Ghost story · Humor
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
A nervous schoolmaster rides home through a haunted valley, pursued by a headless horseman.
Five levels, about 80 languages
- A2ElementaryShort sentences and everyday words.
- B1IntermediateYou follow clear stories about familiar things.
- B2Upper intermediateLonger sentences, richer vocabulary.
- C1AdvancedClose to the original, lightly condensed.
- C2ProficientThe complete novel.
One purchase is one book, in one language, at one level: $4.99. Another level of a book you own is $1.99. Editions nobody has asked for yet are written on request: chapter 1 in a few minutes, the rest while you read. How the levels work.
About the book
Ichabod Crane
In a quiet Dutch farming valley near the Hudson River, in the years after the American Revolution, the schoolmaster is Ichabod Crane: tall, thin and loose-limbed, with enormous feet, a long snipe nose, a huge appetite and a firm belief in ghosts. He sets his heart on Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of a rich farmer, and, even more, on her father’s farm and full larders. His rival is Brom Bones, a cheerful, boastful local hero. Everyone in the valley knows the legend of a Hessian soldier whose head was carried off by a cannonball, and who rides at night in search of it. Washington Irving published it in 1820 in The Sketch Book, written while he was living in England.
Why it works for learners
It’s a short story, readable in an evening or two, and as much comedy as horror. Irving loves lists of good things to eat, and his descriptions of the Van Tassel farm and its autumn party are a feast of vocabulary in themselves: pies, cakes, hams, apples, pumpkins, geese. You’ll also pick up the language of the countryside, the schoolroom and the night: bridge, church, road, horse, shadow, darkness. The plot is simple and builds to one memorable ride.
Which level to start at
B1 is ideal; the story is short and clear, and the comedy survives. A2 is fine if you’re looking for a seasonal read at the end of October. Irving’s original is leisurely and descriptive, full of nineteenth-century flourishes, and at C1 and C2 those descriptions are the main pleasure. Listen to the narration for the final ride, where the pace picks up and the sounds of the night matter.
Read next
- The Canterville Ghost, another ghost story that’s mostly comedy
- A Christmas Carol, ghosts for the other end of the year
- Tales of Mystery and Terror, Poe’s darker American tales