"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", "Rip Van Winkle", "The Devil and Tom Walker", and "The Specter Bridegroom" by Washington Irving.

Washington Irving, Comparison of 4 short stories Throughout four of Washington Irving's short stories, characters manipulate the beliefs and superstitions of others for self-beneficence. A predominant sub-theme in these stories is romanticism. The four stories that will be discussed are "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", "Rip Van Winkle", "The Devil and Tom Walker", and "The Spectre Bridegroom." There are clearly underlying aspects that seem to coincide in all of these stories. Though the author, Washington Irving, …

… The Lost World of Washington Irving." Compedit. 2004. 21 Feb. 2004. http://www.compedit.com/3os1rev.htm "The Devil and Tom Walker." ClassicLit. 2004. 21 Feb. 2004. http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/wirving/bl-wirving-devil.htm "The Devil and Tom Walker: Critical Overview." ENotes.com. 2004. 21 Feb 2004. http://www.enotes.com/devil-tom/9380 "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Critical Overview." ENotes.com. 2004. 21 Feb 2004. http://www.enotes.com/legend-sleepy/9448 "Rip Van Winkle: Critical Overview." ENotes.com. 2004. 21 Feb 2004. http://www.enotes.com/rip-van/9532