The Headless Horseman is a New York ghost story. The Legend goes like this, it is said to have begun during the American Revolutionary War. It began near the deserted roads of a little town called Sleepy Hollow, near Tarrytown, New York. it is said that the headless horseman was in reality, one of the many, hired German mercenaries by the British during the time of war. The soldier’s head was lost during the war, and his headless corpse was buried in an old church in Sleepy Hallow.
In New York, the night was cold and moonless, a Dutchman left a tavern in Tarrytown. The Dutchman walked towards his home, in a hollow nearby with a lantern in his hand. The path he took went by the graveyard of Sleepy Hollow. It was the same graveyard, where a headless Hessian soldier had been buried.
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At midnight, the Dutchman was near the graveyard. The graveyard could now be seen from a distance. The only light came from the Dutchman’s lantern. The past week had been warm, and winter was almost gone. The snow had started to melt. Suddenly, the Dutchman became sacred. He remembered the rumors that had been going around. The tavern was full of such talks.
“A galloping ghost haunts the cemetery,” the Dutchman had overheard someone at the tavern. Slowly the Dutchman began to walk. He started humming to himself in order to keep himself busy. As he was walking, he saw a strange light rising from the cemetery ground. He stopped right in his tracks, he was unable to move. His heart pounded with immense fear.
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Out of nowhere, a white mist began to rise in the graveyard. It then burst through a grave that had no name or headstone. And out came a headless horseman. The Dutchman shrieked in fear, a terrible shriek it was. The headless rider was coming towards the Dutchman at full gallop. The Dutchman turned around and ran as fast as he could. He ran towards the bridge for he knew ghosts and evil spirits did not care to cross running water.
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All of sudden, the man lost his footing and stumbled. The Dutchman fell off the road and fell into a patch of melting snow. Before he knew it, the Headless Horseman thundered past him. The Dutchman got a closer look at the headless ride this time. He noticed that the headless horseman was wearing a Hessian commander’s uniform.
The Dutchman waited in the bushes for at least an hour after the headless ghost had disappeared. After making sure that the road was clear he quickly ran home. He composed himself and then finally he told his wife about his encounter with the ghost.
Everyone in Tarrytown knew about the story by the afternoon of the next day. The Dutch people had different opinions. Some believed in the ghost of the Hessian commander whereas, others did not. Some thought the headless Hessian was searching for his head.
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And some believed that every night the Hessian commander rose from his grave to lead his men to Chatterton Hill, not knowing the British had already claimed it. Whatever the reason, no one knew for sure, the headless Hessian continues to roam the roads near Tarrytown till this day.