It’s time for another Pigweed and Crowhill “Shortcut to the Classics.” This time we’re heading into the strange, spooky world of Washington Irving.
Over an imperial pumpkin stout, Pigweed, Crowhill, and Longinus take on three Irving stories: the lesser-known “The Spectre Bridegroom,” the famous tale of a man who sleeps through the American Revolution in “Rip Van Winkle,” and, of course, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” with Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones, and the Headless Horseman.
Along the way, we discover that there’s more connecting these stories than ghosts and folklore. Irving repeatedly explores a world in transition: old traditions giving way to new ones, European legends being transformed into American myths, and superstitious people finding themselves at the mercy of people clever enough to exploit their fears.
Was the Headless Horseman really Brom Bones? Is Rip Van Winkle a story about change—or about how surprisingly little really changes? And what do these stories tell us about the emerging American character?
Plus: pumpkin stout, mysterious bowling in the Catskills, a ghost who needs to get back in time for his own funeral, and perhaps more discussion of Ichabod Crane’s romantic prospects than Washington Irving ever intended.
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