A strange combination of farcical humor and atmospheric creepy writing. This is a solid autumn/winter night classic gothic short story. But I was surprised at how young it read in the beginning and then very adult later with the language. I think it was the characterization of Ichabod Crane that added to this. I was surprised at how different the original story was compared to the derivative works. It was interesting and engaging but not as dark or creepy I was craving (I was hoping for something more Poe/Lovecraft), I was hoping for more interactions/depictions of the horseman than there was. I am often wary of editing or changing classics for modern audiences. But warning this does have racist language, which I think in modern publications should have been removed (with the changes and the original writing added in the references at the back), as it is not a part of the story (the language is not used to represent characters personalities or historic mindsets, it is just the language of the author, not the characters nor is it a part of the story.) I have read plenty of, English, French, Russian classics that do not use this type of language even in the original writings, but American classics often do and do put me off reading American Classics.