NORFOLK, Va. — "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a tale most of us are familiar with.
It’s a Halloween staple thanks to its haunting atmosphere, the infamous antagonist the Headless Horseman, and the story’s protagonist - a local schoolmaster known as Ichabod Crane.
Washington Irving’s classic tale takes place in a New York village known as Sleepy Hollow.
But what you probably didn’t know is how Hampton Roads ties into the lore.
Ichabod Crane is a real person who was born in 1787, just years before the fictional story takes place.
His father was a Revolutionary War general.
Historian and author John Hood says in 1809, then Marines Lieutenant Ichabod Crane would first arrive in Norfolk on USS United States.
Returning in 1825, he helped start the artillery school at Fort Monroe.
But it was during his time as an Army colonel that the real Ichabod crossed paths with none other than Irving, the tale's author.
While the author never said outright his iconic character is named after Col. Crane, its uniqueness, and their meeting, make it hard to call a coincidence.
The next time you come across this famous piece of American fiction, know that its roots are closer to home than you'd think.