The romantic/gothic genre of Irving contributes to his writing through his use of the supernatural(ex: the "spell" that resided over Sleepy Hollow), characters with both good and bad traits(ex: Ichabod Crane), and a mysterious, superstitious atmosphere(ex: the cemetery, legend of the Hessian, etc). Bierce's realism, on the other hand, is displayed in " An Occurrence at Owl Creek" by the fact that his story is more about ordinary people/events. Beirce's story is also unique in that the introduction/backround of Peyton is written in chapter 2(after he's already dead) instead of at the beginning. In my opinion, the characters of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" were noteworthy because of their mixed traits, especially Ichabod and Brom, which made it hard for the reader to decide who to root for.
Both stories contained gullible protagonists (Ex: Ichabod's superstition, Peyton's believing the federal scout) who ironically both die in the end(or at least disappear, in Ichabod's case). Although I enjoyed both stories, I would have to say I liked Irving's book a bit more, because of it's mystery and suspense. I also preferred his ending, which was not as abrupt as "An Occurrence at Owl Creek".
