SLEEPY HOLLOW, Ill.—In Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the gawky Ichabod Crane battles for the affections of a lovely maid against a strapping rival who seems to have all of the advantages.

Some might see parallels to this Illinois village, hunkered between long stretches of woodlands and highway, as it vies for attention around Halloween with the likes of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., which occupies the spot where the story was actually set.

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