how to gain her affections.
omen.
from his search, but I didn’t know
comes after you, head for the bridge.
Katrina: Good evening, Master
Old Woman 1: In these parts, Mr.
who he was. I called to him: “Show
If you can but reach that bridge,
Crane. Welcome to our home.
Crane, you must take care to live a
me your face, good man.” He didn’t
you are safe.
Ichabod (clearing his throat): Why,
decent life. Those who don’t do so
answer, and when he turned, there
Stage Director 1: One by one,
thank you, Miss Katrina.
run the risk of being carried away in
was nothing there—just the stump
the guests depart, but hoping
Knickerbocker: But Ichabod wasn’t
the dead of night!
of a neck. Before I could react, he
for a moment alone with Katrina,
the only one interested in Katrina.
Knickerbocker: All these tales, told
grabbed me by the shoulder and
Ichabod is the last to leave.
in those drowsy whispers with which
forced me to get up behind him.
people talk in the dark, sank deep in
Stage Director 2: The room is
the mind of Ichabod and, in turn,
silent. The old man takes a bite out
The Ride Home
caught the attention of Brom.
of his apple and chews it slowly.
Knickerbocker: It was midnight
Vanderblood: But, my friend,
Ichabod: Wh-what happened next?
when Ichabod finally departed,
Another was a burly, roaring hero
of the countryside known as Brom
Bones. Whenever a prank or brawl
flustered the town, the simple folk
It is believed that Irving based the characters of
Brom (left), Ichabod (center), and Katrina (right)
on real people from the Sleepy Hollow area.
of Sleepy Hollow always shook their
SCENE 4
heads and guessed Brom Bones was
such a gentleman in our midst.
Baltus: Welcome! Welcome to the
nothing that we’ve told you rivals
Brouwer: How we galloped! Over
and all those stories of ghosts and
at the bottom of it.
Brom: I don’t know what you see in
party, everyone! Let the music and
the Headless Horseman.
bush and brake, over hill and
goblins now came crowding upon
Stage Director 2: Brom Bones
him. He’s got dinner plates where his
dancing begin!
Ichabod: The Headless Horseman?
swamp . . . Then we reached the
his thoughts.
enters, strutting and puffing out
ears should be and shovels for feet.
Ichabod: Dear Katrina, may I have
Old Woman 2: Yes, dear man. He is
bridge. That’s when the Horseman
Stage Director 2: Ichabod trots
his chest.
Katrina: You’re just jealous.
this dance?
said to be the ghost of a soldier,
suddenly turned into a skeleton,
along, flinching at every sound and
Brom (loudly): Here I am, Katrina!
Brom: Of him? Why, he looks like
Stage Director 2: Katrina glances
whose head was carried away by a
threw me into the brook, and sprang
shape.
Let’s go take a ride on my horse,
a scarecrow that has escaped the
slyly at Brom.
cannonball during the Revolutionary
away over the treetops with a clap
Knickerbocker: He remembered
Daredevil!
cornfield!
Katrina: Why certainly, Master
War. His ghost is often seen hurrying
of thunder!
all too clearly the warnings of the
Katrina (giggling): Don’t be silly.
Knickerbocker: Poor Ichabod.
Crane.
along in the darkness.
Ichabod: Oh my!
townspeople.
Put Daredevil in the barn and come
He would have had a pleasant life,
Knickerbocker: Ichabod prided
Van Ax: With the Horseman about,
Brouwer: Oh my, indeed. I will
Van Ax: One doesn’t dare to be
in the house. And don’t act like such
if only his path and young Katrina’s
himself on his dancing. Not a limb of
one doesn’t dare to be caught upon
never forget it!
caught upon the roadway during
a brute!
had never crossed.
his loosely hung body was still. And
the roadway during the witching
Brom: I’m not afraid of the
the witching hour.
as he went clattering about the room
hour.
Horseman. Aye, I too have seen him.
Knickerbocker: The wind’s howl
Brom: Say, is that the schoolmaster’s
SCENE 3
with the beautiful Katrina, he was
Vanderblood: His body is buried
I was returning one night from a
became the woman in white.
to give you singin’ lessons?
The Party
unaware that Brom Bones sat
in the churchyard, and every
neighboring village when he
Van Ripper: To hear her shriek on
Katrina: The schoolmaster is an
Stage Director 1: The guests gather
brooding in one corner.
night the ghost rides forth . . .
overtook me. Rather than give in to
a winter night before a storm
honored guest. What fun it is to have
in the great parlor.
Brom: I don’t like this one bit.
in search of his head.
his terror, I offered to race him for a
is a bad omen.
horse? What’s he doing here? Come
6
Scholastic Scope • OCTOBER 25, 2010

scholastic.com/scope • OCTOBER 25, 2010
7
Meet the Author washington irVing
American writer Washington Irving was born in 1783.
He is most famous for his short stories “The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle,” both published
in 1819. We recently traveled to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
in Tarrytown, New York, to chat with Irving’s ghost.
Scope: how did you come up with the idea for “sleepy hollow”?
wi: I got the basic idea from an old German folktale, and Sleepy Hollow
seemed like the perfect setting. It’s a real place, you know, about 20 miles
from New York City. Its high school sports teams are called the Horsemen.
The bridge to which Ichabod flees
(above) really existed in Sleepy
Hollow. It crossed the Pocantico River.
Ichabod’s head stood on end.
ichaboD: Fly, Gunpowder, fly!
expecting the goblin to vanish
became the ghost of the Old
ichaboD: Wh-who-who . . . are you?
KnicKerbocKer: Away they dashed,
in a clap of thunder . . . but,
Dutchman.
I-I-I say there, wh-who are y-y-you?
stones flying and sparks flashing.
instead, he saw it rise up and
olD woman 1: Take care to live
KnicKerbocKer: The shadowy
Ichabod’s flimsy garments fluttered
hurl its head . . . at him!
a decent life. Those who don’t do
creature put itself in motion and
in the air as he stretched his long,
ichaboD: Ahhhhhhhhhh!
so risk being carried away in the
stood at once in the middle of the
lank body over his horse’s head,
dead of night.
road.
and suddenly, he remembered what
stage Director 1: Ichabod
ichaboD: I s-s-say, sir, wh-wh-what
Brom Bones had said.
clutches tightly at Gunpowder’s
is it you w-w-want with me?
brom (from offstage): If you can
reins. To calm his nerves, he
KnicKerbocKer: When there came
but reach that bridge, you are safe.
begins to whistle.
no reply, Ichabod rained a shower
KnicKerbocKer: Thundering
KnicKerbocKer: His normally
of kicks upon Gunpowder. The
forward, he heard the black steed
cheerful version of “Yankee Doodle”
stranger whirled his horse to give
close behind him.
sounded like a funeral hymn. It
chase.
ichaboD: There it is, Gunpowder.
was then that he saw it: In the
ichaboD: R-r-run, Gunpowder!
The old church bridge!
shadows on the edge of the road,
KnicKerbocKer (voice growing
KnicKerbocKer: He cracked his
something huge and misshapen
in intensity): As poor Ichabod
whip wildly in the air, spurring his
towered above them.
glanced over his shoulder, he was
steed onward.
VanDerblooD (from offstage): Every
horror-struck, for the man behind
ichaboD: Hyaw, hyaw! Come on,
night, the ghost rides forth in search
him was headless, and the head,
Gunpowder!
of his head.
which should have rested on his
KnicKerbocKer (most intensely):
ichaboD (gulping): What’s to be
shoulders, was hanging from the
Gunpowder’s hooves pounded
done, Gunpowder?
pommel of the saddle in the form
upon the planks of the bridge.
KnicKerbocKer: Every hair upon
of a fiery jack-o’-lantern!
Ichabod cast a look behind,
8
ScholaStic Scope • OCTOBER 25, 2010
WASHINGTON IRVING: ©BETTMANN/CORBIS; TOMBSTONE: ©NINA LEEN/PIX INC./TIME LIFE PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES
KnicKerbocKer: A bullfrog croaking
epilogue
KnicKerbocKer (calmly now):
The next morning, Ichabod’s
old horse wandered home, but
Scope: what’s this i’ve heard about you and new york’s
basketball team, the Knicks?
wi: My first book was a satire about New York history. I wrote it under
the pen name Diedrich Knickerbocker. As time went by, people started
using the word “Knickerbocker” to mean “New Yorker.”
“Knicks” is short for Knickerbocker.
Scope: would you mind telling us about your
death and how things have been since then?
wi: I’m afraid my death is a rather dull story. I was at
home, I had a heart attack, and that was that. Since
then things have been good. I like to hover over
people as they read my work. I see all the movies and TV
shows based on “Sleepy Hollow.” There have been at least
a dozen! My favorite was a movie starring Johnny Depp.
Ichabod himself did not return.
A search led to the bridge. Along
the bank of the brook, where the
water ran dark and deep, Ichabod’s
hat was found, and close beside it,
a shattered pumpkin. The brook
was searched, but the body of
the schoolmaster was nowhere
to be found, leaving the good
people to shake their heads
and conclude that Ichabod
Crane had been carried off . . .
by the Headless Horseman
of Sleepy Hollow.
•
contest
what happened to ichabod?
The ending of this story is disturbing. Is the Headless
Horseman a real ghoul, or just someone playing dress-up?
Did Ichabod Crane run away, or did
something much, much worse happen to
him? Write a paragraph explaining what you
think happened. Send it to SCOPE sleepy
hollow contest by December 1, 2010. Ten
winners will receive a copy of Neil Gaiman’s
The Graveyard Book. See page 2 for details.
scholastic.com/scope • OCTOBER 25, 2010
9