The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Gym, Part 1

This story was the second most requested of my poll from last month, so I decided to include it just in time for Halloween. Part 2 will be up tomorrow.

Since it’s Halloween, I was wondering – have you heard the story about what allegedly happened a few years ago at the Sleepy Hollow Gym? You know, the legend about that guy, Ichabod Crane? You haven't? Oh, it's a good one.

So there was a man named Ichabod Crane. He was a teacher over at Sleepy Hollow High School – I think he taught chemistry...or maybe it was biology. Some kind of science. Anyway, all the kids loved him because he made the subject really accessible and fun and didn't talk down to them. He got along with the other staff members – well, all but one – and had a very solid reputation.

The only thing that wasn’t solid about Ichabod was his physique. He was about 5’7” and weighed around 230 flabby pounds, most of which accumulated around his belly and ass, but his arms, legs, neck, and shoulders were all small and weak. Ichabod spent so much time becoming a good teacher that he didn’t have time to work on his appearance – he didn’t exercise, or shop for nice clothes, or get his hair styled (messy bedhead was his usually look). He was definitely a hardcore “before” photo in a transformational “before and after” series.

This general sloppiness of his body and appearance didn’t become a problem for Ichabod until he turned 30. He finally tired of being alone all the time and wanted to find that special someone, but he had zero prospects. It was already hard enough since he was gay and living in a very small town, and it didn’t help that none of the men he swiped right on the dating apps ever swiped right back.

So Ichabod decided he was going to try getting in better shape. He thought if he lost a few pounds and put on a little muscle, maybe he would be more desirable to the other single men in the area – plus, there was always the possibility he could meet someone while exercising at the nearby fitness facility. He bought some workout clothes and signed up for a membership at the Sleepy Hollow Gym.

At first, he was going to stick with just cardio, but late one Saturday afternoon, he ventured into the free weight area, and that’s when he ran into Brom Van Brunt. Brom was the PE teacher at Sleepy Hollow High, and the only one of the staff members who didn’t care for Ichabod. Some of it had to do with the fact that Ichabod was always chatting with Katrina Van Tassel, and Brom assumed that Ichabod was trying to get into her pants, but of course that wasn’t the case. Ichabod spent time with Katrina because they were both science teachers, and they would check in with one another frequently to discuss students, lesson plans, and tests – it was all incredibly platonic.

But mainly, Brom just didn’t like Ichabod because the man was so out of shape. He despised fat and weak men and like to pick on them because Brom was the exact opposite. He 28 years old, stood 6’4”, and weighed 280 pounds of solid muscle – he had been a gifted athlete in high school and college, and he continued to get bigger and stronger through his 20s. As of that night, Brom had a 58-inch chest with massively pump pecs that jutted out above his ribcage, 21-inch arms that bulged with muscle, 33-inch quads that screamed “Don’t fuck with me or I’ll stomp the shit out of you,” and a 34-inch midsection with ridiculously shredded abdominals. On top of all that, he had buzzcut brown hair, deep blue eyes, easily tanned skin, and a smile that (along with his body) got him all the dates he ever needed. Brom was indeed a walking wet dream.

On the afternoon in question, Brom quickly spotted Ichabod near one of the benches in the free weight section and silently strode up behind him. Before Ichabod could get away, Brom grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled up the fabric to reveal the acres of quivering soft flesh underneath. Brom laughed way too loud and started calling Ichabod a fatass and a jelly belly – and then reached down and shook Ichabod’s flabby middle. “Ever heard of a sit up, fatboy? Or maybe a pushup? Christ, you got no muscle at all – it’s all jiggly fat, Icky Bod. I mean, fuck, you’ve got bigger tits than the girls I sleep with,” shouted Brom, loud enough for the other lifters to hear. He continued to call the science teacher names until one of his buddies finally pulled him away. As Ichabod started crying and ran out of the room, Brom flexed his huge arms and shouted one last warning to him: “This place is for real fuckin’ men, not pussies.”

Ichabod dashed to the locker room as fast as his underdeveloped legs would carry him, grabbed his things, and headed for home. He thought he had made a huge mistake ever signing up for the gym and vowed never to return. But little did he know, fate was about to step in and make a few changes.

Working the front desk that evening was Hans Van Ripper. He was newest member of the staff and was assigned the closing shift that day – October 31 – because all the senior employees wanted the night off to party. Hans didn’t know about the incident in the weight room until a little while later when he overheard one member telling another what had happened. This news made Hans furious, as he was also gay and knew how hard it was to meet other men, and he instantly felt sorry for Ichabod and the bullying he received from Brom.

Now most employees would have reported the incident to the manager to get Brom’s membership privileges suspended, at least for a little while, but Hans wanted to do something a little more…well, let’s say permanent. For the past several years, he had been obsessed with learning as much as he could about witchcraft and the occult – there was something about witches and warlocks that appealed to him, especially as a gay man, as he knew what it meant to have to hide away parts of your true self sometimes. As part of his research, Hans had read about many different potions and incantations that witches throughout history had used, and one of them really stuck with him – it was a spell that could supposedly strip someone of their most cherished attribute and give it to someone else.

As soon as he could sneak away from the front desk, Hans leapt into action. He went into the locker room and found Brom’s locker, which the big man left unlocked. Brom couldn’t fathom anyone ever fucking with his stuff knowing the beatdown they would receive, so he never bothered with a lock. 

Hans looked around to make sure he was alone, and then reached in to grab the one thing he needed – a personal item of Brom’s, which is this case was a cock ring that Brom wore to make sure his dick was extra big and hard for his dates. Hans picked up the ring and began to chant the spell over and over – “Deditionem quod amas, deditionem quod amas, deditionem quod amas.” Roughly translated it meant “surrender what you love.” He added a few more lines, visualized Ichabod as the recipient, and then put the ring back where he found it and closed the locker.

Hans then washed his hands and was exiting the locker room just as Brom entered. He wasn't sure if it would work, but if it did, he hoped that a little of Brom's muscle would be transferred over to Ichabod so he could defend himself. What Hans didn't realize was that not only was the spell real, but it reached its maximum potency each year on Halloween - on that night, it wouldn't just take away one cherished attribute, but all of them.