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Barbara Bece
dr. sc. Sanja Runti
Introduction to Fantastic Literature
May 29, 2012

The comparison of Washington Irvings book The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with Tim
Burtons film Sleepy Hollow

Among numerous good and bad film adaptations, this one particularly caught my
eye. It is amazingly easy to ruin a good piece of writing by turning it into a film. When it
comes to the great mind of a producer, writer, and director Tim Burton, that is not the
case. As it seems, he has taken Irvings book as a starting idea which grew in his head and
developed into something completely different. It would be pointless to try and say which
is better, since it appears as we are dealing with two separate stories.
The Headless Horseman is a legend which originates from German folktales. We
could take it that both Irving and Burton were intrigued by it and made it a story of their
own. The main character of the book, Ichabod Crane, severely differs from the Ichabod
Crane in the film. Irvings protagonist is a schoolmaster, easily intrigued and extremely
superstitious. He is banished from Sleepy Hollow by his rival, losing the hand of the girl
he loves, turning into a laughing stock for the man who got the girl, and a mere
occasional mention by his fellow towners. Not someone we could consider a hero. There
arent any supernatural occurences, at least not any which can be proven. It is left to the
readers interpretation. We can choose to believe that the Headless Horseman is real or

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that Cranes rival simply put on a show using a pumpkin as the pretended head. Burton,
on the other hand, made Ichabod into a sceptical man of science and reason. Being too
ahead of his time, he is sent away from his home town into Sleepy Hollow to investigate
the murders in which the victims have been decapitated. Using investigative techniques
that havent been used before, he tries to uncover the perpetrator. During his
investigation, we learn a lot about his background which uncovers the reason for his
scepticism and refusal to believe in anything supernatural. In this process, he falls in love
and takes the girl home with him, while his supposed rival ends up with the short end of
the stick. Ichabods disbelief is blighted when he finds out that the Headless Horseman is
in fact real. Although, the true culprit behind the horrific murders is a greedy witch, the
stepmother of the girl he loves. She has been using witchcraft to control the Horseman
and kill anyone who stood in between her and her husbands fortune. Ichabod thwarts her
and helps the Horseman get his head back, who then takes the witch and returns to hell.
As it seems, the only similarities between the book and the film are the setting and
the names of the characters. The book leaves a lot of things uncertain. The ending isnt in
the keeping with the usual Hollywood style, where the good guys fall in love and live
happily ever after. The film, on the other hand, follows that exact recipe. Not to hold it
against Burton, but arent we getting a little tired of the same old story?