The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Adaptations: Part 2

Wishbone: Halloween Hound: The Legend of Creepy Collars (1997)

Wishbone was a popular kid's educational series on PBS from 1995-1997. Wishbone would inhabit certain books and act out the part of the main character, with a wrap-around story in the real world that had something to do with the book. This series was a little after my time, so I hadn't really watched it until I had kids of my own. I was excited to see that there was a Halloween episode centered on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and have watched it a couple times with my two boys. Here's how it compares to the other adaptations.

In terms of the actual story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, this does a good job of giving young kids the basic idea of the book: superstitious schoolmaster falls for local rich girl Katrina, but that puts him in the sights of Brom Bones, and Bones uses Ichabod's superstitious nature to scare him away from Sleepy Hollow...or does he? Most of the fun of the book section is seeing Wishbone, a dog, interact with humans in colonial garb. I was waiting to see Wishbone riding on top of a horse near the end of the story, but I guess that was too much to ask for! So, the next question is how does The Legend of Sleepy Hollow factor into the wrap-around story?

Joe Talbot returns home from sports practice and his mother quickly detects that something stinks. It ends up being Joe's socks that he wears to practice and games for good luck. So, already we're integrating in a way that shows that Joe is in some ways superstitious like Ichabod. Joe and Wishbone leave to check out the new sporting goods store and that's where they meet the owner, Travis del Rio, who introduces them to his niece and nephew and invites them to a Halloween scavenger hunt. Of course Joe's socks come back up as Joe's new acquaintances can't help but smell the pungent aroma. Joe isn't sure about it, seeing as he's not a huge fan of scary things. Travis looks at the roster and reveals that Joe was already signed up by his friends, Sam and David. The teams have to follow several riddles to different locations, until they finally reach the end and get the grand prize. Their main competition is Damont and his little cousin Jimmy. They use teamwork to get through every challenge, though Damont seems to be one step ahead of them. It all culminates at the old Murphy house; a place Joe had gone to when he was younger and was scared off by glowing eyes coming from the opened door. He had vowed never to go near the supposedly haunted house again. Wishbone runs into the house while chasing a cat, thus forcing Joe to enter and finish the hunt. Though Damont attempts to sabotage them, Joe is able to solve the last riddle and win the game for his team. Most of the story focuses on believing in yourself, working as a team, and not letting fear ruin things for you.

I like this episode a lot and I'm a little disappointed I had never bothered to watch it when I was younger. The episode has great atmosphere, which is one of the most important aspects of a Halloween special. It reminds me of past Halloweens when everything seemed perfect. The crunching leaves, the donuts and cider, the pumpkins, and all the spooky Halloween decorations everywhere you went. The scavenger hunt in the episode is one of those things I would have been all over if we had something like that. Alas, my hometown and local sporting goods store wasn't this cool. The episode is very of it's time, though not as much as the Are You Afraid of the Dark episode, which was sometimes painful to watch. What helps this show over Are You Afraid of the Dark is the higher production level and better acting, at least in comparing the two episodes. This episode also acts as a better introduction to the Sleepy Hollow story, as you get the main story beats through a dramatization. With The Tale of the Midnight Ride, they do give you a very simple telling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow when Brad dares Ian to get the pumpkin from the Bridge of Souls, but otherwise you would have to have a good understanding of the complete story to see the representations of Ichabod, Katrina, and Brom in the kid characters. I certainly don't remember that dynamic when watching it as a kid. I was just happy to see the Headless Horseman. In all, I would say that the Wishbone episode is more worth your time, and is something you can watch with your kids over and over. You can watch this on Youtube. 

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Tim Burton's version of the tale definitely takes the most liberties, but is my favorite live-action version. While Disney's Sleepy Hollow is lush with autumn colors, this Sleepy Hollow seems to be under a permanent curse of gloomy weather. You expect that with a Tim Burton film, though, so it's not that shocking. Ichabod Crane is not a schoolteacher, but a police constable from New York City, sent to investigate mysterious beheadings in Sleepy Hollow. I won't go into the whole plot since I highly recommend watching it yourself if you already haven't, but it concerns much more than a love triangle between Ichabod, Katrina, and Brom. In fact, that's one of the least concentrated on  parts of the movie. Brom is barely in the movie so he doesn't factor into things that much. No, the real villain in this film is a very real Horseman and someone else who is controlling the vengeful ghost. Ichabod is a man of science and at first is loathe to admit that there is a supernatural being stalking the citizens of Sleepy Hollow. This all changes when he witnesses the Horseman up close and realizes that perhaps science doesn't have an answer for everything. With the help of the lovely Katrina and a young orphan boy, Ichabod is able to unravel the conspiracy that has taken hold of the town and caused the Horseman to come back from the grave. In terms of similarities with the original story, about the only thing is the names of the characters. You get a little dash of the original story here and there, but most of it is completely new material. Funny enough, you get a call back to Disney's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow about a third of the way through the movie. Ichabod and Gunpowder are going over the covered bridge in town and you can hear the frogs sound like they're saying "Ichabod" and "Headless Horseman". This exact thing, along with a shot of a frog jumping into the water, happens in Disney's version. I'm pretty sure they used the same sound clip. Ichabod is then chased by the Headless Horseman a short ways until the Horseman lobs a fiery jack-o-lantern at his head. While it isn't a perfect replication, it does look an awful lot like the flaming pumpkin from Disney's version. There is also a scene near the end where Ichabod hits a tree branch, flies in the air and lands on the Horseman's horse backwards, just like in Disney's version. Besides these homages to the Disney film, there is also some to the Hammer films. The Hammer films were known for using bright red blood in their movies, and lots of it, a trait that Sleepy Hollow definitely shares. Burton also cast Hammer film veterans Michael Gough and Christopher Lee in the movie. Burton was also heavily influenced by Italian director, Mario Bava, including homages to Kill, Baby....Kill! and Black Sunday in the film. This is by far the most violent of the Sleepy Hollow adaptations, so don't expect anything mild-mannered like most of the other versions. Like I said, check this one out if you haven't seen it already. It's classic Tim Burton and always a comfort watch for me. This is available to stream on Netflix. 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1999)

This is a Hallmark version of the tale and thus doesn't have any star power the same way as some of the other adaptions. I can't help but feel that this movie was made just to profit off the Tim Burton movie, Sleepy Hollow, that came out the same year. This version doesn't differ too much from the book. It does have to pad out a few things but the main addition concerns Katrina and Brom. Katrina wants to be worldly and doesn't want to be with a country bumpkin like Brom. Brom wants to leave Sleepy Hollow and travel west to Ohio to make his own way in the world, but Katrina doesn't want to turn her back on her family. They fight and break up after Brom refuses to give up on this dream, though it conflicts with Katrina's dream of traveling and becoming learned, then returning to her parent's farm. Brom is more sympathetic in this version than the others because while he is immature, to be sure, and plays pranks, he does want to achieve something for himself and not just live off of marrying Katrina. Ichabod isn't exactly the kind-hearted hero though, as he accidentally shows his true colors by admitting to Baltus Van Tassel, while Katrina listens from outside the room, that if he were to marry Katrina he would manage the farm and that Katrina would have to forget all about becoming learned and worldly. Ichabod is a complicated character, as you want him to succeed but at the same time he just wants Katrina for her money and what the relationship can do for him. He's as bad as Brom in a lot of ways, but isn't seen as a bully at least so you pull for him. Brom and Katrina are also portrayed by younger people than in the other versions, probably around 20 years old, while Ichabod looks to be in his late 40's. While it may not have been the craziest thing back then, it's weird to see a love triangle between two twenty-somethings and a middle-aged man. 

The film does end with Katrina declining Ichabod's proposal of marriage, just like in the book. She reveals to Ichabod that she heard what he said and chastises him for only wanting her wealth. Dejected, Ichabod goes on his lonely late night ride but is chased by a Headless Horseman. The headless rider hits its head on a tree limb during the chase and falls off their horse, unconscious. Ichabod discovers that it is really Brom Bones, but only gets to gloat for a second. The real Headless Horseman shows up, picks up Brom's pumpkin and throws it on the ground after realizing it's not his head. The Horseman rides off and the last we see of Ichabod is him hurrying away into the woods in a panic. There's no talk if he is alive or not, just people knowing that he was spirited off by the Headless Horseman. Katrina marries Brom and they spend the winter in Amsterdam, as she had wanted, thus giving the couple a little more closure. All in all it's a pretty forgettable rendition. There's no stars to give the adaptation any extra character, and they don't do that much outside of the story to give it an extra wrinkle. This is another adaptation that you can find on YouTube.

Night of the Headless Horseman (1999)

This version is probably the ugliest of them all, though they were trying something new at the time. This was done with motion capture technology, before we would see a more polished presentation with 2004's The Polar Express. Considering people are still creeped out by The Polar Express, I'd say this cartoon as a big hill to climb. The animation is just not pleasant to look at. In fact, it's downright distracting. This aired on Fox in 1999 as a Halloween special and was never re-run as far as I can tell. There's probably a reason for that. This appears to be another film that was meant to benefit off of the release of Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow. It definitely has some of the same violence as Sleepy Hollow, as you do see a bit more blood than I thought you would for an animated version. Story-wise it takes a few liberties, but mainly sticks with the main story points. The main difference is Brom sells his soul to the Horseman to get revenge on Ichabod. Yes, you read that right. We don't see it happen, but Brom makes a deal that he would live a happy life with Katrina and then become the Horseman. The wrap-around story has a mysterious hooded stranger telling the story to Washington Irving. At the end the hooded stranger reveals himself to be Brom Bones himself, and removes his head to show he is now the Horseman. It's at least something in this otherwise lackluster adaption.  About the only other thing this has going for it is the voice acting. William H. Macy voices Ichabod, Tia Carrere voices Katrina, Luke Perry voices Brom, Mark Hamill voices Adrian Van Ripper, and Clancy Brown voices the stranger and the hessian trooper. Having well-known actors voice animated characters has unfortunately become commonplace, and mostly to lift up an average to below average film. There's also a bit more violence than you'd think there'd be for a cartoon special. There's a lot of blood, so this probably shouldn't be a kid's first exposure to the story, for more reasons than one. If you want to see creepy animation and a guy with more chins than you thought possible, then go seek this one out on Youtube. 

The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow (2004)

This is less of an adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and more of a new story that uses Sleepy Hollow characters. Two young kids named Nick Crane and Kate live in Sleepy Hollow and are visiting the local museum that has Washington Irving's original manuscript on display. After the kids leave to start work on a school project, two crooks come in and steal the manuscript, hoping to sell it for big bucks. They are chased by a security guard and for some reason decide to hide the manuscript inside of a pumpkin at a pumpkin patch so they can come back for it later. I guess it was slowing them down? There is very little logic in this cartoon. Nick and Kate need a pumpkin for their school project and what do you know? They pick the one that has the manuscript inside. Apparently putting the manuscript in the pumpkin caused the pumpkin to become haunted by the Headless Horseman, because of course it does. This also releases a revolutionary era soldier named Nathaniel that wants to help the kids. Nathaniel is basically Funky Phantom without being funky in any way, shape, or form. At least Funky Phantom had a shtick, this guy is just around to deliver exposition and be cowardly. The kids apparently need to keep the Headless Horseman from getting the pumpkin or he'll come back with his full power. He needs to put the pumpkin on his head at exactly midnight. After a visit to the Van Tassel mansion that includes an unnecessary musical serenade by the ghosts of Baltus Van Tassel and his wife, the kids, the thieves, and the Headless Horseman all run into each other outside the mansion. The kids are able to play keep away from the Headless Horseman until midnight when he retrieves it and puts it back on his body. Then he disappears. Turns out Nick knew the clock outside the Van Tassel mansion was a minute slow, so the Horseman put the pumpkin on too late. I would think being a supernatural being would give you an ability to know what the exact time it is without the assistance of an old clock, especially if you're entire existence relies on it. The thieves are caught and Nick and Kate celebrate ending the curse of the Headless Horseman. 

Yeah, this one is not exact the peak of animation or storytelling. The kids basically have no personality whatsoever, save for randomly spouting out historical facts about Washington Irving. There's a lot of padding in the story and lots of unusual story choices, as if they knew what outcome they wanted, but not sure how to get there. Ichabod is never seen, though you do find out that Nick is his descendant. There seems to be a thread of Ichabod having descendants, though the original story makes it pretty clear that he disappears, though if you believe that he runs off to another town and marries, there would be kids, but it just seems a little far-fetched. This one is available on Youtube if you care to watch.

The Hollow (2004)

A modern tale that again concerns the descendant of Ichabod Crane. Ian Cranston has just moved to Sleepy Hollow and attracts the attention of Karen, a cheerleader at his high school. Of course there's the quarterback on the football team, Brody, who doesn't like Ian because of relationship with Karen. Like with the Are You Afraid Of The Dark episode, each name is reference to characters in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The descendant of Hans Van Ripper, Claus Van Ripper, is the graveyard caretaker and warns Ian that the Headless Horseman is back and that Ian is the only one who can stop him. He tells Ian that a Crane descendant is the only one who can defeat the Horseman. Of course Ian thinks Claus is a drunk, so he ignores his warning. It's not until Ian's classmates start getting killed off that he understands that the threat is real. There's a side story about Ian's dad wanting him to play football but Ian wants to fence that never really get resolved but who cares? Ian defeats the Horseman with the help of Claus and the others and Ian's dad gives him a hug. There's nothing really plot-wise to mention because the rest of the movie is pretty standard low budget teen horror stuff. There's more violence than most of the other versions and there's plenty of swears and teen sexual tension, so it's a bit different. Most of the cast is actually well-known, with Nick Carter playing Brody, Stacy Keach playing Claus, Judge Reinhold playing Ian's dad, and Kaley Cuoco playing Karen. With that cast the acting isn't as bad as it could be, but it still isn't great. The Horseman is definitely memorable, as he always is wearing a huge gross-looking jack-o'-lantern. This is the closest to a slasher movie any of the Sleepy Hollow movies have come, but it also fails at being a decent slasher. None of the kills are particularly interesting, which happens when your villain can only kill in one specific way: cutting off people's heads. This movie does follow the tired trope of anyone who has sex gets killed. Literally the only people who die are teens trying to get laid and no one else. Seek this one out if you are morbidly curious or want to hear Stacy Keach say the word "teacher" a million times. This ones also on Youtube.

The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow (2013)

This film is a real bait and switch, which probably won't bother most people, but it still changes the animation a little ways into the movie. You go from the CGI figures from the movies to all of a sudden a hand-drawn animated version for the main story. It wouldn't be so egregious if the cover art didn't feature the CGI versions. You can tell they were trying to attract those kids and families that are used to the recent movie versions of the Smurfs and not the classic look Smurfs. The real story concerns a contest between Brainy Smurf and Gutsy Smurf. It's a yearly contest to see who can collect the most Smurfberries and Brainy has won the last nine years, much to Gutsy's chagrin. If you don't recognize Gutsy's name it's because he was made for the movies. Gutsy is curious on how Brainy wins every year so he follows him into the foreboding Smurfy Hollow. It is said the Headless Horseman lives in Smurfy Hollow, so nobody goes there. Brainy has found a large stash of Smurfberries in the Hollow and Gutsy finally knows how he always wins. Gutsy decides he's going to teach Brainy a lesson by pretending to be the Headless Horseman. This works, but a little too well. Brainy runs away and winds up getting trapped by Gargamel. Gutsy wins the contest but the other smurfs soon become worried that Brainy hasn't shown up. Gutsy goes back to Smurfy Hollow with Smurfette and they are soon captured by Gargamel. They all escape together and while being chased by Gargamel and Azrael, they all run into the Headless Horseman. The Horseman chases them back to the bridge back out of Smurfy Hollow. The Smurfs make it back over just fine but Gargamel and Azrael get a pumpkin thrown at them, causing the bridge to open up beneath them. The Smurfs return home as Gargamel and Azrael wash away down the river. Gutsy and Brainy apologize to each other and all is well. 

It's a cute story and all, but there really isn't a reason for the Headless Horseman and the Smurfs to be combined. They don't go into the reason the Horseman is in Smurfy Hollow and it seems odd that Brainy would risk going into Smurfy Hollow if there was a ghost around. There are plenty of Halloween specials to choose from so I wouldn't go out of my way to watch this with your family. This one is one Youtube as well but it's one of those weird videos where the movie is in a small screen surrounded by a computer wallpaper.

Conclusion

The story of Ichabod and the Headless Horseman endure to this day thanks in part to our culture's fascination with folktales and ghost stories. While our population is much less superstitious than those of early America, we still enjoy hearing stories about ghosts. The Headless Horseman legend has been told in many variations since Celtic times and it's one of the only Old World tales to have taken foot in America and now thought of as a uniquely American ghost, at least by Americans. You can view Washington Irving's tale as a story about two men fighting over a woman of wealth, until one successfully scares the other way, or you can view it as a love story that is taken over by the supernatural. I've always preferred the supernatural interpretation, but that's because it's way more interesting than Brom simply scaring Ichabod away. I don't think it's altogether surprising that The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has had so many adaptations. It's a story that steeps you into the season of fall and can easily get you into the Halloween spirit. I'm sure I may have missed an obscure adaptation here and there, but I tried to get to as many as possible, even the ones I knew would be painful. I hope that you check out some of these versions for yourself, or even read the short story. It's well worth it! Happy Halloween! 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Adaptations: Part 1

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving is one of  the most popular stories to come out of the early 1800's in America. The tale has endured the test of time and is mainly associated with the holiday of Halloween due to the supernatural aspect of the story. With any popular book, there are film and television adaptations. There just happen to be a lot of adaptations, all starting in 1922 with the silent film version. Not just limited to movie length adaptations, the story has also been done in television episodes, some doing a faithful recreation, and some just using it as a jumping off point. I thought it would be fun to go through all the different versions of the tale I could find and see how much they differ from each other and from the source material. Before I start on the adaptations themselves, I'll give a short summary of the book for reference. 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow concerns a Connecticut school teacher who moves to a small town in New York called Sleepy Hollow in the year 1790. Ichabod becomes the town's new schoolmaster and is known as being strict with his students, though not too strict as to not warrant a welcome invitation to their houses for dinner. Ichabod is tall, thin, and though very learned is also extremely superstitious. He lives with various farmers during his tenure at Sleepy Hollow and also teaches choir to the women of the town. Ichabod soon meets Katrina Van Tassel, a young woman known for her beauty and wealth. Her father, Baltus Van Tassel runs the largest farm in the town and therefore is well-to-do. Katrina has many suitors, but it is Abraham Van Brunt, also known as Brom Bones, a rough and tumble man with a reputation as being mischievous, who has laid claim to the wealthy heiress. Ichabod and Brom compete for Katrina, but Brom cannot seem to get rid of Ichabod like the other suitors, as he cannot fight him outright, and Ichabod is unwavering where others have had more sense and left Katrina alone. Ichabod sees Katrina as a way of improving his station and thinks to himself that once he marries her he will forget everything about being a school teacher and even look down on the lot. Brom, realizing that Ichabod is superstitious, plays various pranks on him, including tearing up his school house in order to make Ichabod think that witches had held a meeting there. Katrina appears to be playing the two against each other on purpose. Things come to a head when Katrina invites Ichabod to a harvest party at her home. Ichabod dances with Katrina while Brom looks on with jealousy. Ichabod then goes and listens to spooky tales by the fire, which eventually turns into the whole group talking about Sleepy Hollow's most famous ghost, The Headless Horseman. Brom even chimes in, saying that he raced the Horseman for a bowl of punch but the Horseman disappeared once Brom went over the church bridge. Ichabod stays after the party in order to propose to Katrina, but it apparently doesn't go well, as he leaves the party devastated. He takes the horse he borrowed from Hans Van Ripper, the person whom he is currently staying with, and makes the journey back through the dark woods. The ghost stories get to him while he's riding home and he starts to fear everything is out to get him. He rides on until he sees a stranger on a horse riding nearby. He doesn't panic at first because he cannot see who it is and tries to talk to the stranger. It's only once the figure is backlit by the night sky that Ichabod sees that it is the dreaded Headless Horseman. The Horseman chases Ichabod all through the woods until they get close to the church bridge. The Horseman throws its head at Ichabod and Ichabod falls to the ground. The next morning, Hans Van Ripper doesn't see Ichabod at all and the schoolmaster is absent from the school house. Eventually the people of Sleepy Hollow find Ichabod's hat on the ground near the bridge with a smashed pumpkin nearby. The townsfolk all believe that Ichabod has been carried off by the Headless Horseman. Brom and Katrina marry, and Brom is seen having a knowing look when the Headless Horseman incident is brought up in conversation. Word came back to Sleepy Hollow that Ichabod Crane was alive and well back up north where he started a law practice. Some believed this, but most continued to believe that the Headless Horseman had finally found a head. The schoolhouse was abandoned and folks say that you can hear the old schoolmaster singing his hymns nearby. 

The Headless Horseman (1922)

The earliest version of the Sleepy Hollow story, it doesn't stray too far from the book's premise. Ichabod is his usual self, though maybe a little more proud and arrogant. He flaunts his intellect over the people of Sleepy Hollow, who he considers country bumpkins. In some versions of the story Ichabod is looked at with fascination because he is an outsider, some he is looked on with derision for the very same reason. This version gives you a little of both. In one of the additions to the tale, Brom convinces the townsfolk that Ichabod is a witch-doctor who put a spell on a young boy. Ichabod is nearly tarred and feathered by the townsfolk, but is luckily saved by Baltus Van Tassel, who has taken a liking to the unusual pedagogue. This version of the tale ends with no ambiguity like the short story does. Brom is revealed to have been the Headless Horseman after he runs Ichabod out of town. There are some unusual parts, too. When Ichabod asks Katrina to marry him, the words on the screen make it look like she says yes, but the reaction makes it look like she said no. Not sure if there was some missing footage or what. There are two different ways you see the Headless Horseman: a solid body that ends up being Brom, and a ghostly looking one when the movie introduces the Horseman. I like the double exposure effect they used for the horseman as it adds some great spookiness to the movie. Not my favorite version of the tale, but it is interesting to see how they tackled the tale in the early days of film. This version is available on Amazon Prime. 

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

This adaption is the first animated one, and comes from Disney. I watched this version many, many times over the years, though mostly the last third of the film. To me, this version is the best that there has ever been. It's short, but not too short, and hits on all the main plot points. The characters don't talk, you just get the narration from Bing Crosby. That itself would push this near the top, but the film also has some genuinely funny moments and an exciting climax. All the songs that Crosby sing are great, but especially The Headless Horseman. There are a lot of great spooky moments throughout, from the Van Tassel party, to Ichabod's late night ride on Gunpowder. The chase scene is one of the best set pieces in Disney animation history, and really drives home that Ichabod is in real danger. With most of the Sleepy Hollow adaptations, you see Ichabod ride away screaming for a minute and then get hit in the head by a pumpkin. The Horseman merely scares and chases him but not much else. In this version, the Horseman is full on trying to cut off Ichabod's head with a sword. It still culminates with Ichabod getting hit with a pumpkin, but this time it's a flaming jack-o-lantern. Love it. In terms of characterizations, they all fit into the classic molds. Ichabod looks just like he is described in the book and shows off several times how superstitious he is. Katrina is fair and it's made pretty obvious that she is purposefully playing the men against each other. Brom is an oaf and a bully, and that's about all that is said about him. It think that while the identity of the Horseman is still left ambiguous, I still feel like it's supposed to be an actual ghost. Besides the Horseman trying to outright kill Ichabod, Ichabod gets a good look down the Horseman's collar and I feel like he would most likely be able to tell if it was a person under there. Brom may be jealous, but he is never portrayed as murderous, just a practical joker. So it seems a stretch to say that he was trying to murder Ichabod. The animation is also the best of all the other animated adaptations of the short story by far. I credit Mary Blair's magnificent backgrounds and concept art. This is about the only adaption that hits the autumn time aesthetic hard, whereas most of the others seem stuck in a never ending bleakness. Highly recommend this as a kid's first introduction to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, as it covers everything pretty well story-wise, and I would say it's not the scariest version of the tale. This is available to watch on Disney Plus.

Tales of Washington Irving (1970)

An Australian animated TV special that includes the story of Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, both being Irving tales. The animation is what you would expect from the late 60's, early 70's, so it's not too bad. Katrina is about the only one that looks a little weird. I think it's the stilted way that she talks, too. Ichabod sounds an awful lot like Paul Lynde (he did a lot of voices for Hanna-Barbera) so that's a little distracting, but it fits the character well. Ichabod is very superstitious and mentions that witches used to use Sleepy Hollow as a meeting place, along with his belief that the Headless Horseman is real, because so many people have claimed to see him. Katrina is much less coquettish than in the short story. She bristles at Brom's affections and says to her friends that she would like someone with some intellect, like Ichabod Crane. One unusual part of this adaptation is that Sleepy Hollow is not considered where the people live, but instead the woods and countryside are Sleepy Hollow. I guess the people live in Tarrytown? Though Katrina seems to like Ichabod throughout the story, she ultimately rebuffs him at her family's party, and probably one of the harshest ways I've seen. She laughs right in his face, asking why would she want to give up all she has to live in poverty with the schoolmaster. He tries to say that he could take over the farm, but she laughs at this too, saying that he may be a good schoolmaster, he wouldn't be any good at farming. The ending leaves the identity of the horseman ambigious, and Katrina marries Brom. The school house falls into disrepair and they say Ichabod's ghost haunts the area. This ending is probably as close as they come to the end of the book, as it's the only one that mentions the schoolhouse being abandoned. The characterization of Katrina is very odd for this adaption. She really seems to favor Ichabod until he asks her to marry him, and though she claims to detest Brom, she marries him. Not a bad cartoon, but not nearly as good as Disney's. You can watch this one on Youtube. 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1972)

This is a very short adaptation of the tale, mostly known for it's unusual visuals and for the narration of John Carradine. This version is extremely 70's, as you can tell by the music, unique animation style, and the use of color. There is not a lot of detail with the backgrounds, it's mostly just one backdrop of color, which permeates the rest of the scene, though the characters are often a different color to make them stand out. In terms of the story, it hits the main beats, including Brom playing pranks on Ichabod and Katrina saying no to Ichabod's proposal. They even have Ichabod not run immediately upon seeing a figure in the woods who ends up being the Headless Horseman. This one is worth a look if you don't mind the overtly 70's aesthetic. This is available to watch on Youtube. 

The Scooby Doo Show: The Headless Horseman of Halloween (1976)

Scooby and the gang, plus Scooby-Dum, are at a costume party at Crane Manor. Beth Crane explains to the gang that Ichabod is her great-great-grandfather. Beth's Aunt Gertrude is hosting the party and shows off her diamond necklace. The Headless Horseman shows up and scares all the guests away. The gang attempt to solve the mystery of the Headless Horseman and why he's come back to haunt the Crane's again. Gertrude's nephew, Elwood, mentions that the diamond necklace she wears is cursed and of she gives them to him to put in the bank, this will all stop. He leaves with the diamonds and is quickly "killed" by the Headless Horseman. Now the Horseman is riding around with Elwood's head on. The gang eventually catch the "ghost" and reveal it to be Elwood (BUM BUM BUMMMMMM). Elwood's company had gone bankrupt so he was going to use to diamonds to start a new life in another country. He had to keep the façade of the Horseman alive so the ghost would be blamed for the diamond necklace's disappearance. All in all, not a bad Scooby Doo episode. Not the best, but it's from The Scooby Doo Show, so it's never going to be the same as Scooby Doo, Where Are You? As with most Scooby Doo villains, Elwood's Headless Horseman is not that threatening. The episode gives a short recap of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but there's not much else there. This begins the trope of not doing a straight adaptation of Sleepy Hollow but using a descendant to tell a new story in modern times. This is available to watch on HBO Max.

 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1980)

Jeff Goldblum plays Ichabod Crane in this TV movie adaption of the Sleepy Hollow story. Goldblum's Ichabod is different from other incarnations in most ways. While still brainy, as you would imagine from a school teacher, he lacks the belief in superstitions and ghosts, at least at first. There's a few new characters in this version: Fritz Vanderhoof, an older man that tries to get Ichabod to believe in ghosts, his widowed daughter Thelma Dumkey who is chasing after Brom Bones, and Brom's dim-witted best friend, Frederick Dutcher. 

Ichabod comes to Sleepy Hollow and quickly hears from Mr. Vanderhoof that ghosts haunt this town and that each of the previous school teachers went funny and disappeared in the night. Winthrop Palmer, one of the most unlucky school teachers, was said to have been driven into the river to his death by the Headless Horseman. Ichabod doesn't entertain such nonsense, but as the story goes on, he's not so sure there isn't something supernatural going on at Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod falls in love with Katrina, whom Brom has claimed but has yet to make a move officially. Seems Brom struggles with commitment issues! Mr. Vanderhoof tries to set up Ichabod with his widowed daughter, but she has eyes for Brom. It's one big mess all capped off by appearances by the ghost of Winthrop Palmer. He mostly harasses Ichabod throughout the story, before finally coming to him face-to-face and telling him that he seeks revenge on Brom for trying to scare him off, and on the Headless Horseman who drove him off the cliffs into the river. Ichabod isn't quite sure if Palmer really is a ghost or not, but he starts to believe more than before in the supernatural when he runs into the Headless Horseman outside his school house. He starts "acting funny" in the eyes of the town, talking of the Headless Horseman and Palmer's ghost coming to him, and though he had been making strides in winning Katrina's heart, it's all for naught when her father deems him to be unfit for her. Ichabod's classroom is destroyed and he believes it to be ghosts, so he brings Squire Van Tassel (Balthus's title) back with him, only to find it's back to normal. This doesn't help his case at all. Ichabod gets in a tussle with Brom at the Van Tassel's winter ball, and he is banished from the house by Squire Van Tassel. He rides home, dejected, not knowing what awaits him. Meanwhile, back at the Van Tassel's, Brom and his buddy Dutcher plan to scare Ichabod away for good by dressing up as the Horseman again. Palmer, wanting revenge on Brom, is about to jump out at them from a barn, but gets tangled up in a rope instead. He is soon found by Mr. Van Tassel, who realizes that Ichabod wasn't funny in the head. Palmer had been pretending to be a ghost the whole time in order to get his revenge on Brom. Ichabod is on his way home when he runs into Brom's Headless Horseman. The real Horseman joins the fray and Brom runs away, right into Mr. Vanderhoof and his daughter. They realize that it has been Brom pretending to be the Horseman this whole time, and threaten to tell the whole town if he doesn't marry Thelma. Brom begrudgingly agrees. Ichabod, now believing that the Horseman is none other than Palmer, chases him into the town square, back to the Van Tassel's house. The Horseman disappears past the house and Ichabod calls out for Squire Van Tassel. Squire Van Tassel reveals that he found Palmer in his barn and that Ichabod is not crazy after all. He allows Ichabod to marry Katrina, though Ichabod almost ruins it by mentioning that he had just been chasing Palmer here, so he couldn't have been in the barn. Katrina kisses him to shut him up, and they all go inside to celebrate the engagement. 

As you could probably tell, there were quite a few differences between this version and most of the others. Added characters aside, there's also the fact that it is made plain that the Headless Horseman is real. Katrina actually marries Ichabod in the end, changing the more depressing ending of the traditional story. Brom doesn't make out that bad, though. He gets a girl, but just not the one he had wanted. There are plenty of story beats that fit with the original story, though mostly to do with what Brom does to harass Ichabod. In general, I like this version better than most of the other TV versions because it tries to do something different, like Burton's Sleepy Hollow does. It doesn't go that far out of the realm of the story, but just adds some extra pieces to make the story a bit more interesting. Jeff Goldblum is always gold, even in an early role like this. You do have a few other well-known actors (at the time) in the movie, namely Meg Foster as Katrina, Dick Butkus as Brom, and Paul Sand as Dutcher. Michael Ruud plays Winthrop Palmer and he's by far the most hammy of them all. He pretends to be a ghost by making the most clichéd ghost wails and laughs that you have ever heard. It's too funny not to love. Butkus's Brom is a dumb oaf like most other Brom's, but this version has a moustache, so he is infinitely more interesting and out of place. All in all I like this version a lot, though I know the quality isn't exactly top notch. It reminds me of watching late night movies on the VCR as a kid. It just has that soft, grainy quality to it. It's on Youtube if you're interested in watching it yourself. 

Shelly Duvall's Tall Tales and Legends: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1985)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was the first episode of Shelly Duvall's second anthology series. In this version we meet Doffue Von Tassel, Katrina's uncle and the narrator of our tale. Doffue is a part of the story but breaks the fourth wall to talk to the audience. Everything about this adaption is over the top, acting wise. Ed Begley Jr. plays Ichabod Crane with a manic energy, taking the description of Ichabod being fearful and superstitious to the extreme. I'm pretty sure he yelps and screams more than he talks. Tim Thomerson plays Brom Bones and he is also chewing the scenery, acting like a cross between Gaston and Johnny Bravo. There is definitely more humor inserted into this version than any of the others, which is apparent by the animated performances. While the characterizations are the same, the legend surrounding the Headless Horseman have changed. The pesky phantom instead of a Hessian soldier was a highwayman who lost his head by a sword instead of a cannonball. There is no mention of a bridge to cross, just that a Headless spirit roams the woods of Sleepy Hollow looking for a new head. The tale ends with a definitive answer that it was Brom that scared Ichabod off with a Headless Horseman costume. While that is only mildly surprising, the real twist is that Brom himself becomes the victim of the Headless Horseman the night after Halloween. It seems that Ichabod may have gotten some justice in the end. Another adaption that you can find on Youtube.

Are You Afraid of the Dark: The Tale of the Midnight Ride (1994)

This version centers not so much on Ichabod and the Headless Horseman, but a middle-schooler named Ian. Ian is new to Sleepy Hollow and is having a hard time making friends due to him trying way too hard. While the school is setting up for a Halloween party, Ian runs into Katie, who he immediately falls for. Of course, Katie is dating a bully named Brad and Brad doesn't take too kindly to Ian making nice with his girlfriend. At the dance, Ian and Brad get into a confrontation that leads to Brad telling Ian he must go to the Bridge of Souls to recover a pumpkin, as it is a town tradition. This version of the Headless Horseman story differs as it centers in Ichabod taking a wrong turn and not making it to the Bridge of Souls before the Headless Horseman gets him. Once he goes and gets the pumpkin, the Headless Horseman arrives and chases him until Ian falls and begs for his life. Of course it ends up being Brad and all the kids come out of the woods and mock Ian. Katie decides to stay with Ian, mad that Brad has embarrassed Ian. While walking back to the dance the couple run into a ghostly man on horseback asking which way to the Bridge of Souls. They tell the ghost the right way and the specter identifies himself as Ichabod Crane before disappearing into the fog. They get back to the school and run into the real Headless Horseman who chases them because they changed the story. Brad gets his comeuppance when he, still wearing the Horseman costume, gets scared by the real Horseman and falls down backwards. Ian and Katie run all the way back to the bridge where Ian leads it across and the Horseman bursts into flames. The couple see Ichabod once more at the bridge who tells them he is lost and will go back to the fork and go his original way, thus setting the story straight. The two tired teenagers head back home, happy to no longer be in danger and look forward to their new relationship.

Besides using The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow as a backdrop, the main story itself draws parallels, namely in the love triangle. Ian, Katie, and Brad are all plays on Sleepy Hollow's Ichabod, Katrina, and Brom. There are obvious differences in how the love triangle plays out, as Katie ends up with Ian in the end instead of with Brad. Katie also doesn't lead Ian on just to make Brad jealous as Katrina does to Ichabod. The show had to add the part about Ichabod taking a wrong turn so they could come up with a way for the kids to change the story. The episode itself is just OK. I think I never noticed how Canadian the accents are in this show when I was a kid, or maybe this episode was extra egregious thanks to how many times Ian says "sorry". Ian is not likable at all. Everybody knew a kid like this growing up, or you were that kid sometimes without even knowing it. A lot of unearned confidence in this kid. The twists on the Sleepy Hollow story are fun and I like stories about towns with spooky traditions, real or otherwise. In the end, it's not a go-to if you are looking for a story about Sleepy Hollow and is definitely not one of the best Are You Afraid of the Dark episodes. I'll make a list of those when I get around to watching them all over again. You can watch this episode on Youtube.