The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Was there really a headless horseman?

I don't believe there's any proof of a headless horseman actually existing. Irving borrowed the ideas found in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" from the German legends of Ruebezahl. He just took the characters and events and moved them to upstate New York. The most significant thing about the story is it was the first book to be published in America and be widely read in England. The headless horseman has become a part of American tales and legends and served to pave the way for more American writing to be published.