WDA Classics Presents Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow characters

Appears from the start

A lanky Connecticut schoolmaster who teaches the children of Sleepy Hollow and boards in rotation with their families. He supplements his small income by helping with farm work and leading psalm singing. Learned in local ghost lore, highly superstitious, and eager for social advancement, he becomes interested in both Katrina Van Tassel and her wealthy father's farm.

Appears from the start

The eighteen-year-old daughter and only child of Baltus Van Tassel. Admired throughout the neighborhood, she is poised to inherit a prosperous farm and attracts several suitors, including Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones.

Also known as Brom Bones

Appears from the start

A strong, confident local horseman whose practical jokes and physical presence have made him the informal leader of the neighborhood's young men. He is Ichabod's chief rival for Katrina and first tries to discourage him through ridicule and tricks.

Appears from the start

Katrina's wealthy father, a genial farmer whose well-stocked land and comfortable house embody the prosperity Ichabod hopes to gain through marriage.

Appears from the start

The farmer with whom Ichabod is staying when the Van Tassels invite him to their evening gathering. He lends Ichabod an old, ill-tempered plough horse named Gunpowder for the journey.

Also known as the Galloping Hessian

Appears from the start

The supernatural rider said to haunt the roads around Sleepy Hollow. Local tradition identifies him as a Hessian soldier killed during the Revolutionary War and claims that he rides at night in search of his missing head.