What famous ghost story writer's first book was a history of NYC?

And the answer is ...

b) Washington Irving

Irving has become famous for his stories set further upstate, including the Halloween classic The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. But he was born right here in the city, on what is now called Irving Place, and hist first major work was A History of New York, a satire of local politics. What's more, Irving even coined the term "Gotham" (or "Goat's Town") as a nickname for NYC, which first appeared in his writings in 1807.