Beware of the Headless Horseman!

 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of the original classic American Halloween stories. I love Halloween, and Washington Irving’s 1820 short story about the love-struck Ichabod Crane being chased out of Sleepy Hollow by a headless Hessian encapsulates the season for me. 

 

I wanted to create the moment of the story as the Headless Horseman, unable to cross Sleepy Hollow bridge, succeeds in chasing poor Ichabod and his horse Gunpowder out of town. 

 

My inspiration came when we visited the real Sleepy Hollow in New York in October. After that visit, I made a very large diorama that I took to many LEGO fan events over the course of the year. The feedback on that Diorama was very positive, so I decided to save the important elements of the build and make a scaled-down version of it that I would love to see as a set. 

 

My design process involves showing three important parts of the story I am trying to tell: The Horseman, The Bridge, and Ichabod. I wanted those elements to be able to be viewed individually, mixed or matched, and all come together to tell the story. 

 

The black horse rearing up and being silhouetted by a large harvest moon. His tattered cape flows the wind and holding a large Jack-o-Lantern that will be soon thrown at Ichabod. I wanted his part of the story to have a large spooky unworldly tree to show that his side is the spooky side

 

I wanted a traditional New England-covered bridge. Though not true to the original short story. It is true to other tellings of the story. Plus, it is very recognizable to how people see the story. I wanted, the best I could, to show a flowing stream under the bridge to add the idea of movement to it. 

 

He is terrified! I wanted to show dust coming up form Gunpowder to show movement. I wanted more colour on his side as to show the contrast to the Horseman’s side.  I went with a fall-coloured tree and pumpkin patch. And a Scareman doing a poor job keeping the birds away. 

 

I believe my idea would make a great LEGO set because it speaks to the spookiness of Halloween without being too scary. The way the modules can combine to tell a story and that story can be modified gives the owner the freedom of choice. Finally, I feel it would make a great addition to the collection for any fan of the Fall Season, Sleepy Hallow, or a good spooky story! 

-SL