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The horseman was a Hessian mercenary, sent to these shores by German princes to keep Americans under the yoke of England, but unlike his compatriots who came for money, the Horseman came for the love of carnage. When battle was joined, there you'd find him. He rode a giant black steed named Daredevil. He was infamous for riding his horse hard into battle, chopping off heads at full gallop. He had filed his teeth down to sharp points to add to the ferocity of his appearance. This butcher didn't finally reach his end...until the year of '79, not far from here in our Western Woods. They chopped off his head with his own sword. Even today the Western Woods is a haunted place, where brave men will not venture. For what was planted in the ground that day...was a seed of evil.
~ Baltus van Tassel describing the horseman and his past brutality.

The Headless Horseman, is the secondary antagonist of the 1999 horror movie, Sleepy Hollow, an adaptation of the late Washington Irving's 1820 Gothic Horror story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

The Headless Horseman was the ghost of a merciless Hessian mercenary who was infamous for chopping off his victims' heads. Following his death during the American Revolutionary War, the Hessian was brought back from the dead by Lady Van Tassel, who controlled him in order to accomplish her own plans of revenge.

He was portrayed by Christopher Walken, who also played Max Zorin in A View to a Kill, Bradford Whitewood Sr. in At Close Range, Frank White in King of New York, Max Shreck in Batman Returns, Vincenzo Coccotti in True Romance, Gabriel in The Prophecy series, Mr. Smith in Nick of Time, Hickey in Last Man Standing, Colonel Cutter in Antz, Reed Thimple in The Country Bears, Salvatore Maggio in Kangaroo Jack, Cornelius Hatcher in The Rundown, Master Feng in Balls of Fury, King Louie in the 2016 The Jungle Book live-action remake and Shaddam IV in Dune: Part Two. His stunts were performed by the martial artist Ray Park, who also played Darth Maul in the Star Wars franchise and Toad in X-Men.

Biography[]

In life, the Horseman was a Hessian mercenary, who was summoned by King George III to fight in the American Revolutionary War. However, unlike his companions who came for money, the Hessian came for his love of slaughter. He spent his days riding his horse, Daredevil, into battle at full gallop, chopping off Continental heads.

It was not until the winter of 1779 that the Hessian finally met his end. A troop of Continental soldiers ambushed him in a clearing near the woods west of Sleepy Hollow, first shooting down Daredevil (much to the Hessian's dismay) and then opening fire on him.

Hessian fled toward the trees where he ran into two little girls who had been collecting firewood. The Hessian motioned for the girls to be quiet, but one of them (Mary Archer) gave him away by snapping a twig, which then alerted the enemy soldiers to his location. Cornered, the butcher decided to sell his life dearly, killing several of his pursuers. However, he was eventually overwhelmed, stabbed in the side, and then decapitated with his own sword. He was then hastily buried with the sword as his grave's only marker.

After witnessing the Hessian's death and burial, Mary sold her soul to the Devil so she could resurrect the headless Hessian from the dead and use him to exact revenge on the Van Garrett and Van Tassel families for expelling her family from Sleepy Hollow.

During the beginning of the film, he was seen resurrected from the grave, but was headless, while later going around cutting off people's heads in Sleepy Hollow.

Upon his arrival, New York police constable Ichabod Crane (the protagonist of the film), soon learned that the Horseman's skull was stolen from his grave and was used to control him in committing the murders. After the Horseman again emerged and murdered the three members of the Killian family, Brom Van Brunt and Ichabod attempted to stop the phantom, but to no avail. However, Ichabod noticed that the Horseman showed no interest in him or Brom (the latter was killed only when he refused to relent in attacking the Horseman), and so the undead assassin did not kill at random. Hence someone of flesh and blood had been selecting the targets. Ichabod also learned that all of the victims (except for Brom, who was killed only in self-defense) had special ties to the Van Tassel family and that the argument was over the land rights and fortune that the Van Tassel family inherited. Crane also deduces that the only way to prevent more murders is to return the stolen skull to the Horseman.

At first, Ichabod believed that Baltus Van Tassel was the one behind it since the latter inherited the fortune following the Van Garretts' death, but it wasn't when Baltus was killed by the Horseman following the deaths of Dr. Lancaster and Reverend Steenwyck. The next morning, Ichabod suddenly realized that Baltus' second wife Lady Van Tassel (who is actually a grown Mary Archer) was the one who controlled the Horseman into committing the murders, as she grew envious of the Van Garrett family and the citizens of Sleepy Hollow for driving her out into the Western Woods as a child following her parents' deaths.

Near the climax, Lady Van Tassel summons the Horseman again to murder her stepdaughter Katrina, so that she could secure the entire fortune to herself, but Ichabod defeats her (with the help from young Masbath, whose father was a victim of the Horseman) and returns the skull back to the Horseman as promised, thus freeing him from Lady Van Tassel's control. With his head and free will restored, the Horseman gratefully spares Ichabod, Katrina, and Masbath. After reuniting with Daredevil, the Horseman spots the unconscious Lady Van Tassel, recognizing her as the one who betrayed him to his death years ago and forced him to commit the murders. Smiling satisfactorily, the Horseman grabs Lady Van Tassel and gives her a bloody kiss with his filed teeth. Then he and Daredevil gallop back to Hell with a screaming Lady Van Tassel in tow. Thus she pays for her crimes and the Devil is given his due.

Personality[]

The first thing that stands out about the Horseman is his cruelty and savagery: he enlisted as a mercenary not so much for money, but because he loved battle and slaughter. He'd even sharpened his teeth to inspire fear, and went from combat to combat slaughtering soldiers.

Despite all these negative traits in life, the Horseman demonstrated unparalleled courage, storming into the fiercest battles, turning the tide alone with his one-man charges, coming to be considered a true threat, and fighting to the death in his final fight rather than surrendering. As can be seen, the Horseman can be bloodthirsty, but the Horseman is not a sadist or someone who kills anyone just because, letting the innocent live or those who have not done anything to them, and he has a crude code of honor: when he saw the two Archer girls, he did not kill them so that they would not betray his presence, he simply asked them for silence.

As an undead, he completely lacks will, being more of a weapon than a conscious being, willing to kill whoever orders him to, even if they are children, but he still maintains his moral code: he only kills those he must kill and ignores those who are not his targets (except for those who keep on attacking him).

The Horseman's ability to forgive and not kill for the sake of killing was accentuated once he recovered his head and with it his free will, by sparing Ichabod, Katrina and the young Masbath (although they had attacked him before).

Whether he was alive or dead, the Horseman feels true devotion to his faithful horse Daredevil, considering him his best (and perhaps only) real friend.

Notable Victims[]

  • Dirk Van Garrett
  • Peter Van Garrett
  • Emily Winship and her unborn child
  • Jonathan Masbath
  • Samuel Philipse
  • Mr. Killian
  • Beth Killian
  • Thomas Killian
  • Brom Van Brunt
  • Baltus Van Tassel
  • Mary Van Tassel

Gallery[]

Pictures[]

Videos[]

Trivia[]

  • The Headless Horseman is a popular and old mythical figure originating from European folklore in the Middle Ages, being differently portrayed in various tales and legends, most notably American, Celtic, English, and German folklore. The Horseman was especially made famous by Washington Irving's 1820 short Gothic story of Sleepy Hollow.

Navigation[]

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Book
Headless Horseman

Movies
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad: Headless Horseman | Brom Bones
Sleepy Hollow (1999): Lady Van Tassel | Headless Horseman | Reverend Steenwyck | Lord Crane
The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow (2003): Headless Horseman
Headless Horseman (2007): Headless Horseman | Satan

Television
Main
Moloch | Henry Parrish | Hidden One | Malcolm Dreyfuss

Moloch's Servants & Horsemen
Ancitif | Andy Brooks | Demons | Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Conquest | Headless Horseman | Famine | War) | Hessians (Gunthur) | Headless Horseman's Head | Gina Lambert | Lilith the Succubus | Order of the Blood Moon | Pied Piper | Serilda of Abaddon | Tree Monster

British Army
Abraham von Brunt | Banastre Tarleton | Benedict Arnold | William Howe

Hidden One's Servants
Pandora | Kindred

Dreyfuss Enterprises
Abraham von Brunt | Logan MacDonald | Helen Donovan | Jobe

Others
Atticus Nevins | Carmilla Pines | The Devil | Evil Frank Irving | Golem | James Colby | Katrina Crane | Leena Reyes | Mary Wells | Orion | Ro'kenhronteys | Solomon Kent | The Four Who Speak As One

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