(Incidentally, that surname, which was Irving’s own invention, came to be used as a nickname for an inhabitant of New York eventually, it inspired the name of men’s colourful trousers and, by association, the multicoloured ice-cream dessert the knickerbocker glory. First, Irving’s narrator is the figure he uses as editor and narrator for many of his writings: Diedrich Knickerbocker. We are led to believe this, but Irving’s narrative does not confirm it at any point.Īnd two aspects of Irving’s story make it difficult for us to determine whether the events of the story are meant to be taken as genuinely supernatural or as a hoax perpetrated by Brom Bones. But what does the story mean? Should we view it as an out-and-out ‘Gothic’ tale, or as a more realist tale which merely draws upon Gothic elements? Part of the problem is that we cannot be entirely sure that the ghost of the headless horseman whom Crane encounters towards the end of the narrative really is just Brom Bones in disguise, determined to give his love rival a fright and clear the way for him to woo Katrina for himself.
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