Tina Wesser

Lack

Sleepy Hollow Writing Prompt

6 November 2019

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

In the story of “ The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving, it describes how

Ichabod had encountered a headless ghost and was murdered by it. In the third paragraph of “

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, the author creates a mood of creepy, intense, and ominous

through scary word choices.

In the “ The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” the mood of creepy, intense, and ominous is

established through the author’s word choice. According to the text : “A group of oaks and

chestnuts, mattered thick with wild grapevines, threw a cavernous gloom over it.” ( Irving). This

shows how dark and terrifying the place is. Another example is: “ Just at this moment, in the dark

shadow on the margin of the brook, Ichabod beheld something huge, misshapen, black, and

towering.” ( Irving). This shows that something is going to arrive and it’s not going to be

pleasant. The author is giving hints to the readers about the mood through describing how dark

and gloomy the setting is.

“ The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a horror story, however the author uses words that

make it seem less creepy. The mood is depending on the word choices that the author uses, the

word choices describe how the mood is created.