Review: Story I

After a fight with his wife, Rip van Winkle takes his new gun, calls for his dog and starts walking towards the woods and away from his wife. There, instead of hunting he is helping a manwith a large barrel, to get over the mountain. When he wakes up and returns to the village the next morning, he finds out that the one night has been 20 years for him...

Story II

This time we are in a town called Sleepy Hollow. Where there are much strange stories with ghosts, cobalts, and a headless horseman. In this story there lives a teacher named Ichabod Crane. In those days being a teachers didn't mean that you had a good life. But the people in Sleepy Hollow had arranged that the teacher lived with them, in fact he was living with the local carpenter for a while. Then he moved on to one of the farmers. This way Ichabod had a nice life. Teaching the children, having free food and a free roof above his head. Every thing went well till he lived with the wealthiest farmer of Sleepy Hollow and he fell in love with the farmers daughter. He wasn't the only one who thought that the farmers daughter was the most beautiful girl in the world. And a competition began about the girl.

Story III

A captain is telling three ladies the story of a priest, who goes from England to France. There he sees a beautiful, but sad girl with her father. He asks the local priest what there is wrong with her. And the priest tells him the story: The girl, Annette Delarbre, fell in love with a boy called Eugène, when they both where just kids. Then the war came and he had to leave. When he came back they had a fight and Eugène left for sea once more. People thought that the boat he was on sank in a storm. Annette never got over the news, she got sick, didn't had a happy moment and lived in her own world where Eugène was supposed to return every day now. Still the day came that Eugène really returned, to find his true love like this...

Story IV

Dolf Heyliger lived in New York, in the early years when the English just freed the land of the Dutchtman. Dolf was a kid, who didn't find it usefull to go to school. He rather played tricks on people then to make himself usefull. All the people complained to his mother that he was a no-gooder - that she had to punish him. She always wanted to do that. Till she saw her boy. The only family she had left. Then an opportunity came: the local doctor was searching for an apprentice. With some luck, and the help of some friends, Dolf finally went to learn a profession. Not that he liked it. But it made his mother happy. The docter was an old man and was thinking of the future. What should he do when he stoped working... He bought an old farm. And till he really had to stop working, he found other people to live in it. But these people hated it there. The house was haunted, they said. And they moved out. The docter couldn't find other people who where willing to live there. So he said to Dolf that he could live in the house. Dolf gladly accepted. A place for himself. Where he could do what he wanted. Why should he stay here? So off he went. During the day he stayed with his teacher. And just before it was getting dark he would go to the house. After his adventure in the house his life changed...

Story V

A couple of short pirate, buccaneer stories. Told in a tavern by a group of men. All are about great pirates and great treasures. Buried treasure! but where are they? People tell that a pirate named Kidd went up the Hudsome river to bury the treasure. Now, who would like to find such a treasure? But what happens if people get obsessed with the thought of that...

This book is what is called a classic. Not what I hoped for. But first before I start, I read the book in Dutch. Maybe, the original versions are always better. Not all the stories are good. But there are enough stories in this book. All the adventures, with a little of the mystery land, goblins, ghosts, the headless writer. And the stories told about them, how our fantasy can make us believe things. Another nice thing of this book is the way it is playing in the history. Just when the English had control over New York. The writer is very detailed in appreances. Telling about the clothes the Dutch whore those days, how the houses where build. Even what kind of people the Dutch are - well in his eyes anyway. I, being a Dutch girl, must say that a lot of it is true. The thing I don't like about this book is that I expected more horror like stuff. The stories are good, but it is difficult to find the horror in the story. It are the mysteries that might be interesting. Maybe the little history in the book may interest you. But don't expect a real horror story...

FYI, we can't get this book from Amazon.com. be patient, or ask Dracmus where to find it .