Ichabod Crane

Ichabod Crane
"What fearful shapes and shadows beset his path amidst the dim and ghastly glare of a snowy night!" by Frederick Simpson Coburn (1899). Ichabod Crane walks home after an evening listening to ghost stories.
First appearance
Created byWashington Irving
Portrayed by
Voiced by
In-universe information
OccupationSchoolmaster
HomeSleepy Hollow, New York

Ichabod Crane is a fictional character and the protagonist in Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". Crane is portrayed in the original work, and in most adaptations, as a tall, lanky individual. He is the local schoolmaster, and strongly believes in all things supernatural, including the legend of the Headless Horseman. Crane eventually tries unsuccessfully to court the heiress Katrina Van Tassel, a decision that angers Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, a local man who also wishes to marry Katrina. After supposedly proposing to Katrina, Crane is on his way home alone at night when the Headless Horseman appears and chases the schoolmaster. The Horseman eventually throws his pumpkin head at Crane, causing him to mysteriously disappear without a trace.

Jonathan Arac argues that "Crane immortalized one American type": that of the go-getting Yankee.[1]

  1. ^ Arac, Jonathan (2005). The Emergence of American Literary Narrative, 1820-1860. Harvard University Press. p. 32. Retrieved December 5, 2023.