In 1820, Deidrich Knickerbocker, a wandering writer, seeks shelter from a thunderstorm.

1. In 1820, Deidrich Knickerbocker, a wandering writer, seeks shelter from a thunderstorm. • He enters a tavern in Tarrytown, a Dutch farming community along New York’s Hudson River Valley. • While chatting with a few elderly regulars, Knickerbocker eventually hears about a local legend, the legend of Sleepy Hollow.

2. It’s springtime in 1791. Tall, lanky Ichabod Crane walks along the main road of the village wearing a threadbare and dusty black suit. • He’s carrying his few belongings, which include Cotton Matther’s History of Witchcraft in new England.

3. Ichabod has learned about a possible opening for the job of headmaster at the Sleepy Hollow School, and he’s now looking for Hans Van Ripper, the superintendent. • Along the way, Ichabod meets Brom Bones, a strapping young man who directs him to Van Ripper.

4. The gruff farmer seems unimpressed with Ichabod, but he’s the only candidate, so the job is his. • Although the students, boys ranging in age from five to fourteen, haven’t been in school for a year, Ichabod easily maintains discipline. • He uses a switch if a child does so little as daydream.

5. At church on Sunday, Ichabod spots Katrina VanTassel, the beautiful 18-year-old daughter of Sleepy Hollow’s wealthiest farmer. • He later notices her apparent relationship with Brom, but is undeterred. • By ingratiating himself with kindly Mrs. Van Tassel, Ichabod ultimately befriends the young woman, who is intrigued with his self-portrayal of a well-traveled, cultural sophisticate.

6. Later, Katrina and Brom have a serious tiff about his desire to move to the Ohio Territories for ranching opportunities. • Ichabod, meanwhile, fantasizes about the grand estate that will be his after he and Katrina marry. • Her father, however, quickly sees through Ichabod’s self-serving ambition.

7. Over dinner at the Van Tassel home Ichabod hears about the Headless Horseman, a German captain who was hired by the local men to fight the British during the American Revolution. • When a British cannonball shot his head off, the Hessian kept fighting until the last Redcoat was gone from Sleepy Hollow. • Yet his ghostly spirit lingered.

8. Some terrorized villagers have actually seen the headless figure, galloping along Sleepy Hollow Road at midnight. • Now, only the very brave or the very foolish will go there. • Katrina overhears Ichabod tells Mr. Van Tassel that her goals of traveling and expanding her cultural horizons are dreams of an immature girl.

9. She realizes how wrong she was about Ichabod. • The following night, Katrina bluntly refuses Ichabod’s marriage proposal. • As the devastated man trudges home, he suddenly meets the Headless Horseman. • Thoroughly terrified, Ichabod runs wildly down the road. • No one ever hears from him again.