The Brides of Sleepy Hollow

It’s 1791. Do you know where The Headless Horseman is? Welcome to Tarrytown: a peaceful New York hamlet … with ONE exception. It’s located only a mile away from the most haunted place in America: Sleepy Hollow! They said it was to safe venture into the hollow at night. THEY were wrong!

Octoberpod presents: THE BRIDES OF SLEEPY HOLLOW. A shocking all-new, all-original sequel to the ULTIMATE Halloween ghost story: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Written by Amber Jourdan, Whitney Zahar, Jane Nightshade, Dan B. Fierce & John Eiger from an original idea by Edward October. Starring Ari Shey, Karyn Raynor (Chick Lit podcast), Tom O’Connor (of Madison on the Air), Chauncey K. Robinson (YouTube's Production Tales from Hell) and Edward October.

THIS time, you may lose MORE than your head! OctoberpodVHS.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/octoberpod-am--5482497/support.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
I'm Edward October. The sounds you hear are midnight in
October on the lonely path through a sequestered glen which
has long been known by the name of Sleepy Hollow.
This is the start of October Park. You see in

(00:57):
the bosom of one of those spacious coves which indent
the eastern shore of the Hudson. At that broad expansion
of the river denominated by the ancient Dutch navigators the
tappan Z, there lies a small market town or rural port,
which by some is called Greensburg, the which is more
generally and properly known by the name of Terrytown. This

(01:21):
name was given, we are told, in former days, by
the good housewives of the adjacent country, from the inveterate
propensity of their husbands, to linger about the village Tavern
on market days. Not far from this village there is
a little valley, or rather lap of land among the
high hills, which is one of the quietest places in

(01:44):
the whole world. A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang
over the land and to pervade its very atmosphere. Some
say that the place was bewitched by a high German
dock during the days of the settlement. Others that an
old Indian chief, the prophet or wizard of his tribe,

(02:08):
held his powwows there there words not ours. The whole
neighborhood abounds with twilight tales, haunted spots, and local superstitions.
The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and

(02:31):
seems to be commander in chief of all the powers
of the air, is the apparition of a figure on
horseback without a head. It is said by some to
be the ghost of a Hessian trooper whose head had
been carried away by a cannon ball in some nameless
battle during the Revolutionary War, and who is ever and

(02:52):
anon seen by the country folk hurrying along the gloom
of night, as if on the wings of the wind,
in nightly quest for his head, only to hurry back
to the churchyard before daybreak. The Brides of Sleepy Hollow

(03:22):
adapted especially for October Pod by John Iger from an
original idea by Edward October, inspired by Washington Irving's tale
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
And so it was that an itinerant schoolmaster, one Ichabod Crane,
came to live and teach the children in the sleepy
village of Terrytown. He was tall and exceedingly lank, and
his coming was the subject of a great deal of gossip.

(03:56):
Ichabod Crane was a superstitious man. He threw salt over
his shoulder when it spilled, avoided stepping on cracks in
the floor or pavement, and loved stories about witches and goblins.
He knew Mather's Witchcraft in New England by heart. His

(04:18):
knowledge of the subject of witchcraft and black magic rivaled
even that of the parson. One night on All Hallows Eve,
Schoolmaster Crane attended a harvest frolic at the home of
Baltus van Tassel, the wealthiest farmer in the county, riding

(04:39):
a borrowed horse. Upon his return to Old Van Ripper's
stable to return the horse he'd borrowed, Ichabod Crane traversed
the road through Sleepy Hollow. It was the very witching
hour of the night, and Sleepy Hollow is a known
haunt of demons, spooks and goblins.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
The Facts in the Case of Ichabod Crane by Jane Knightshade,
narrated by Ari Shay.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
Ichabod heard hoof beats behind him, and he spurred Van
Ripper's nag called gunpowder to a pitched gallop, or as
close to one as the old horse could muster. Still,
the unknown writer's hoof beats kept pace, and then Ichabod
turned to see who was following him. It was the

(05:39):
fabled Headless Horseman, a phantom in a foreign soldier's uniform
with no head. Ichabod's spurred gunpowder to fly at an
unheard of pace, so say the housewives of Terrytown, and
rode for his life. But byn there was found no

(06:03):
trace of Ichabod Crane, save for Van Rippers, listlessly wandering,
briderless old nag, a smashed pumpkin, and the schoolmaster's hat
trampled in the dirt. What happened next, Heaven only knows

(06:23):
not I But there are those who say that the
headless Horseman launched his disembodied head in the fashion of
a cannonball at the schoolmaster, and then, having rendered poor
Ichabod immobile, collected the pedagogue's head. There are those in

(06:46):
Sleepy Hollow who practice magic.

Speaker 3 (06:49):
It is said.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
Some of these traffic with the evil one. But the
old religion is strong in Sleepy Hollow and black rites
of necromancy are not unheard of there. Beware the Hollow
in those dark hours when evil is exalted, else you

(07:12):
may surely meet the headless Horseman. So ends the legend
of Sleepy Hollow. And what may I ask do you
think of that? Captain Knickerbocker, Miss Crane.

Speaker 4 (07:33):
Now I'm certain you're distraught over the fate of your brother.
It's been how long since Sickabaud Crane was allegedly spirited away?

Speaker 2 (07:44):
It's been nearly a year since that dark fate befell him,
But word only just reached me a month ago. It
takes so long for news from the country to reach
our native Connecticut. And to think I've been laboring all
this time under the assumption that my brother was alive

(08:06):
and well and teaching school in some far off hamlet,
never once dreaming that he.

Speaker 4 (08:14):
There there, Miss Crane, May I call you Eliza? Sit down, Eliza,
have a draft of apple Brandy. It's got an awful
smack to it, but it's good for the nerves. Now
I've found myself in many frightening situations.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
Dear Bessie, I met with Captain Diedrich Knickerbacker at his
study in Manhattan this afternoon, and he really is marvelous. Yet,
this famous war hero and renowned witch hunter was nothing
like the picture of him I'd conjured in my mind.
I expected a man more akin to a gaunt seminarian

(08:58):
forever thumping a well worn volume of Cotton Mather brother
Ichabod's favorite writer. Instead, I was greeted with this stubborn, gray,
grizzled veteran with a long, unkempt salt and pepper beard.
I say stubborn because of his positive reluctance to.

Speaker 4 (09:20):
Take on that horse so far in the air that
the next morning we found him hanging from the church steeple.
But that's beside the point. What I'm telling you is
that the world's a strange place, Miss Eliza. You don't

(09:40):
have to be a witch hunter to know that. Not
all the strangeness that abounds should be attributable to witches
and heathens. Men like Ikabad Crane go missing all the time,
and it's just as likely he's found himself a good
Dutch housewife who's a fine cook and decided to sire

(10:01):
himself in air. Perhaps he's gone off and electioneered himself
to a position of political power. By God, it seems
like every politician nowadays is a dark horse with a
shady past. Sometimes a man just decides to up and
disappear and becomes somebody new. Hell, I've seen it happen

(10:25):
one hundred times since the war ended.

Speaker 2 (10:28):
But what do you make of the legend.

Speaker 4 (10:31):
I don't make anything of it. These rustic lads in Terrytown,
these sleepy hollow boys, why they're all schnooker and schnaps.
You can't believe every ten mile tail spun by some rough,
wrongheaded Dutch urchin. You said he was sweet on this
farm girl of his erm Katerina vander Saddle van Tassle. Oh,

(11:00):
he's sweet on her and pitches wo to her at
the party. She rejects him. Then he rides off, broken
hearted and decides to cut his losses and move to
some other town. It happens a hundred times every day.
I'd warrant.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
Or he could have been murdered.

Speaker 4 (11:22):
Yes, murder is a possibility, and I'll be hanged if
it's not more probable than him being spirited away by
ghosts and witch doctors. But if you believe in your
heart that it's Murderaliza, then what you need to hire
is a detective, not a witch hunter. Either way, I

(11:46):
can't help you. I see nothing here that requires even
an ounce of experience with the occult.

Speaker 2 (11:52):
The legend I recounted to you concerning my brother's death
or disappearance was so to me in a small parcel
with no return address. The legend was accompanied with an
unsigned letter written in an unknown hand, asking me to
come to Sleepy Hollow to learn the truth about brother Ichabod.

(12:17):
Now I'm no fool. I don't think it would be
safe or prudent to go myself. But if you went
on my.

Speaker 4 (12:28):
Behalf, Eliza, I'm just an old infantry man who knows
a fair amount about witches in black magic. I still
don't see how I can possibly help you with finding
a missing person or solving a murder.

Speaker 2 (12:45):
The parcel with a letter in it also contained this.
It is a braided lock of my brother's hair. Before
you protest, Captain, I know it's Ichabod's hair because the
braid is tied with a ribbon that had belonged to
our saintly mother. There's also a charm tied to the braid.

(13:09):
Do you see it there. It bears a strange mark
upon it.

Speaker 4 (13:15):
Yes, that symbol looks to be some kind of fetish
druidical in nature. If I'm not mistaken, smell that it's pungent,
like an exotic oil. This braid's been doused with a
ginger of Tannis root. And Tannis root, my dear, is

(13:40):
like catnip for devil worship.

Speaker 2 (13:43):
It required all of my power of persuasion, dear cousin Bessie,
But by and by Captain Knickerbocker agreed to take on
my case. He didn't even haggle over his fee.

Speaker 4 (13:56):
Very well, miss Eliza Crane, you've hired yourself a witch hunter.
I'll leave for Tarrytown in the morning. By God's grace,
I'll find your brother, with or without his head. Journal

(14:22):
of Captain Dietrich Nikobocker, September seventh, book Passage for Tarrytown.
Coach leaves on the morrow noontime, not up Anny Peck,
volume of cotton Mather for journey. Look especially for references
to Tannis Route. September seventh. Atdendum, receive notes slipped under

(14:46):
door at my residence. See note attached to this leaf.
It reads, quote my Dear Captain K I have information
vital to your investigations into the matter of mister c
a country school teacher. Come to the Epicurean Club near
Federal Hall and till the porter you're expected by mister

(15:08):
Fox arrived promptly at six pm. If quite convenient. If
not convenient, come all the same.

Speaker 1 (15:19):
The Witch Hunter by Dan B. Fierce, narrated by Tom
O'Connor as Captain Knickerbocker very well.

Speaker 4 (15:28):
Do I know the island of Manhattan, especially the streets
leading to Federal Hall. I'd never been inside the Epicurean Club,
though I knew it by reputation. I handed my calling card,
my walking stick, and my cloak to the porter, who
ushered me into a quiet reading room to await mister Fox.

(15:50):
I pulled the hagstone I always carry from my waistcoat
pocket and held it to my right eye, scanning the
old trout, smoking cigars and reading dusty volumes of cicero
in an effort to detect any signs of witchery, but
found nothing notable in any of their dull auras. I

(16:11):
must have sighed audibly for some ancient gentleman with drooping
whiskers shushed me. A light step arrested my attention, and
I found a man in dark garb. His collar was
lined with red fur fox. We exchanged knowing glances, as

(16:31):
if to silently say, mister Fox, I presume yes, I'm
mister Fox. Please to make your acquaintance, Sir, I'm Captain Nickerbocker.

Speaker 2 (16:39):
I know.

Speaker 4 (16:39):
Won't you follow me? The man in the fox line
collar led me to a darkened corner of an uninhabited
room in the club. We sat in curved back chairs
opposite a fire, beneath the gaze of some stern high
German theologian's portrait. I offered to wring the man's hand,
but he did not return the gesture. This is a

(17:02):
fine refuge you've found here. By God, all we need
now is a draft of rum Ah.

Speaker 1 (17:08):
I'm afraid I do not imbibe spirits of any kind.
My doctor forbids it.

Speaker 4 (17:16):
Hmm, you said, sir, hmmm, I understand you have some
information for me about some school teachhirt. Mister Fox puffed
on his long stem pipe with a soured look on
his face.

Speaker 1 (17:31):
As I recall, Miss Eliza Crane has employed you to
find whoever or whatever killed her brother one Niccabod Crane,
a pedagogue in the sleepy hamlet of Terrytown. Well, I
must question your reasons for looking into this matter, sir.
You see, you're looking for a murderer when he's already
been found. You mean they caught the devil, that is

(17:55):
the rumor.

Speaker 4 (17:56):
The man's face remained stony, but the heat of sweat
trickling down his pale cheek told a different story. But
in your note, sir, you mentioned something about vital information.

Speaker 1 (18:10):
The information was merely that which I just conveyed. And
so you see, it would be a dreadful shame if
you were to make such a long and perilous journey
in vain.

Speaker 4 (18:23):
You seem very certain that the pedagog met his end
due to foul play, foul play done upon him by
the hands of a mortal man. And yet his sister,
miss Crane, that is, and a good many of the
townsfolk believed the schoolmaster was spirited away by the headless

(18:44):
horseman or any one of the wandering spooks in that vicinity.

Speaker 1 (18:49):
Ah old housemaids, simpletons and rustic country bumpkins to the
last one. Surely a man a war hero so worldly
as yourself is not so easily taken in by the
old world superstitions of the rabble.

Speaker 4 (19:08):
The man in the fox line collar took one final
drag on his pipe. As he stood, he tapped the
bowl on the edge of a side table, loosening the
pipe's smoked contents into a heap on the spotless white
marble floor. He stood, clicked his boothills, and with a
tight bow, said, do.

Speaker 1 (19:29):
Not venture into Sleepy Hollow. Captain. I am certain you'd
be far more comfortable if you remained here in Manhattan,
for the chill of autumn has already reached that sequestered Glenn,
and it really won't do you know, for your health.

Speaker 4 (19:53):
Miss Crane. I have just left the meeting, which confirms
my suspicion that forces, both human and infernal, are at
work to prevent us from arriving at the truth regarding
your brother's fate. It is my belief that your brother's
arrival and Sleepy Hollow may not have been mere coincidence,

(20:14):
but a cog in the machinery of some great conspiracy.
I fear that Ichabod's scholarly affinity for witchery and diabolism
may have aroused the attention of some very powerful men,
and thus led to his undoing the role of the
galloping Hessian remains an enigma. If such a goblin truly exists,

(20:36):
the subject of such a spun yarn might be merely
a scapegoat for more ethereal misdeeds, And on this matter
even I remain a skeptic. Take hey, dear Eliza. Those
behind Ichabod's disappearance are men of influence and not to
be trifled with. I fear that my discovery of their

(20:58):
involvement may have already ensnared me. Take care that you
do not find yourself in their web. Time is of
the essence, and caution even more so. Today I travel
by coach to Tarrytown to find more answers. I beg
of you to carry your brother in your heart and
leave this matter to a higher power, though I shall

(21:20):
endeavor to uncover all that I can, Your humble servant,
I remain Captain D. Knickerbocker. PostScript. If you are contacted
by a mister Fox an assumed name, I'd stake my
e teeth on it or any of his associates, Stay

(21:45):
well clear. I believe that he means you harm September seventh,

(22:05):
left Manhattan just after noon. Journey uneventfled thus far, weather
unseasonably crisp agenda post letter to Miss Crane. When arrived Terrytown,
interviewed Magistrate Parson. Gossipy housewives inquire with h Van Ripper

(22:26):
regarding coachman. Why have we stopped coachman? The coachman had vanished,
leaving me the stubborn horses and indeed the whole coach behind. Well,

(22:50):
this is damn peculiar. These horses weren't just being stubborn.
They were spooked, and that's why they wouldn't budge. The
sun set swiftly, and before I could get my bearings,
it became so dark I could hardly see the hem
of my breeches. I fumbled about and found a lantern

(23:12):
and lit it. Such a desolate road to be stranded on.
I called out for the coachman a few more times?
Could he have stopped to unburden his bladder in the bushes.
The night was thick, as was the silence. Even the

(23:33):
horses seemed to be holding their breath, And if I
strained my ears, I could make out the skittering of
small creatures in the dark. Something was a miss h.
I survived the bloodiest days fighting the Red Coats, and
I'll be damned if I allow this to frighten.

Speaker 5 (23:56):
What was that?

Speaker 2 (23:58):
No, it can't be.

Speaker 5 (24:01):
It's you, dearest Bessie.

Speaker 2 (24:21):
Nearly two months have passed, and having received no word
from Captain Knickerbocker, I have taken it upon myself to
search for my brother. I have no idea where the
Captain disappeared to, but I dare say the fee I
paid disappeared along with him. I arrived in Sleepy Hollow,

(24:44):
or rather Terrytown, just before noon this morning. It's an
oppressive place, dear cousin, utterly devoid of the charm and
joy that brother Ichabod imbued it with in his letters.
Poor pitiful Ichabod. I do hope to find him alive,

(25:09):
But if not alive, I hope he has found peace
in the loving arms of his creator. I inquired at
the tavern about seeing a local judge or a justice
of the peace. A man informed me that none was available. Furthermore,
he said it's unlikely any officers of the court would

(25:30):
be available until the county's executioner comes, which should be
any day now. Nevertheless, he directed me to a primitive
jailhouse where I might speak to a deputy. There, I
discovered and introduced myself to the jailer, mine her Heinrich Geller.

(25:53):
I met him at the door where he'd just been
handed a bundle of clean linens from a handsome but
otherwise downtrodden looking young woman. I introduced myself to him,
and the spark of inspiration or recognition flashed in the
eyes of both the jailer and this young woman when

(26:17):
they heard my name. I explained the reason for my
journey to find my brother, if alive, or to see
justice done upon his killer, if dead, and they regarded
me as though they'd met a ghost. Geller announced, with
some sense of pride, that Ichabod's murderer had already been caught,

(26:42):
and the county executioner will consign him to hell before
Sabbath day. The sad looking woman seized my elbow and
requested a word with me in private. She led me
away to a fence row out of earshot of the
jail house. She told me that Geller was a liar,

(27:05):
that the man they'd arrested for Ichabod's murder, Abraham van Brunt,
a local Ruffian whom the villagers knew as brom Bones,
was innocent. I asked her, how can you know such things?

Speaker 6 (27:22):
Because I'm his wife. I am Katrina van Brunt, and
unless you help me prove his innocence, brom Bones will
be executed on All Saints' Day.

Speaker 1 (27:38):
Brom Bones Murderer by Whitney Zahar, narrated by Karen Rayner,
co host of chick Lit podcast.

Speaker 2 (27:47):
As Katrina, Missus van Brunt invited me to the tavern
for some tea and honeycakes. She bade me to call
her Katrina.

Speaker 6 (27:57):
I have not been Missus van Brunt for long before that.
I was just the daughter of wealthy pharm own or
Baltus van Tassel. No Katrina's best. At least that name
is my own.

Speaker 2 (28:11):
As fate would have it, I feel as if I
already know you. Brother Ichabod spoke of you often in
his letters to me, did he.

Speaker 6 (28:25):
Indeed, I'm afraid I must apologize to you. To your brother.
When I first met him, I am ashamed to say
I was a bit of a coquette. I was beautiful
and witty, and I knew it well enough. I was
aware of how I could incline my head, flutter my eyelashes,

(28:46):
show a bit of my slippered foot, and place any
young man from the hollow under my spell. The art
of flirtation was akin to the caprices of magic. To me.
I liked Ikobod Crane a great deal. It was nice
to have an intelligent, well read young man in the
village who was not necessarily the rowdy, loud, good natured

(29:07):
sort that many of the sleepy hollow boys were. No,
he wasn't handsome in the conventional sense, but I liked
his looks well enough. When he wasn't leveled with anxiety
or trying to you are to be someone he was not.
Ichobod had a grace in his long limbs and a
confidence in his bearing that was quite attractive. However, I

(29:30):
being the coquette that I was exalted in seeing two
men fight over my attentions. There was Ichabod and there
was brohm.

Speaker 2 (29:41):
Brum.

Speaker 6 (29:42):
That is, mister van Brundt had been seeking my affection
for as long as I could remember. He was direct
in his feelings. He could be brutish at times, but
he treated me like a queen when he courted me.
Ichabod's took the form of poetry and soft words, which

(30:03):
appealed to me too. But Ichabod wanted more from life
than what being married to a landed farmer's daughter from
a small New York village could give. I suppose, at
heart I'm a simple girl. I rejected Ichabod's suit on
the night he vanished, and when he was declared dead,

(30:25):
the regret and guilt ate at my heart and it
still does. Not long after Brahm proposed marriage to me.
My father was delighted. He admired Brahm's swagger, charm and
good nature. I think he saw Brahm as a son,

(30:45):
as a protege, someone he could mentor. Brahm was always
good to me, and, in something unprecedented among the landed
gentry here, Brahm insisted to my father that I should
be left in control of the house, the land, and
the running of the farm. Brahm wanted me to hold
on to who I am. He was also eager to

(31:08):
honor my mother's wishes to see me as a bride.
She wasn't in good health, and as I learned later,
she wasn't long for this world. Our wedding day was quiet.
Mother came downstairs on father's arm, her body quivering by
the sheer force of her will. Father didn't invite many people,

(31:31):
only immediate family members and the parson, of course, As
he presided over the ceremony, I tried to focus only
on Brahm's dark eyes, which were full of love for
me and perhaps a touch of sadness. Did he know
what was about to take place? I wonder we had

(31:53):
exchanged our vows and rings and were about to drink
wedding ale. As a toast to Engeller. The jailer and
mister Vanderhook, the town matt appeared at the front door,
dangling the shackles in their hands. They clapped them about
Brahm's wrists and ankles, announced that he was under arrest
for the murder of Ichabod Crane, and paraded him off
to jail. Mother fainted on the spot, and within days

(32:18):
she passed away of a broken heart. Father did everything
he could afford to do. He hired the best lawyers
to defend Brahm's innocence and good name. The trials and
appeals of Brahm's case have been the events of the
past year. Father died when Brahm was finally convicted and
sentenced to death, my husband has langered in the jailhouse

(32:40):
ever since. The whole town turned against Brahm. During the trial.
It was well known that he rivaled Ichabod for my affections,
and he made no secret of the fact that he
disliked Ichabod because of it. Brahm had a temper. It's true,
he was brash and more likely to pick and finish
a fight, but murder. After his sentence, I faced him

(33:05):
through the bars in the jail and I asked him, Brahm,
did you do it? Did you kill Ikobod Crane. He
didn't bluster, He didn't scold me for lack of faith
in my husband. He simply said, no, I've known brom
Bones all my life, Miss Crane. He has his faults,
but murderous intent is not one of them.

Speaker 2 (33:27):
Where is the town magistrate now, mister van der Hook.

Speaker 6 (33:32):
He was sent to fetch the county executioner. By the
time he returns, it'll be too late for Brahm.

Speaker 2 (33:38):
If your beloved husband is innocent, who then could have
slain my brother. It is my understanding that Ichabod's mortal
remains have not been discovered.

Speaker 6 (33:52):
Just Ichobod's trampled hat had a smashed pumpkin in the road.
Poor Brahm was convicted solely on the strength of circumstantial
evidence and petty gossip. I have no inkling of who
your brother's killer is, if indeed he was killed, but
I have not yet told you all. A nightmare has

(34:16):
troubled my sleep for the past week, and I cannot
help but wonder if it was not a portent of
your arrival and sleepy hollow. In the dream, it is twilight,
and I'm strolling around the schoolhouse. No one has been
in that place for nearly a year, you see. No

(34:37):
schoolmaster has come to replace mister Crane, and in his absence,
the good people of Terrytown are content with the Parsons
catechisms to educate their children, and don't mind having all
those little hands free to do chores the rest of
the day. And so the building is overgrown and silent.

(34:57):
But in my dream walk inside and see Ichabod's shadowy
form appear. He stands there, tall and gaunt, his tattered
cloak drifting around him in a non existent wind. His
eyes are wide and shadowed, haunted, I'm frozen in place.

(35:21):
I cannot take my eyes off him. His pale lips
are moving so fast, yet no sound escapes. I'm trying
to decipher what he is attempting to say when he
rushes towards me, pointing to the doorway. Then the most
frightening thing of all, his head tumbles off his shoulders
and rolls at my feet, eyes wide and staring madly

(35:45):
up at me.

Speaker 2 (35:49):
Leave me when I tell you, dear Bessy. The Katrina's
hands shook while recounting her dream, and both of our
faces were soaked with tears. I reached across the table
and grabbed her hands and said, my brother was devoted
to a study of the occult. Though I must confess

(36:11):
I didn't always believe him. I thought they were just
wild tales and superstitions. But here, in this haunted hollow,
I think Ichabod may very well be trying to tell
you something, trying to tell us something from beyond the grave,

(36:32):
if indeed it is in the grave, he resides.

Speaker 6 (36:37):
If that be the case, Eliza, would you accompany me
to the schoolhouse. This building was venerable even when I

(37:02):
was a small girl, long before I coulbod crane tarried here.

Speaker 2 (37:07):
The wilderness was reaching out to reclaim the spot. The
lonely small shack was tangled with roots and grasses, with
birds building nests in the eaves, and rabbits peeking their
curious noses through the old path to the front door.
The shutters and the door were faded in their colors

(37:30):
and hanging from their hinges. The little wattle and daubed
chimney was steadily dissolving from the effects of wind, rained
snow and time. Katrina and I stood together, holding hands,
staring through its threshold. Shall we go in, i asked.

(37:53):
Katrina led me towards the doorway, and we peeked through
the building's gloom. Leaves, mud, and the scat of animals
were strewn across the wooden floorboards. The desks and the
benches lay topsy turvy. Around the little room. A slateboard

(38:18):
hung crookedly on the back wall. Our feet creaked across
the floorboards. Ikabod, I whispered, are you here. I'm here
with your friend Katrina. Did you send a dream to her?

(38:42):
Please tell us what you want us to know. It
felt like the place was holding its breath when Suddenly,
a piece of chalk rose from the rubble on the
old teacher's desk. I gasped, grabbing Katrina's hand. And if
it is you, brother Ikabod, I shouted, my voice cracking

(39:07):
from the dust and tears. Kindly refrain from frightening us.
We are here to help you. In Katrina's dream, you
pointed at the door. What knowledge would you have us
learn from that door, Ikabod? Now I am certain you

(39:27):
will not believe me, cousin Bessie. But the chalk hovered,
quivering in the air. As it drifted to the slate board.
It scrawled some words, and it was writing in Ichabod's
unmistakably pointy, cramped hand. I knew Katrina recognized it too,

(39:51):
because her face turned pale, but her eyes brightened. The
words read door above. We exchanged glances, then dragged one
of the student's benches to the doorway. With a flurry
of scattering insects and clouds of dust. I held the

(40:12):
bench steady while Katrina, who was taller than I, perched
on it and reached around the top of the doorway.
When she stopped searching with her hands, she slowly dropped
to a seated position on the bench, wiping her face
with a flat of her hand. In the other she

(40:36):
held a poppet. I drew in a breath and sat
beside her. We studied the poppet in the dim schoolhouse.
Someone laid a curse here. Ikobod would have known about

(40:57):
such things.

Speaker 6 (40:59):
Well, Miss Crain, you ventured to a haunted schoolhouse with me.
Are you now willing to join me in meeting a witch?

Speaker 1 (41:14):
October POD's special Halloween presentation of the Brides of Sleepy
Hollow will return after this short message. Monsters do have
their place in the zoo, in your nightmares, in the deep,
in your favorite horror movies, but not on your phone
during an ad break. Politically motivated interests are seeking to

(41:37):
influence you through the ads placed on this podcast. Hi,
I'm your host Edward October, reminding you that we have
very limited control over the ads you hear on October Pod.
Please remember that only the ads and promos I read
with my own voice carry the endorsement of Edward October

(41:58):
and October Pod. Are there more? I and the makers
of October Pod repudiate any entity advertised which seeks to
promote hatred, anti American or anti democratic sentiments or the
spread of misinformation. Now, with that in mind, October Pod
will return. After this brief ad break, we now return

(42:38):
to October POD's Halloween special, The Brides of Sleepy Hollow.

Speaker 6 (42:51):
The cottage is not nigh from here. Her name is
Abigail van goul By the way. She's known to practice
the black arts. But quite frankly, the old Hag talk
to us. If that be the case, we might learn
something from Old Van Ripper.

Speaker 2 (43:05):
Is that the man who lent my brother his horse,
I've already spoken to him in the tavern at noontime
before meeting you. The horse my brother rode that night.
Gunpowder died not long after his disappearance. Van Ripper said
he rendered the old Nag down for tallow, which he

(43:26):
used for making candles and sells. Gunpowder was a good
and faithful servant until the end. When I asked about
Ichabod's state of mind that night, Van Ripper pushed his
straw tricorn hat high up on his head and told
me they only spoke of the weather, end of the

(43:47):
year's harvest, and and of your beauty, Katrina. Oh, he
did say one thing on that Ichabod had heard a
rumor about a necromancer practicing his craft in the deep

(44:08):
woods surrounding Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod told Van Ripper that he
wasn't really surprised. That sounds like my brother. He told
Van Ripper that if he'd lived one hundred years in
the past, he'd have sussed out this necromancer and had
him hanged for a witch.

Speaker 3 (44:29):
Hmm.

Speaker 2 (44:30):
Igabod always fancied himself a witchfinder general like his hero.

Speaker 3 (44:55):
This is it.

Speaker 6 (44:57):
See the plume of smoke rising up over the hedge.
That's her.

Speaker 7 (45:01):
Better.

Speaker 6 (45:01):
Let me do most of the talking.

Speaker 2 (45:03):
Believe me when I tell you, dear sweet cousin Bessie,
that this cottage was a foreboding place and infected with
some of the most revolting smells the which Abigail van Gool,
as it so happens, was expecting our arrival. Perhaps she

(45:27):
had divined this knowledge from reading the portents in the
bubbling of her cauldron. Katrina bade me hold my tongue
with this weird woman. But miss van Gul addressed me directly.

Speaker 8 (45:41):
There be as much evil in the hollow as there
be in all the unexplored heathen country in the western territories.
The evil and Tarrytown disguise as itself. But the evil
that frolics through these woods doesn't bother the hide its
true nature. There be those men and women who see
fancy and respectable in town, but who meet with the

(46:04):
devil in the back of yon Hedge. You pretty little
girls came looking for answers from old Abigail. I'll tell
you what I can about these woods and what I
know of your mister Ikobud. These woods be as ancient
and dark as those in the old country, and the
things that dwell here are as strange as any tale

(46:26):
from my mother's homeland, the one she left in the
belly of a Dutch slaver ship. I know of such
unnatural things, for I have seen them.

Speaker 1 (46:47):
The Testament of Abigail van Goul by Amber Jordan, narrated
by Chauncey K. Robinson, post of YouTube's production Tales from Hell.

Speaker 8 (46:58):
As you look for your miss the Ichabod, be mindful
of those folk you come across.

Speaker 3 (47:04):
There be men who walk about. Ooh, they look so
nice to the eyes.

Speaker 8 (47:10):
They be dressed as fine gentlemen, gentlemen fine enough to marry.
But of the type who will always pass over. A
faithful lies for the bed of a farah maiden. How
many times have you been that faarah maiden? Miss Katrina.

(47:33):
Once you touch these men, you are fully under the spell.
They will offer to take you off your aching feet,
which seems a nice respite, But then they hold you fast.
You cannot escape them, as though ye be stuck with tar.
And then the man is no man but a terrifying beast.

Speaker 6 (47:57):
That's very interesting. But we're not looking for a man
to marry Hell, I'm already married. We're looking for the
man who killed it Kabad Cragen.

Speaker 8 (48:08):
Not only men, no, indeed, women in the wood be
just as treacherous. And not all the dangers lurk in
the hollow in taror town. There be misfortune too. There's
the risk of ruin, like as what happened to our parson,
the right Honorable Reverend Jasper Voss. And it's poor missus.

(48:31):
They had the most beautiful baby girl named her Natalie,
for she'd be born on the eve of the Christ
Child's Nativity, a tiny little thing who came into this
world whining and a wallering fit to raise the dead.
You lie, the person never had a child, no child
that you know of, to be certain. But I know

(48:52):
because I attended her upon Christmas Eve, six year ago.
The parson kept his wife hidden while the babe was
growing in her belly, and the night she was born,
the good Reverend himself came to me.

Speaker 2 (49:08):
But why surely if word had gotten out that a
saintly man such as he was seen consulting with, he.

Speaker 8 (49:18):
Came to me because his newborn babe was afflicted with
satan skin, and no amount of praying or Bible thumping
would work. Oh, it was just a patch at first,

(49:44):
like a hairy kallis on the babe's forearm.

Speaker 3 (49:48):
But it's bread. It grew, it jagged.

Speaker 8 (49:52):
The skin spread so quickly that in the time it
took Reverend Boss to travel here from the parsonage and
gathered me up, it had overt, taking the infant's entire
arm and her left shoulder to boot. Missus Voss was
wailing fit to drawing out the baby's cries. I gave
her a tincture to common nerd. Now you know me.

(50:13):
I don't put much stock in the reverence Jesus in
and even lessen his devil, but I never refuse a
family in need, especially with the tiny baby. For three
day and three night I attended that child, bringing all
my powers and all my craft to bear on shedding.

Speaker 3 (50:30):
That child of the devil's flesh.

Speaker 8 (50:33):
But in spite of all of my efforts, the dark
callous grew, and by dusk of children miss it had
eaten up that child utterly.

Speaker 2 (50:45):
How horrible what became of the child?

Speaker 8 (50:51):
For certain, the innocent baby died the moment there was
knock of her own skin left for the devil to consume.
What remained was a false demonic creek, writhing in agony
and screaming to be fed.

Speaker 3 (51:03):
With blood human blood.

Speaker 8 (51:06):
When night fell, and while the Reverend prayed mouth dry,
great leathery wings sprouted from.

Speaker 3 (51:12):
The child's back.

Speaker 8 (51:13):
It took flight, fluttering all about the house like a
trap moth. Me and the Reverend try to snatch it
from the air. After many minutes of this struggle, the
demon child perched.

Speaker 3 (51:24):
Upon his mother's shoulder.

Speaker 8 (51:27):
It whispered in her ear as she became transfixed, as
if she'd being.

Speaker 3 (51:33):
A deviloush trance.

Speaker 8 (51:35):
She as a zombie with a winged imp still on
her shoulder. Unbolted the door and let the thing free.
It flew into the deepest, wildest corner of Sleepy Hollow
and has not been seen since.

Speaker 3 (51:51):
But on some nights ye can hear a weird cry
echoing in the woods.

Speaker 8 (51:57):
I take a gold watch that those cries pour from
the lungs of that demon. The moment Missus Boss realized
what she'd done, that she turned the demon loose and
would never see her baby again, she went out of
her mind. She seized an oil lamp and set out
into the woods after the little end. Me and the
Reverend gave chase, but the missus ran with devilish speed.

(52:21):
She stopped in a clearing and sobbed, knowing that she
never find her baby, and even if she did, it
would forever be in this unnatural shape. But before we
could reach the missus, she poured the oil from the
lantern onto her body and set aself of blades. She
howled an ungodly howl as the flames crept up her

(52:44):
dress and melted her pretty face. Bye and bye. We
reached her, but there was not left of the woman
but a puddle of rendered fat and a charred skeleton.
Next day, Reverend Boss spread a rumor that his wife
had left to Boston, cared for her sick aunt, and then,

(53:06):
not long after her supposed arrival in Boston, Reverend Jasper
Boss spread the false news that a brewery wagon and
four horses ran his wife down in the street. That
story was enough to satisfy the curiosity of the dumb
country bumpkins who reside in this vicinity.

Speaker 6 (53:26):
That part rings true enough. I've heard tell of the
reverend's wife meeting her end beneath the team of horses.

Speaker 3 (53:32):
And so no one accepted me.

Speaker 8 (53:34):
I suppose would ever know about that strange birth, or
about how the missus truly died.

Speaker 2 (53:42):
But why do you keep silent, Miss van Goul? Surely
the parson's grave hypocrisy would be of great interest to
his flock, the god fearing folk of terry Tone, would
not exposing the truth help bring peace to this poor

(54:02):
woman's soul, wherever it may now reside.

Speaker 8 (54:09):
I keep silent because I know what will maintain my
good health. I know that Reverend Voss is a powerful
and well respected man hereabouts. I would not be walking
this earth for long if I got into the habit
of blabbing the secrets of powerful men to gossip. Be
Dutch housemaids, then why tell us because of the headless horsemen.

(54:31):
I fear him just like everyone in the hollow, But
still he is my friend. Many is a night I've
seen it, usually on nights when the moon was nine full,
so that even through all these trees, moonlight extream men,
brightening our little hollow as like a bonfire's light. I

(54:52):
often take the path through the cemetery, making sure to
stay in the shadows, and as quiet as a whisper
can ever tell what strange folks are about. Who is
to say I would even be missed if I ran
a foul of a highwayman, devil.

Speaker 3 (55:06):
Worshippers, or spooks inspectors.

Speaker 8 (55:10):
No, I always creaked quietly through the moonlight shadows, watching
the night for signs and portents. One night I got
to a little pardon of the trees that looked right
into the heart of the graveyard. There, standing full illuminated
in the bright moonlight, was the horseman himself, headless, with

(55:33):
his inky cloak billowing in the wind.

Speaker 3 (55:37):
Except there weren't no wind.

Speaker 8 (55:40):
The air was a still a big man's breath, and
yet his cloak all a flooded. He was hitching his
horse to a headstone. Nothing from mister Ichabob's book could
match such a frightful scene. I watched as his horse
whind as.

Speaker 9 (55:59):
Though he be boot Three figures in dark cloaks all
approached the horsemen from different sides, and I decided their
noise or arrival would be a good cover for my
silent excit.

Speaker 8 (56:13):
I cannot tell ye with whom the headless Horseman was
making this rendezvous. No one good, that's for certain. A
fortnight ago, this was only a fortnight. Yet I've known
the Specter all my life. I've grown accustomed to seeing
him every night the moon changes, and in all that time,

(56:35):
I've never seen him with weird folk about. And that
tells me something is askew about that old spirit, something unbalanced.

Speaker 3 (56:45):
He is the lord and.

Speaker 8 (56:46):
Master, commanding in chief of all the airy spirits a
sleepy hollow. So if there's something afoul with a horseman,
then there's something rotten and the whole damn hollow. So,
Miss Katrina, maybe I'd tell you these secrets because I
believe your headless friend wants to see justice done for

(57:08):
your poor sweetheart. Mister brahm Bones, maybe the horseman wants
to make sure that no man gets any credit for
a chopped off head in this hollow, save for him savvy.

Speaker 2 (57:32):
The witch's admonitions to steer clear of the water and
any hooved men, and the parson, for he is the
worst of them, all played in my head like nursery rhymes.
What's more, Abigail had told us almost in passing, that

(57:54):
she herself had seen brother Ichabot in a secluded glen
not a stones throw from the cemetery, no more than
a fortnight ago. Could he truly be alive? Or could
this be more trickery from the spirit realm? I must confess,
dear cousin, that the notion gave me a renewed sense

(58:18):
of hope. A westerly path led to the cemetery, which
Katrina assured me was only a short walk away, though
the distance seemed to expand in the gathering twilight. I
stumbled with affright at the distant sound of shrieking high

(58:39):
and shrill. Katrina began searching the canopy overhead. With eyes wide.
We made haste to the cemetery, fearing the cries were
of a phantom foretelling the coming of death. We found
the cemetery glowing a hazy gold through the last filtered
rays of sunlight. The screech had receded. But here there

(59:02):
were no birds singing, nor were there any insects chirping,
or small rodents at play in the fallen leaves. We
opened the gate and immediately saw the fresh tracks made
by boots and horseshoes. A strange sign for such a

(59:24):
lonely disused cemetery. I wonder, could could those be the
tracks of the headless horsemen?

Speaker 6 (59:35):
If they belonged to the horseman, then old man Brewer
must cobble his boots for him. You can see the
mark of Burr's trade in the boot track. I suspect
these tracks were made by the folk of Terrytown. Not
a spook, now, who would rip up a bible?

Speaker 3 (59:52):
Look?

Speaker 2 (59:53):
Look, there pages.

Speaker 6 (59:55):
From a high German Bible shredded to ribbons, strewn about
and trampled under foot.

Speaker 2 (01:00:00):
There are more of them here, placed with some strange
intent upon these gravestones. Is this merely the blasphemy or
some wrongheaded ruffian or.

Speaker 6 (01:00:13):
Or or someone trying to ward off evil? Perhaps that
crazy old witch knows more about the happenings in the
cemetery than she told us.

Speaker 2 (01:00:22):
Remnants of fire. Also, something fowls happened here.

Speaker 6 (01:00:29):
Look out there in the center of the graveyard.

Speaker 2 (01:00:45):
Oh Bessie, you would commend me for the great care
with which I watched the ground. As I made my
way into the heart of the cemetery, I saw more
items strewn about the graves, but no more pages of scripture.
I beheld a key and some gold teeth, pieces of silver,

(01:01:07):
broken bits of a bridle, four horseshoes, the dead carcasses
of black mice, rats, and cats, even a skunk, all
laid out in a circle around the fire. The smell
of dead animals was so wretched my stomach hues. Recalling

(01:01:29):
how those odors invaded my nostrils. Who could have done this?
I wondered, Who would find all these dead things and
carry them here? We looked on in horror at the
gruesome and grotesque scene before our eyes, and then we
saw the flicker of torchlight. There were people approaching, Then

(01:01:53):
we heard their voices. Katrina seized me by the elbow
and hid among some dense hedges. Then the graveyard filled
with light as several men and two women approached. I
was not acquainted with the townsfolk, well enough to know
who they were, but I could make out a handful

(01:02:15):
of men and two women. The people were conversing, but
we could not make out what was said. Something about
the master, a prized horse, a bride. Then there was
a rush of movement and torchlight, and then sweet Cousin,

(01:02:37):
I can report nothing of what happened, for I felt
a sudden, sharp pain and all went black eighty Oh Bessie,
Oh Bessie, you would commend me for the great care
with which I watched the ground. As I made my
way into the heart of the cemetery, I saw more

(01:03:01):
items strewn about the graves, but no more pages of scripture.
I beheld a key, and some gold teeth, pieces of silver,
broken bits of a bridle, four horseshoes, the dead carcasses
of black mice, rats and cats, even a skunk, all

(01:03:24):
laid out in a circle around the fire. The smell
of dead animals was so wretched my stomach keys recalling
how those odors invaded my nostrils. Who could have done this?
I wondered? Who would find all these dead things and
carry them here? We looked on in horror at the

(01:03:47):
gruesome and grotesque scene before our eyes, and then we
saw the flicker of torchlight. There were people approaching, then
we heard their voices. Katrina seized me by the elbow
and hid among some dense hedges. Then the graveyard filled

(01:04:08):
with light as several men and two women approached. I
was not acquainted with the townsfolk well enough to know
who they were, but I could make out a handful
of men and two women. The people were conversing, but
we could not make out what was said. Something about

(01:04:28):
the master, a prized horse, a bride. Then there was
a rush of movement and torchlight, and then, sweet cousin,
I can report nothing of what happened, for I felt
a sudden, sharp pain, and all went black. A blue

(01:04:55):
mist shrouded a shadowy figure. I stood rooted to the spot,
unable to move, arms rigid at my side's. My eyes
widened as the figure emerged from the mist, and it
was my beloved brother, Ichabod. I couldn't reach for him.

(01:05:19):
My tongue was swollen in my mouth, though I was
desperate to cry out his name, Eliza. Ichabod's voice was strange,
high pitched, yet familiar. Genuine fear etched his pallid face.
His head wobbled upon his bloody neck, as though it

(01:05:41):
was crudely or improperly affixed.

Speaker 6 (01:05:45):
Eliza, wake up, Wake up, Eliza, please?

Speaker 2 (01:05:50):
Why is Katrina's voice issuing from Ichabod's mouth? And with
such urgency? I closed my eyes for a moment, and
then they flew back open. I was lying flat on
my back on a hard, cold surface. The chill of

(01:06:10):
it ripped through my skin, chilling me into the very
marrow of my bones. I tried to sit up, but
my outstretched arms were lashed fast with coarse hemp rope,
chafing my wrists. Above me was a black sky full
of stars and the vivid orange glow of fiery torches.

(01:06:35):
I turned my head, scraping my cheek against the cold stone.
My eyes widened to see Katrina standing upright, her body
ramrod against a gnarled tree trunk, her golden hair tumbled
loose down her back, her bodice torn, and her face

(01:06:56):
covered with bruises. Katrina, what's happening? Are you hurt?

Speaker 6 (01:07:03):
Not terribly? You should see the wretch who tied me here.
I got in a few good licks, left a scar
on his face to remember me.

Speaker 3 (01:07:11):
By, I'll warrant, But.

Speaker 1 (01:07:14):
Why ah, I'm glad to see you're a wicket last,
miss Crane.

Speaker 2 (01:07:20):
Yes, Bessy, I'm sure you might have guessed by now
that this was the Sonora's voice of the town parson,
Reverend Jasper Voss. He bent over me tenderly, brushing a
loose strand of hair behind my ear.

Speaker 1 (01:07:39):
Forgive me, but for reasons too dull to expand upon,
you must be bound to this altar. Normally the bride
would be standing tall beside her groom during such happy occasions. However,
I cannot risk you running away from your future husband
my husband. Yes, of course, the headless horseman is, i'll

(01:08:05):
grant you, quite monstrous, but there is tenderness within him. Also,
having acquainted himself with your brother, I am certain he
will look upon you with all the fondness he can muster.

Speaker 2 (01:08:20):
I began to struggle more on the cross shaped altar,
and I heard Katrina gasp as figures emerged from the
shadows of the torches, at least six of them. They
drew back the hoods on their cloaks, their faces revealed
in the torchlight. Then, Ripper, is that you indeed the

(01:08:41):
cult is. Who attended us were Ichabod's old landlord, the magistrate,
the town's midwife, the innkeeper, and Geller, the jailer whose
face bore Katrina's scratch marks. Another man, who I had
not met, I later learned was the local doctor.

Speaker 3 (01:09:02):
Why are you all here?

Speaker 6 (01:09:04):
You're Terrytown's most respected citizens. You were friends of my father.

Speaker 3 (01:09:09):
What part do you mean to play in this dark varce?

Speaker 1 (01:09:14):
Yes, Geller, will you ah kindly silence the witness? Those
who bear witness must be mute.

Speaker 2 (01:09:25):
He slapped her hard across the face. Katrina cried out
as her lips split and her head knocked hard against
the tree. No, leave her alone, Please, why are you
doing all of this? Did you truly murder my brother? Please?

Speaker 1 (01:09:43):
Geller? I wanted you to gag her and not knock
her brains out.

Speaker 2 (01:09:48):
Geller grumbled as he secured a stinking handkerchief into Katrina's mouth.
Katrina glared at him with fire in her eyes. Reverend
Voss gestured the midwife come prepare the bride. The old
crone hobbled forward with a slight bow. She approached me

(01:10:09):
with a curved, wicked knife.

Speaker 1 (01:10:11):
Ral Thomasin is going to untie you, Miss Crane, but
then she will secure your wrists together. I suggest you
don't make any plans to run. You are surrounded. We
are far outside of town. If you foolishly decide to run,
I will simply order Miss van Brunt's death, and her

(01:10:32):
blood will be most assuredly upon your hands.

Speaker 2 (01:10:36):
I forced myself to remain still as the midwife tied
my wrists behind my back. Why are you doing this?
The parson's black cloak flowed behind him as he moved
to an altar covered with candles, skulls, and an ebony book.
He waved towards the male acolytes as they position themselves

(01:10:57):
around the altar in the configuration of an innverted cross.

Speaker 1 (01:11:02):
Well, it is all quite simple, miss Crane, you see.
I dream of a world where all are equal, where
everyone has enough to eat, everyone can control their destiny. Sadly,
we don't live in such a world. I learned this
and all the secrets of hell the night my child

(01:11:24):
was born.

Speaker 2 (01:11:25):
The midwife draped a snow white robe over my shoulders.
But you are a man of God. Surely you have
influence to appeal to your parishioners.

Speaker 1 (01:11:35):
Better natures, mortal men have no better nature. Alas I
am not a patient man, Miss Crane, especially in the
wake of a war that changed the face of our country,
we have the opportunity for sweeping changes, and yet no
one is taking them, especially in this hollow where everyone

(01:11:56):
is either trembling in fear and superstition or tear worrying
about staring into their cups, too slow and drunk and
stupid to notice the world turning, turning, and leaving them
all behind drink and complacency. And if fear keep them
standing motionless, no, Miss Crane, fear is the most incredible

(01:12:21):
power of all. And if I can control such a fear,
I will be unstoppable. And so it falls to me
to give something to the horsemen, to sweeten the pot
for him.

Speaker 2 (01:12:34):
As it were, so I am to be some unholy offering.
You lured me here so that I could be wedded
to the horsemen in exchange for what were his obedience. Well,
if I learned anything from Captain Ddrich Knickerbocker, it is

(01:12:57):
that the evil spirits of the earth and air have
no master save for the fallen one himself.

Speaker 1 (01:13:06):
Ah funny you should mention Captain Knickerbocker he has been
attending you this whole time. It was rude of you
not to greet him with this.

Speaker 2 (01:13:17):
The parson picked up the boiled and polished skull that
had been laid upon the altar, and in a grotesque
and obscene pantomime, began working the jaws of the skull
as if to make it.

Speaker 10 (01:13:34):
Speak, Hello, miss Eliza. I'm sad that you do not
recognize me in this sorry state. Knickerbocker was a fool
to take on your case, and twice the fool to
walk into the trap that I, or rather mister Fox,

(01:13:56):
laid out for him when you wouldn't answer myself in.

Speaker 2 (01:14:00):
Person, so you sent the letter yes.

Speaker 1 (01:14:05):
Of course, and the hank of your brother's hair with it,
snipped it from the back of his head myself.

Speaker 2 (01:14:13):
He finished lighting the candles and picked up an obsidian
bowl that was filled with a scarlet liquid. Each cultist,
starting with the town magistrate, took a pious sip from
the vessel, the thick red coating their lips. Meanwhile, Katrina
gritted her teeth with satisfaction. Being married to Brahm taught

(01:14:36):
her many things. Being able to hold her own in
a quick tussle was one of those things, as Geller
could attest from the scratches on his face. Another thing
is how to get herself out of tight jams if
she found herself in such a predicament. Geller might have

(01:14:58):
been good at securing a man behind iron bars and manacles,
but he was lost when it came to making knots
and accidentally tying a feisty woman to a tree with
her apron strings. Katrina's writhing, scraped fingers touched her shadoline

(01:15:18):
and her collection of keys and sharp sewing scissors. It
took a few minutes of silent wiggling, but the scissor
blades eventually freed the bonds enough for Katrina to set
herself free. Frow thomasin the Midwife laid dark red roses

(01:15:39):
in a circle around the altar where I sat. She
accepted the ceremonial bowl from Reverend Voss with a simpering bow,
and dipped her fingers into the liquid. Then she began
to paint cymbals on my face, arms, and upper chest.
I recoiled at the Crone's touch in her dreadful, thick

(01:16:01):
coppery scent.

Speaker 1 (01:16:03):
Ah, Miss Crane, believe me that I do not want
your brother murdered. Leading him to the Horseman's thirsty blade
was all too easy, alas your brother's blood was mixed
into the paint which now marks you as the bride
of the Headless Horseman. All men, even dead men, will

(01:16:25):
do anything for love. My letter summoned you, and now
you are here, dressed in white, coated in the stain
of your brother's blood, to be wedded to a dark
bridegroom for all eternity. And after receiving his bride, the
headless Horseman will be mine to command.

Speaker 2 (01:16:49):
I screamed, not from horror, but to help conceal the
sounds of Katrina's flight from the macab ritual scene. Whether
to save herself or to bring help, I knew not,
but I was glad that she had escaped whatever dreadful
fate the Coultists had in store for her. A bizarre,

(01:17:12):
sickly sweet smell emanated from the torches and the candles,
making my vision swim. If you had guessed, Cousin Bessie,
that these were vapors from burning tennis root, you would
be correct. I felt as though my own head was
going to fall off. The parson intoned words in a

(01:17:34):
dark language that twisted my gut. I doubled over, clutching
my abdomen and gasping for breath. He moved with dark
grace as he placed several bloody, disembodied heads on the altar,
their faces frozen in abject horror. The only head I

(01:17:55):
recognized was the mummified but still familiar face of Ichabod.
Some preserving liquid I suspect dripped from his neck stump,
pulling with the flesh red draining from the other heads.
A black mist swirled around the whole dark company in
the woods. A vibration filled the.

Speaker 7 (01:18:17):
Air, along with the drumming of hoofbeats, and a wave
of awe filled the circle as every gaze looked upon
the dark figure mounted on a black horse.

Speaker 2 (01:18:31):
Its breath steaming in the night air. With a booming shout,
the large horseman, with no head upon his broad shoulders,
surged forward and swept me into his strong arms. I
shrieked and tried to push away, but he helped me tight,
spurred his steed, and leapt away, galloping into the woods.

Speaker 1 (01:18:55):
Wait, no, I have not given you my command.

Speaker 2 (01:19:00):
I thought I would be cold in the headless horseman's
arms but instead, as he held me close, I felt
warm and the safe. The black horse bearing us away
from the ritual galloped, was slick with sweat. My heartbeat

(01:19:21):
matched the rhythm of the horse's gallop. The headless horseman
cried whoa in a muffled voice, Issuing from behind the
folds of his black coat. From within his chest, he
pulled the horse's reins, slowing it down to a stop.
The horseman whistled, and a figure stepped from behind a tree.

(01:19:44):
My eyes widened with recognition.

Speaker 6 (01:19:48):
Katrina Lisser and Missus van Brunt, at your service.

Speaker 2 (01:20:08):
I turned to see the horseman dismount gracefully and remove
his cloak. Before me stood brom bones. He had strapped
a couple of veils of thick pillows on either side
of his head to simulate the appearance of shoulders. The
cloak draped over to give the appearance of a headless man.

(01:20:30):
He chuckled. The ghost of a smile on his weary
face betrayed the good humor for which the burly young
man was known. He bowed and hastily apologized for all
the ill he caused for my late brother. How did
you free Brahm from the jail.

Speaker 6 (01:20:49):
I mean, with a little white magic. I'll explain later. Come,
our night isn't over yet. Let's fly to the van
Tassel farmhouse. We have plants to make and more to do.

Speaker 2 (01:21:02):
With great haste, Brohm harnessed Daredevil to a disused hay
Wayne concealed in the brush. Then Brahm and Daredevil galloped
away in the night, pulling Katrina and I and the
hay Wayne as fast as they could convey us. I imagine,
dear Bessie, that you're wondering what became of the wicked

(01:21:26):
Reverend Jasper Voss and the other cultists. Heaven only knows
not I But when we returned to the rituals circle
in the hollow, in the cold light of day, we
found the remnants of a massacre. Abigail von Gouhl was

(01:21:46):
there too, picking through the carnage for signs and portents.
She told us that she had beheld some, but not all,
of the horrible events which unfolded after we escape Heaped.
But to the best of our reckoning, this is what happened.

(01:22:11):
The Coltists, believing Brahm's counterfeit, Hessian to be the true Horseman,
quickly lost faith in the parson's dark arts and his
ability to command the legendary specter, Reverend Voss flew into
a rage, slitting the throat of the doctor. Perhaps he
was the chief mutineer. As the doctor bled out on

(01:22:34):
the ground, Reverend Voss sawed his head clean off his body.
The other coltists watched in horror, flinching back, as the
blood stained parson rose to his feet and plopped the
fresh head upon the altar. The mist pulsed around them,
and the torches and candles flared brighter than ever as

(01:22:59):
the colt hush t hooft beats approached. As the headless
horseman appeared within the ring of firelights, the horseman's steed,
known as Chieftain, or so we were told by Abigail,
shook his head, the iron and bone chains of his

(01:23:20):
bridle tinkling like the bells of the dead. The white
markings were stark on Chieftain's black head, making the shape
of a skull with burning red eyes. Chieftain's mane and
feathers were like long, shaggy black frozewings beaded with human
finger bones, and the skulls of small birds. The terrifying

(01:23:43):
steed breathed, heaving breaths, belching out flame from his mouth
and nostrils. The headless horseman, still wearing his Hussian uniform
stained with blood. His robust frame, was wrapped in a
black cloak, draped like black smoke over both horse and

(01:24:05):
rider in such a way that they appeared as one.
A foul wind blew through and stirred the horseman's cloak,
flaring it in such a way that the gathered company
swore they saw the leathery wings of a demon. Reverend
Voss cleared his throat and approached the headless horseman, bowing low.

Speaker 1 (01:24:29):
Hi bid you welcome horsemen. Forgive the wavering faith of
these peasant fools. But now that you have come forth,
it is time for you to retrieve your bride. Go horsemen,
do my bidding and claim Eliza Crane take the head

(01:24:50):
of Katrina van Brunt as well.

Speaker 2 (01:24:53):
There was a breathless moment as the horseman remained still.
Smoke and fire rose from the gap where the head
should have rested, sparking like flames around a campfire during
the war. It flashed briefly into the appearance of the
skeletal face before vanishing into the thick smoke that reeked

(01:25:16):
of black powder. The headless horseman raised his sword, the
edges blazing red as if fleshed from an iron forge.
Fueled by the hell fire and damnation, he swung, and
with a hiss of smoke, the parson's head flew off
in a spray of hot blood. The townsfolk spoke later

(01:25:40):
of the screams and wails that echoed through the woods
that night. Through it all was the clatter of hoofbeats
and the singing of a blade. We were the first
souls brave enough to venture back there, and we discovered
the headless bodies of Reverend Voss, the Dog, the Magistrate

(01:26:02):
Van Ripper, the innkeeper Geller, and Freuline Thomason. They lay
scattered on the ground, their neck wounds burned and catterized
from a hellish blade. Blood painted the trees, branches, and
the cross shaped altar in hellish shades of crimson and scarlet.

(01:26:24):
All the heads were missing, never to be found again.
The pile of bodies was wreathed in a circle of
hoof prints in the dirt, hoof prints which were burned
into the ground at noontime on All Saints' Day, the

(01:26:51):
country Executioner arrived in Terrytown, and upon finding the jailhouse
empty and the jailer and magistrate missing, he simply turned
around and went home. The bureaucracy of justice, it would seem,
moves differently here than in Manhattan. In any event, he
would not have found Brahm and Katrina, for they left

(01:27:14):
the hollow shortly after finding the horrible scene in the woods.
They departed on daredevil, taking with them only what they
could carry. I dare say they've done what Captain Knickerbocker
thought my brother had done, picked up and started a
new life under new names. Abigail had given Katrina a

(01:27:38):
spell book which will prove useful in matters of disappearing.
She promised to write me in a few months time,
using an agreed upon cipher that only she and I
can to code. That was nearly a week ago. I've
been staying at the Inn until I've regained enough strength

(01:27:58):
to begin the journey home. Terrytown is quite lovely in
the fall, now that the awful shadow of this necromancer's
colt has lifted, I've hired a coach to take me
back to Manhattan. At Cock crow. Pray that my journey
is peaceful and free of incident. Until we meet again,

(01:28:20):
sweet cousin Bessie, I remain faithfully yours, Eliza Crane PostScript.
Last night I found myself tarrying along the brook and
wandering near the bridge where Ichabod's hat was found. It

(01:28:41):
was right at sundown. Night fell swiftly over the sky,
like a hand blocking out the light of a candle.
My heart froze as I heard the hoof beats of
two horses, For it was not only the headless horseman

(01:29:01):
astride Chieftain, who crossed the bridge at full gallop, holding
aloft his red saber.

Speaker 7 (01:29:07):
No.

Speaker 2 (01:29:08):
Now there was another spectral rider behind him. There was
a poor, pitiful brother Ikabod, his lanky frame mounted forever
more on old gunpowder. He resembled a ghostly scarecrow eloped
from a cornfield, holding his own head in the crook

(01:29:29):
of his elbow. With his long snipe nose, he stared
contentedly out into the night, like a weathercock, watching where
the autumn wind may blow.

Speaker 1 (01:30:02):
You have been listening to the Brides of Sleepy Hollow.
Adapted especially for October Pod by John Iger from stories
written by Amber Jordan, Whitney, zahar Dan B. Fierce and
Jane knightshade from an original idea by Edward October inspired
by Washington Irving's tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. In

(01:30:25):
the cast, you heard Ari Shay as Eliza Crane, Karen Rayner,
co host of chick Lit podcast as Katrina van Brunt,
Tom O'Connor as Captain Knickerbocker, Chauncey k Robinson, host of
YouTube's production Tales from Hell, as Abigail Van Gould, with
Edward October as the parson, Reverend Jasper Voss. The Brides

(01:30:51):
of Sleepy Hollow was produced, edited and directed for October
Pod by Edward October, with additional editing by Kevin host
of The Jury Room podcast. Stick around after the credits
for a brief word from some of our fellow indie podcasters,
creators and friends. There may even be some bloopers, outtakes,

(01:31:14):
and bonus content as well. You have been listening to Octoberpod.
Octoberpod is produced, edited and directed by Edward October. The
series co producers are m J McAdams and Amber Jordan.
Logo and banner graphics by Jessica Good Edward October character
design by Nick Calavera. Select still photography courtesy of unsplash

(01:31:36):
dot com. Select music cues by Doctor dream Chip and
various other stock music and sound effects courtesy of freesound
dot Org. Music from Bigfoot Apocalypse and Thorax theme from
Octoberpod composed by Nico Vittesi. All other images, music, and
FX cues, except where noted, are sourced from within the

(01:31:58):
public domain. Follow us on YouTube at Octoberpod, home Video,
on Instagram and the app I Still Call Twitter at OCTOBERPODVHS,
and on TikTok and blue Sky at Octoberpod. Or find
us and all of our links on the world wide
Web at octoberpodvhs dot com. For business inquiries or story submissions,

(01:32:21):
email octoberpodat gmail dot com. If you enjoyed this program,
we'd be very pleased. If you've told your friends about us,
and while you're at it, write us a five star
or equivalent review. Wherever you were listening, the man who
spoke to you was mister Edward October.

Speaker 11 (01:32:40):
Do you feel that a sudden chill a single down
your spine.

Speaker 3 (01:32:44):
It's not a draft, is it.

Speaker 11 (01:32:46):
No, it's the unmistakable sign that we've found them the
most terrifyingly delicious ghost stories you've ever heard.

Speaker 1 (01:32:54):
And trust us, we've had some close calls.

Speaker 11 (01:32:58):
We're talking haunted halways, phantom apparitions, and things that go
bump in the night, all served up on our new show,
Ghost Bites.

Speaker 6 (01:33:08):
Join us as we dig into the spectral secrets and
spooky sightings that we'll have you sleeping with the lights on.

Speaker 11 (01:33:14):
So if you're brave enough, come grab a bite with us.

Speaker 4 (01:33:17):
Just try not to let it be your last.

Speaker 1 (01:33:24):
A Ghost Bites streaming now on all your favorite podcast platforms.

Speaker 12 (01:33:30):
Hi, I'm Karen and I'm Aubrey and this is Chicklin,
a literature comedy podcast where we enjoy getting lit and
talking about books we love and love to roast.

Speaker 6 (01:33:40):
We also talk about personal opinions and quote the office
so much that we've made it into.

Speaker 2 (01:33:44):
A drinking game.

Speaker 12 (01:33:45):
We've been friends for over a decade, so grab your
drink of choice and join us for some shenanigans.

Speaker 3 (01:33:51):
I'm Pitney and I'm Amelia.

Speaker 11 (01:33:54):
And we're from and Amelia, Pitch and Bootique.

Speaker 3 (01:33:58):
Who are we Why we're your new best friends? Of course,
pull up a seat and listen in to what we
think about people, places and things, geeky stuff or movies,
whirdos we know, spirituality, sexuality, food, filth. It's like eavesdropping
on the people at the next table for like an

(01:34:19):
hour or so and wishing you could join in on
their conversation.

Speaker 6 (01:34:23):
Also, do you see who just came in?

Speaker 3 (01:34:25):
Look at that hair? Oh honey, just no bitchiness, you're
soaking in it.

Speaker 1 (01:34:34):
We soften your hands while you do the dishes.

Speaker 3 (01:34:36):
Pitt Me and Amelia's bitch and Boutique. We're here, We're queer,
and we're in.

Speaker 9 (01:34:43):
Your ear every other Friday where all the classiest podcasts
are found.

Speaker 1 (01:34:49):
Fight We'll do it love. This is sleepy hollow one
baker Ah, I'm afraid I do not vibe spirits of
any kind. My doctor forbids it the first take might
actually be better. I'm gonna start that over to fucking

(01:35:11):
madrigal singing sound twenty four tango, swipe of a sword,
then head drops, followed by my niacal laughter. Motherfucker, big
big old horror music.

Speaker 2 (01:35:24):
Sting eighty Oh Bessie.

Speaker 1 (01:35:28):
For the Chill of Autumn, for the chill of.

Speaker 5 (01:35:33):
You.

Speaker 13 (01:35:33):
Hear that shit.

Speaker 1 (01:35:39):
You have been listening to what do we call this?
What number is this? We'll say it's number one, and
thirty eight is probably more than that number six hundred
and sixty six, nine hundred and ninety nine. Abigal of
on Ghoul, not to be confused with Abigail Gabba Ghoul,
who is a panas.

Speaker 8 (01:36:00):
Character, a horse thing with wild mane, flying lightning pulsing
through it, blue and white light lacing through the hair,
a mouthful of the fangs like a snake's, each one
as long as your fingers, and dripping with blood and gore.
They take off at a gallop. They run so hard

(01:36:22):
your bones crunch together inside you and break. The jagged
bones stab you all inside. As the nightmare horse keeps running,
blood pours from your eyes and your mouth. As the
monster keeps running your bones just keep breaking into smaller
and smaller shods, and slide through your flesh until peace

(01:36:44):
by piece you are cut free of the frightful steed,
dead as a sack of drowned kitts. Of course, no
one has yet survived the night with one of these
horrible bridegrooms. Stay away from hooked men, and he should
be fine.

Speaker 1 (01:37:04):
Normally, the bride would be standing tall beside hoard. Normally,
the bride would be standing tall. Fuck me one fourteen.

Speaker 10 (01:37:17):
Hello miss Eliza, I'm glad that you do not recognize
me in this sorry state. Hello, miss Eliza.

Speaker 12 (01:37:32):
I'm fifty.

Speaker 6 (01:37:40):
Oh oh forty five.

Speaker 1 (01:37:48):
Dramatic sting. All right, and we're going to fast forward
all the way the fuck back to the end credits here,
which I am going to read forthwith and Edward October
as the parse and the parson, and Edward October is
the parson, Reverend Jasper Voss fien.

Speaker 13 (01:38:10):
Fien Fien, fien Fien. It's the end of my recording. Yes,
it is Sophie fien Fien.

Speaker 5 (01:38:26):
Yeah, it's m the