The Headless Horseman

This is an illustration of the Headless Horseman. According to the legend, the Headless Horseman was a Hessian trooper whose head was blown off by a cannon. He supposedly searches for his head at night in the town of Sleepy Hollow. This illustration is one of the more intimidating representations. Most people say that the pumpkin is a substitute for the Headless Horseman's head.

This picture was created by Nick Cooper in 2005 for headlesshorseman.co.uk.

The Theme of Sleepy Hollow

One of the main themes we noticed in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was the haunting of the town by the Headless Horseman. Everyone in the town constantly talked about him, and the suspense of never knowing when he would appear was gripping. The Horseman was known to come out at night, such as the night when the unfortunate Ichabod Crane left the ball. Was the Headless Horseman actually Brom Bones eliminating his competition?

Plot Diagram

1. The Headless Horseman haunts the small town of Sleepy Hollow
2. Ichabod Crane, the schoolmaster, falls in love with the town’s greatest beauty, Katrina van Tassel
3. Crane learns of Brom Bones, his biggest competitor for Katrina van Tassel
4. The van Tassel’s invite Brom Bones and Ichabod Crane to a ball
5. Ichabod Crane decides to propose to Katrina at the ball
6. At the ball, Brom Bones tells a chilling story about how he raced the Headless Horseman and won
7. After the story, Ichabod Crane proposes to Katrina van Tassel and Brom Bones storms out
8. Katrina rejects his proposal, and runs after Brom Bones instead
9. Ichabod Crane rides home alone, and encounters the Headless Horseman
10. Crane was never seen again, although his horse was found wandering on the side of the road

Summary and Information

The target audience for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow(at least for the version we saw) is children to young adults, or people who are 7 to 14 years of age. At the beginning of the story, we learn that the Headless Horseman haunts the small town of Sleepy Hollow. He is the talk of the town, and they say he comes out at night in search of his head. Ichabod Crane, the local schoolmaster, falls in love with Katrina van Tassel, the beauty of the town. Crane becomes obsessed with Katrina van Tassel, and soon learns that his biggest competitor for Katrina is Brom Bones. He is invited to a ball hosted by the father of Katrina van Tassel, and he decides to propose to her there. At the ball, Brom Bones tells a chilling story about how he raced the Headless Horseman and won. After the story, Crane proposes to Katrina van Tassel, and Brom Bones storms out of the room, thinking that Katrina would accept. She didn't, and ran out of the room after Brom Bones instead. Ichabod Crane had to ride home alone, but on his way he encountered the Headless Horseman and was never seen again.

Main Characters

There are four main characters in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. The Headless Horseman haunts the town of Sleepy Hollow, and is also the talk of the entire town. Ichabod Crane is the schoolmaster of this town, and he falls in love with the town beauty, Katrina van Tassel. Brom Bones is another character in this story, and he becomes Crane's biggest competitor for Katrina van Tassel. Both Crane and Bones fight for the love of Katrina van Tassel, but only one emerges as the victor.