Washington Irving was born on April 3, 1783 in Tarrytown, New York. His father was a merchant and owned an import business. Irving had literary influences early in his life. He was friends with Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Charles Dickens. Washington Irving had no formal schooling. Instead, he taught himself by reading as many books as possible. Washington Irving had other interests than just writing. Irving was an inventor. He invented ice drinks and the …showed first 75 words of 642 total…

…showed last 75 words of 642 total…of the supernatural in both stores is evident between the Devil and Tom Walker and Icabod and the Headless Horsemen. Washington Irving was a romantic writer who heavily relied on the supernatural. He also use a lot of nature in his stories. Irving, who had no formal schooling, relied on reading as a way of gaining knowledge. Reading many books in his life may have influenced on of the most popular writers of all time.