Urban legends in the world

The Headless Horseman is a fictional character who appears in Washington Irving's story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".

In the story, the man who became the Headless Horseman is a German mercenary hired by the British Navy in 1776 to support British troops in the revolution. Of the 548 German mercenaries who were killed during the revolution, he is chased by enemy soldiers near Sleepy Hollow (New York) and decapitated with his own sword. According to local legend, the Headless Horseman appears in spirit form to take the head of the living. The central character in the story, Ichabod Crane, ignored warnings about the danger and is an uncertain fate at the hands of the rider. Although Crane's rival in the story, Brom Bones, who disguises himself could be the rider is not explicit in the story if Crane is with the rider or Brom Bones.

Since the Headless Horseman was introduced into popular culture, this has become an icon of terror, has appeared in many films, television programs, cartoons and video games. In the film, Tim Burton, Sleepy Hollow (1999), the rider is played by Christopher Walken and Ray Park. In the film finds its rider end at the hands of American armed forces, who kill their horse and decapitate him with his own sword.

In October 2007, the Sci Fi channel aired a film called The Headless Horseman starring Richard Moll and directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, which states that the story of Washington Irving is a smoothed version of what happened in reality and true facts shown in this film.