A Comparison Of Headless Horseman And The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

Many evenings during the winter, Ichabod spent with the old Dutch wives. They would tell ghost stories as well as other super natural beings and demons while sitting by the fire. There was a certain story that was never left out, the legendary Headless Horseman, or sometimes known as the Hessian of the Hollow. The story went on that there was a soldier who with a cannon ball had gotten his head shot off and since roamed through Sleepy Hollow looking for his lost head while on his horse. The Headless Horseman has a jack-o-lantern that sits in replacement of his head. In addition, a love story is part of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” however many find it to be more of a pure lust or greed story. There was girl named Katrina Van Tassel who was

Instead, he made Ichabod Crane a detective who had his own vision on how to solve crimes. In the movie Ichabod is sent to the small village of Sleepy Hollow where a murder of three town’s people has occurred and they want him to solve it. Soon enough, he meets Katrina, whom Ichabod falls in love with, similar to Irving’s original story. Brom once again becomes jealous of this situation. The beginning of the story is very much similar to Washington Irving’s original. However, the main difference is that Ichabod is a detective; he is attempting to resolve a murder mystery. The murder consists of three people who had their heads cut off yet the heads are not being found anywhere. Even though Tim Burton did incorporate Washington Irving’s original story, he chose to include his own version of what happened. Only in the beginning does he chose to show Brom pretending to the cloaked horseman. Burton does include a sudden alteration; he decided to introduce magic and witchcraft. A witch controls an actual demon who was behind the killing who is the horseman. Katrina’s stepmother, who is the true witch, now possesses greed and

In both situations, greed and lust lead to the destruction of a person. The original story by Washington Irving, Ichabod Crane desired so much the Van Tassel estate that he was pushed to fall in love Katrina, therefore angering the local Brom. Ichabod Crane greed led him to his destruction. He was to never return to sleepy hollow and ended up losing not only the girl but also the estate he wanted. One can conclude that indeed Ichabod was seen as a greedy man who would do just about anything to get what he wanted. In contrast, it is evident that in the movie he is portrayed completely different; he is a humble man who just wants to get his job done. Instead, Katrina’s stepmother is the jealous one in the movie directed by Tim Burton. She wants to control money and land which causes her to use the supernatural in order to obtain what she wants. The movie does a good job in keeping it with suspense but Burton decided to take control and show he own version of what happened to Ichabod. Katrina’s mother used the headless horseman to her advantage in order to take revenge especially on the Van Tassels. It was not just the family she was seeking revenge on but any who would at one point have control of the inheritance. Tim Burton chose to use the theme from the original story yet incorporate into his own vision. He was to make Ichabod the main character and the hero of the