Suspended animation in fiction which is indistinguishable from death. In American fiction, the first story to deal with suspended animation is the tale of Rip Van Winkle, a short story by American author Washington Irving published in 1819 as well as the name of the story's fictional protagonist. In the story, a British subject in the American colonies wanders into the Catskill Mountains in the years before the American Revolutionary War, and finds a group of fairies, whose moonshine he drinks. He then falls asleep for 20 years, and returns to his village in what is now the United States, finding his home town
Rip Van Winkle (1910 film) however, finally manages to prove his identity, and also to lay claim to his property, which has greatly increased in value during his sleep, in which he is just in time to save from being unlawfully confiscated by his old-time enemy. Happily reunited to his family, Rip looks forward to his declining years with a spirit born of peace and solace." The production and an adaptation of Washington Irving's story of "Rip Van Winkle". The stage adaptation was well-known and the adaptation would be compared to Joseph Jefferson's portrayal on the stage. The writer of the scenario is unknown, but