Washington Irving is the inventor and first representative of the American short story. His eerie tales, particularly "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle," remain extremely popular to this day and have been adapted into films multiple times. "Sleepy Hollow" tells the story of a headless horseman who instills fear and terror in an entire village. Anyone who encounters him does not come away alive. The collection also includes the stories "Rip Van Winkle," "The Ghostly Bridegroom," "The Tale of the Arabian Astrologer," and "The Tale of the Moor's Legacy.".