Chapter 4.6 - Role of Tradition in Sleepy Hollow

Alicia and Sarah return to their roots as American Literature colleagues in their discussion of the classic film, Sleepy Hollow. They look at the history of Halloween, the role of tradition in the ghost stories we tell, and the surprising depth of Washington Irving’s classic tale. At the end of this week’s discussion, they talk about the things they've been reading, watching, and analyzing outside of the classroom.

Literary terms of the week: Halloween, Tradition

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Music by Craig Harmann

Cover art by Matt Holman

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Show Notes:

Literary terms of the week:

• Tradition: the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way

• Halloween

  • 2,000-year-old Celtic harvest festival to mark end of summer (Samhain)

  • Veil between mortal and supernatural world is thin

    • Disguises to stay safe from ghosts, fairies, demons

    • Offerings left out to appease spirits (trick-or-treating)

  • Blurring of Christian & pagan traditions

  • Faces carved in vegetables to ward off evil spirits (started with turnips)

    • Irish immigrants brought this tradition to America during Great Famine (1850)

• “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (1820)

  • Published as part of an essay/short story collection by Washington Irving

    • “Rip Van Winkle” was part of this

    • Inspired by Irving’s travels through Europe

    • Halloween was not yet regularly celebrated thru America

  • Based in 1790s Dutch town in New York

    • Haunted by ghosts from Revolutionary War battles

      • Headless Horseman was a Hessian mercenary

    • Part love story, part new arrival in small town, part ghost story

    • Ichabod Crane is a schoolteacher

  • First movie adaptation in 1949

• Sleepy Hollow (1999)

  • Ichabod Crane is a policeman

  • Magic vs science

  • Inheritance, legacy

  • Head as source of power

What are we enjoying right now?

• Alicia: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches (Sangu Mandanna), The Intern (Hulu)

• Sarah: Percy Jackson: The Chalice of the Gods (Rick Riordon), The Creator (movie)

Related Episodes

Chapter 3.11 - Day Full of Woe

Chapter 3.6 - Lit-Brain Obsession

Chapter 2.7 - Sisters Three

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