According to another hypothesis, Irving could have drawn the figure of the "headless rider" from German Silesian literature, precisely from the Chronicle of Sprottau (since 1945 Polish Szprotawa) by J.G. Kreis, written in the first half of the 19th century. In the 19th century, the police counselor Kreis noted that, in the previous century, the inhabitants of this city were afraid to move after dusk on Hospitalstrasse (now Sądowa Street) due to the headless rider apparition seen there. In support of the hypothesis, according to information in Polish Reception of Washington Irving's Work: Between Enlightenment and Romanticism by Zofia Sinko, Walter Scott encouraged Irving to learn German to be able to read stories, ballads, and legends in their native language.Sinko, Zofia (1988). Polska recepcja twórczości Washingtona Irvinga: między Oświeceniem a romantyzmem. Pamiętnik literacki 79/4.
According to another hypothesis, Irving could have drawn the figure of the "headless rider" from German Silesian literature, precisely from the Chronicle of Sprottau (since 1945 Polish Szprotawa) by J.G. Kreis, written in the first half of the 19th century. In the 19th century, the police counselor Kreis noted that, in the previous century, the inhabitants of this city were afraid to move after dusk on Hospitalstrasse (now Sądowa Street) due to the headless rider apparition seen there. In support of the hypothesis, according to information in Polish Reception of Washington Irving's Work: Between Enlightenment and Romanticism by Zofia Sinko, Walter Scott encouraged Irving to learn German to be able to read stories, ballads, and legends in their native language.Sinko Zofia (1988). Polska recepcja twórczości Washingtona Irvinga: między Oświeceniem a romantyzmem. Pamiętnik literacki 79/4.