Sleepy Hollow Versus "The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow" Over time, a change has occurred from the typical horror story to a violent and bloody legend. The original short story " The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow" is an example of a simple, yet mysterious fable in which Ichabod Crane acts as the protagonist. Ichabod becomes the victim of the feared headless horseman after believing the superstitious tales of this spirit preying in the night. The film that is supposedly based upon the tale provides a deceiving, yet compelling title of Sleepy Hollow, as one might assume that the film is a reenactment of the short story. The film and original tale differ in that the film has blood, gore and controversy while the story depicts a simple and descriptive place where an evil incident occurred. The gap between the story and the film is somewhat large, as the two are almost completely different. This gap displays how our culture has transformed the originality of the 1800’s to a gruesome and elaborate fairy tale through desensitization. Ichabod is introduced into the short story as a pedagogue for the children of Sleepy Hollow. Although his physical appearance was somewhat unpleasant, he was adored by many, and especially by the women and children of the town. He was useful to the community as he "assisted the farmers in the light labours of their farms, helped to make hay, mended fences, took the horses to water, drove the cows from pasture, and cut wood for the winter fire." His demeanor was one of innocent kindness and of willingness to help others. In the film, Ichabod kept his spirit of modernity, but instead of an occupation as a schoolteacher, he was a constable in New York City. He was sent to Sleepy Hollow to solve the murders that occurred due to a series of brutal slayings by a supposed immortal being. The townspeople looked upon Ichabod as a foreigner and responded with opposition to his notions. For example, alm...
