special Halloween Edition!
Terrifying Title: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Wicked Writer: Washington Irving
Nightmarish Narrator: George Guidall
Petrifying Publisher: Recorded Books
Dreadful Duration: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Creepy Copyright: 1993
Genres of Doom: horror, paranormal, classic fiction
Filed in: Abnormal Audiobook reviews
Review copy provided by Kearney Public Torture Chamber, er, I mean Library.
SPOOKY SUMMARY: In the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town, New York, in a secluded glen called Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane arrives to educate the children of the region. This lanky schoolmaster from Connecticut fancies the idea of marrying the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel, the 18-year-old daughter of a wealthy farmer, but there is a problem with his plan. Abraham “Brom Bones” Van Brunt, the town rowdy, has already set his heart on marrying her.
This romantic rivalry climaxes one autumn night with the appearance of the legendary Headless Horseman, allegedly the ghost of a Hessian trooper who lost his head to a cannonball during the Revolutionary War. Every night he rides through the woods to the scene of the battle in search of his head.
Since this story’s first appearance in 1820, generations of readers, young and old, have thrilled to the headless horseman galloping through the haunted woods of Sleepy Hollow. The rollicking tale of Ichabod Crane and his ill-fated courtship of Katrina Van Tassel has become a classic ghost story.
Public Domain (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
THOROUGHLY DISTURBING THOUGHTS: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is, without a doubt, the most famous ghost story in the world. Mention the name of Ichabod Crane to just about anyone, and you will most likely get a tale of the headless horseman, in one form or another. I think this is the first time I’ve heard the story in its original form, and I am very glad to have heard it. Washington Irving has a beautiful writing style that reminds me a lot of Mark Twain. Maybe that should be the other way around since “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” was written almost 60 years before “Tom Sawyer.”
In this Recorded Books edition, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is packaged together with another Washington Irving tale, “Rip Van Winkle”, in a 3 CD set. Both stories were written in 1819, and both have become timeless classics of American folk-lore.
REMORSEFUL READER: In my own humble opinion, George Guidall is the finest audiobook narrator there is. He really has a way of bringing a story to life, and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, and “Rip Van Winkle” were no exceptions. I particularly enjoyed his voice for the elderly Rip Van Winkle.
FREAKISH FINAL WORD: If you’re looking for a creepy little audiobook to listen to this Halloween, you’ve just found it. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is sure to tingle your spine, and chill your bones, and “Rip Van Winkle” is a nice bonus.
MACABRE MOVIE ADAPTATION: What name comes to mind when I say the phrase, “weird and creepy movies?” Tim Burton, of course! Tim Burton, who directed such other freakish films as “Beetlejuice”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, and “Edward Scissorhands”, put his own unique stamp on the Sleepy Hollow legend in 1999. The film starred Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, and featured an original score by Danny Elfman, who provided scores for all but four of Burton’s films. “Sleepy Hollow” was budgeted at a ghoulish $70 million, but grossed over $200 million at the box office. Grotesque!
OTHER HAUNTED AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (Audiobook Review)
Bag of Bones by Stephen King (Audiobook Review)
A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson (Audiobook Review)
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If you liked this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here
Get "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" & "Rip Van Winkle" (Unabridged Classics in Audio) by Washington Irving, from Amazon.com.
Interested in the fiendish film?
Get "Sleepy Hollow" on DVD from Amazon.com.
This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt
Come back soon for more audiobook reviews from AudioBook Heaven.
Well if that wasn't just the most spine tingly review a book could have!
ReplyDeleteYou did ghoulishly good on a macabre level.
May you have a spooky Halloween, and may the Ghost be with you! ;)