Horseman

An Encounter with a Legend

Carolyn was inspecting the antique columns of the old mansion when she felt a hot breath on her neck.

She turned and gave Chris a hug.

"So, how's it coming," he said, "Found any ghosts yet?

"She stuck her tongue out at him playfully. After all, SHE was the one that was interested in the history surrounding this town.

She replied, "Not quite yet, but I do believe that I'm on the right track this time. We have visited several other towns, but this is the first one that matches so many of the descriptions from the story."

Carolyn was a graduate student, and she was working on a paper that studied the basis for local folk tales and myths. Her main focus for the paper was "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." This abandoned town fit the description almost word for word from the book. The high steeple of the church, the general store with part of the front wall missing, and the small schoolhouse all pointed to the fact that she had finally found the correct town.

Carolyn and Chris had been married for two years now, and they had been looking for this town together ever since. Although Chris never complained, she knew that he had to be tired of traipsing about the countryside whenever they had a free weekend. Now that she had found her setting, she would take some pictures and make some notes before heading back home.

She walked back to the car and got her camera. Thank goodness for digital, she thought, at least she wouldn't have to lug any film around with her. After taking all the necessary photos and making a note of the location on her GPS, she and Chris headed back to the car. It was getting into the late afternoon, and she wanted to find one last element to be sure that she had the right place, and that was the infamous bridge.

In the original story, the bridge was the limit for the Headless Horseman. If the traveler could simply get as far as the bridge, then the person would be safe from the Horseman. She just knew that if she could find the bridge, all of her work would actually MEAN something.