Tuesday, May 26, 2009

What explanation is given for why there are more ghost stories in a long-settled village in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"?

The narrator says that
the current residents of Sleepy Hollow have a "peculiar character" and are descendants
of the original settlers from Holland. The area has remained somewhat "sequestered"
from other settlements, and a "drowsy, dreamy influence" feels as though it pervades
the place.

There are legends about it being "bewitched" by a German
doctor long ago as well as the land being used by an "old Indian chief," who was like
a "prophet or wizard" for powwows back before Hudson found the spot.


The narrator says that there can be no doubt that "some witching power" still
affects the minds of the inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow, causing them to possess all manner of
remarkable beliefs, to sometimes fall into "trances and visions," and to even see or
hear things that are not really there.

This particular and unique history and
layering of events and predilections seems to cause there to be more ghostly stories in this
village than most others.

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