Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Is there a parent in the house?

Are the windows shut and locked? Double-check!

They HAVE to be if you are going to read this book, which is undoubtedly the scariest rendition of one of the greatest ghost stories ever told: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

While you may have heard of Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van Tassel, and the Headless Horseman, you've never SEEN them quite like this -- through the macabre imagination of the inimitable Gris Grimly.

So, take a deep breath and take a long look. And you may want to bring a flashlight to bed with you tonight....

Average Customer Rating:

Cute and Spooky Story, Beautiful Art	Customer Rating:
The story is an adaptation of the original, more or less a hybrid of the old Disney cartoon and the Sleepy Hollow movie starring Johnny Depp, but Gris Grimly's art brings this tale to life. The format borders on graphic novel and the hardcover edition is absolutely beautiful. This book is perfect for Halloween, rearing Gothic children or unusual fairy tale collectors like myself.

Legend of Sleepy Hollow	Customer Rating:
I purchased this book along with several others along the same vane for my Grand Daughters. age 2 and 4 to eventually enjoy as I know they will. I am their Gran Pa and are really looking forward to reading it to them when they are old enough. Great illustrations which go great with a twist of the tale....

Decent, but a little boring

Customer Rating:

First and foremost, as a child, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, as portrayed by Walt Disney movies, was a rather light and goofy film, having humorous moments even reaching to the end when Ichabod is running away from the headless horseman, he can be seen running with the horse on his back! Oh and just as a general forewarning, the original story is entirely unlike that of the movie, as it plays on the readers' terror which can be attributed to Washington Irving's use of Gothic elements. Anyways, the original was not that lighthearted nor that funny. Rather it focuses on a love triangle between Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones, and the wealthy Katrina Von Tassel. Set in the dreamy town of sleepy hollow, where imaginations do come to life, this setting makes for the perfect environment to tell their stories and foreshadow the ending. Where Brom Bones, after a series of failed attempts to discourage Ichabod to marry Katrina, he implants the story of the legendary Hessian knight. Bones relies on Ichabod's sensitivity to the paranormal to make him imagine the Horseman. Unlike the Disney movie, who portrays Ichabod as the protagonist and Brom Bones as the antagonist and a jerk, the original one is vice versa, telling a classic tale of city man versus a country man for a hand in marriage. It stays consistent with this theme, as it seems the country man would come out on top in the end. However, besides that, though the story implies that Brom Bones was the headless knight, the rest is left up to the readers to determine the true whereabouts of Ichabod. This open-ended story may also be Irving's way to in essence "save the city man" from the country. Although it is implied that he dies, if a reader speculates more optimistically, he simply could have just left the town, which was unfit for him right from the beginning. Overall, I found this book to be rather listless with minimal plot development. All Irving throughout the entire book is set up for the ending, making Ichabod seem like an outcast and extremely in tune with nature, having the town be in a dream-like state, and Ichabod's purely greedy motives. They all serve to build up to the finale. However, Irving drags on much too long with his abundance of imagery; the ending was nothing spectacular.

Can there be negative stars...?

Customer Rating:

Whoever gives Irving's "The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow" more than one star is just strange. I have not read a more boring or a more pointless story in my life. With themes that require the reader to do tedious research and style that just bores the reader out, I do not advise anyone to read such a horrible story--unless your public library is out of books. With elongated descriptions and a motionless plot, this short story that would take half an hour to read can take you four hours to comprehend, and when you do finish it (that's if you don't fall asleep in your chair), you will wish time machines existed! Talking about two men's attempts to win over the coquette Katrina Von Tassel, this book attempts to entice the reader but immediately fails to do so when the style kicks in. The page-long references to the lazy town, as well as the redundant descriptions of the characters just discourage the reader from finishing. Set in the sleepy town of, well, Sleepy Hollow, one already asks, why not already choose a happier place for such a romantic story to take place? The storyline is also a bit disappointing considering all the hail and praise I have heard about this "classic." Ichabod is a schoolteacher who tries to court Katrina but is faced with another suitor--the strong and muscular Brom Bones. To be fair, the most exciting part of the short story is when the legendary Headless Horseman, who many believe might be Brom, chases Ichabod after a Dutch party where the guests engaged in lengthy story telling. To our disappointment, both characters disappear and never return. The ending is ambiguous as the reader is left to wonder, did the Headless Horseman kill Ichabod? What is the point of having such a character as the Headless Horseman or Ichabod if they will both disappear? If you feel like answering any of these questions, feel free to use your researching skills. On the positive note, many elements of Dark Romanticism found throughout the plot attempt to entice the reader's morbid curiosity. We see the supernatural Headless Horseman who wanders in graveyards; we see the morbid ending of two major characters; and we see the desolate and isolate setting of the town. Overall, this book is not that enticing at all. The themes are very subtle and require either close attention or quite a bit of research, both requiring you to waste some precious time that you might, well, enjoy going to the movies with some friends.

Beautifully Illustrated oldie	Customer Rating:
The beautiful and haunting illustrations of edition of an old tale really add to the story.