EXT. WESTERN WOODS TREE OF THE DEAD (EFFECT)-DUSK
From the tree wound, a glow BRIGHTENS… till suddenly the Headless
Horseman and Daredevil EXPLODE into existence… They hit the ground
running.
EXT. WESTERN WOODS TREE OF THE DEAD-DUSK
Ichabod watches the Horseman ride away, bolts of LIGHTING STRIKING the
GROUND BEHIND.
The Horseman disappears into the forest.
ICHABOD
(to Masbath)
Did you see that?!
(recovering)
Take Katrina home!
Ichabod runs toward the horses.
YOUNG MASBATH
Constable!
EXT. WESTERN WOODS AREA TWO-NIGHT
The Horseman rips past on Daredevil…
EXT. WESTERN WOODS AREA THREE-NIGHT
Ichabod rides as fast as Gunpowder is able…
EXT. WESTERN WOODS AREA TWO, FARTHER ON-NIGHT
Trees are silhouetted against the sky. As Daredevil’s HOOFBEATS get
LOUDER, branches bend like arms and fingers yearning to touch. As
HOOFBEATS ROAR PAST, the trees relax.
EXT. WESTERN WOODS AREA TWO, FARTHER ON-NIGHT
Ichabod ducks under foliage as he pursues. He sees…
Through the forest ahead: the SKY’S LIT UP. Distant fire.
EXT. WESTERN WOODS, CAVE HOME-NIGHT
The Crone’s CAVE vomits FLAME.
Ichabod arrives on Gunpowder, horrified, struggling for control as
Gunpowder rears, trying to see through BLACK SMOKE…
Embers swirl everywhere. Ichabod dismounts, moving closer to the cave
… suddenly he SLIPS…
Ichabod falls down a bloody rock, landing very close to the CRONE’S
HEADLESS BODY. Ichabod recoils, crawling away, looking to the carnage
in terror…
The corpse lies near the cave entrance. The jagged skin of the neck
wound still bleeds. The ground and dead leaves around the corpse are
thick with BLOOD. Ichabod crawls back to the Crone, terrified… because
he has seen a CLUE.
The cord around the Crone’s neck has been cut and the Carved Bauble is
missing (along with the Crone’s head).
Ichabod hears a Horse neighing in the trees… and the sound of the
horse crashing through the undergrowth, departing… but he can see
nothing.
EXT. FOREST-NIGHT
Brom, Theodore and Glen are on patrol-Brom with his new rifle. They
can hear the same horse crashing invisibly through branches, the sound
of hooves. They can’t tell where the sound is coming from. They look
around nervously.
BROM
Split up! He won’t get away.
The three of them gallop off in three directions.
When they clear the frame there is a sound of deep rumbling, the sound
we heard before Jonathan Masbath was murdered.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
Small home. Killian, Thomas and BETH, Killian’s wife, have finished
supper. Beth clears plates as Killian picks his teeth with a knife.
The same rumbling sound is faintly heard.
The glasses on the table shiver audibly. Killian notices. Then the
phenomenon stops. Killian continues picking his teeth.
Thomas gets down from his chair. He goes to the fireplace to light a
tallow wick, which he takes to the next room.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
Thomas plops on the floor and lights his MAGIC LANTERN: a lantern with
an outer sleeve of glass painted with SILHOUETTES of LIONS and
MONSTERS.
Thomas turns the lantern and looks to the walls where the creatures’
SHADOWS are cast.
He roars for them, imagining them real and having a grand time.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
Beth comes for dishes.
BETH
Don’t pick teeth. You teach Thomas
bad habits.
Killian pulls her to him, playful.
KILLIAN
I am a bad habit. There’s nothing
for it.
BETH
(kisses him)
Oh, isn’t there.
EXT. FOREST-NIGHT
A black horse runs, hooves pounding the ground.
THUNDER is HEARD. The horse stops… it is Brom’s horse, with Brom
riding. Brom looks skyward.
All around, the WIND HALTS. A DEAD SILENCE falls. Distant HOOFBEATS
can be HEARD.
Brom takes his long rifle from his shoulder, rides…
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
Behind Killian, MANTELPIECE STONES pulse, breathing. Demonic faces
form, then disappear. WIND HOWLS.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
Thomas continues his fun, shadow animals circling him. Beth enters,
looking at Thomas, smiling.
The magic lantern suddenly stops spinning. Shadow creatures freeze.
Beth looks up, noticing the FEROCITY of the WIND. The smile leaves her
face.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
The ENTIRE HOUSE CREAKS. Killian stands, looking up. The HOUSE CREAKS
again, then suddenly the WIND CEASES. Silence.
KILLIAN
Beth…
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
Beth picks up Thomas. The magic lantern shadow creatures begin
spinning anew, quickly, around and around.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
With a ROAR, the fire flares. Killian looks… In the leaping flames
he seems to see-as we also seem to see-the ILLUSION OF DEMONIC
FACES molded out of flames.
Behind Killian, the DOOR SPLINTERS INWARD. The Horseman steps in, a
battle axe in each hand. WIND BLASTS…
The DOOR to the other room SLAMS. Killian grabs a chair and HURLS
it…
The Horseman swings, SMASHING it aside.
KILLIAN
Beth… run!
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
Beth holds Thomas as she back away from the closed door.
KILLIAN (CONT’D; O.S.)
(from kitchen)
Get out!
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
Killian grabs an IRON SKEWER from the fireplace, SWINGS it to fend off
a blow from the Horseman.
The Horseman SWINGS the other axe. Killian ducks. The axe CRACKS
fireplace stone, throwing sparks.
Killian lunges, JAMMING the skewer into the Horseman… The skewer
comes through the Horseman’s back. The Horseman SWIPES with the flat
of one axe-POUNDS Killian aside…
Killian hits the wall, BASHING his head. Hits the floor.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
Beth kicks a carpet to reveal a TRAP DOOR.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
The Horseman pulls the skewer out of his body, throws it. He goes to
lift Killian by the hair with one hand, brings back the axe in the
other hand…
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
At the trap door, Beth lowers Thomas to stairs leading to a CRAWL
SPACE under the GAPPED floorboards. Thomas is crying.
BETH
Hush-hush-quiet as a mouse,
now.
THOMAS
Mother…
BETH
You must hide…
Beth closes the trap door, frantically replacing the carpet. The
room’s door FLIES OPEN… the Horseman strides in, carrying Killian’s
severed head. Beth shrieks.
EXT. FOREST NEAR KILLIAN HOUSE-NIGHT
Brom, on his horse, hears Beth’s shriek.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, CELLAR-NIGHT
Beth’s SCREAMS are abruptly CUT OFF. Her BODY is HEARD HITTING the
floor above. Thomas sees the shadow of Beth’s head rolling across the
gaps in the floorboards above him, coming to rest with her hair
showing, hanging down in the gap. FOOTSTEPS are HEARD…
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, WHITE ROOM-NIGHT
The Horseman’s hands place Killian’s and Beth’s heads in a sack,
cinching the sack shut.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
The Headless Horseman enters, bends to retrieve the battle axe he
left. He stands. Long, silent pause.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, CRAWL SPACE-NIGHT
Thomas cowers, trembling. QUIET.
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, KITCHEN-NIGHT
The Horseman falls to his knees. He starts to CHOP at the floor with
both axes. CHOPPING, CHOPPING, CHOPPING… making quick work of it…
INT. KILLIAN’S HOME, CRAWL SPACE-NIGHT
A hole appears as debris falls…
Thomas looks up. He tries to crawl away.
The Horseman’s arm SHOVES through from above-grabbing Thomas and
YANKING him up through the hole.
EXT. KILLIAN’S FARM, TOWN OUTSKIRTS-NIGHT
Brom rides from the forest.
Ahead, at Killian’s house, among scattered homes on the outskirts of
town, Daredevil rides up as the Headless Horseman walks out with his
sack of heads. The Horseman ties the sack to his saddle and leaps up.
The Horseman ignores Brom. But Brom refuses to be ignored.
Brom puts his reins in his mouth, aims his rifle… FIRING…
BOOM-the slug blows the Horseman off Daredevil, EXPLODING.
Daredevil keeps going. The Horseman’s smoldering body is left “face
down.”
Brom halts his horse. He climbs down, pleased.
The Horseman moves.
Brom backs away, satisfaction diminishing.
The Horseman rises to his knees.
Brom falls to one knee, begins reloading. He fills the gun from his
powder horn.
The Horseman stands, unsheathes his sword and turns. The blast has
exposed rotten flesh and maggot-infested muscle.
Brom readies his ramrod, but there’s no time. He rises, hefting his
rifle, straight at the Horseman with a yell…
The Horseman is on him. Brom swings the rifle, blocking.
The battle is on, with Brom fending off the Horseman’s sword with the
rifle-CLANK… CLANK… CLANK…
ACROSS THE FIELD, Ichabod and Gunpowder arrive…
UP THE FIELD, the Horseman makes a backhanded swing, knocks Brom’s
rifle away, sends Brom to the ground…
The Horseman walks away from Brom. Ichabod sees this, registers it.
Brom pulls a knife and throws it.
The knife blade goes through the Horseman from back to front, like a
spear thrust through a smoldering sack of rotten flesh. The Horseman
pulls Brom’s knife, blade first, from his chest and turns upon Brom.
Brom scrambles up, flees, running toward Killian’s. The Horseman
THROWS the knife…
THWAP-the knife imbeds in Brom’s thigh.
The Horseman strides to Brom.
Ichabod closes in, pulling an unlit lantern off his saddle.
The Horseman changes his sword grip, blade open… plants one foot on
Brom’s back, raising his sword to skewer…
Ichabod arrives at full gallop-SMASHES the lantern into the
Horseman-KNOCKING the Horseman off Brom.
IN THE DISTANCE, Theodore and Glen arrive on horseback. They halt
where they are, watching.
Brom runs, limping to Killian’s house, a goal in sight: FARM
IMPLEMENTS propped there. Brom grabs SCYTHES with long curved blades,
one in each hand.
The Horseman rises.
Ichabod leaps off Gunpowder, runs to Brom’s side.
Once more, the Horseman turns away.
BROM
I’ll get him!
Brom grabs Ichabod’s pistol. Ichabod grabs Brom’s pistol arm.
ICHABOD
Wait! Don’t you see? -he’s not
after us!
Brom shakes himself free and-
FIRES-the bullet rips through the Horseman’s stomach to reveal
putrid innards.
The Horseman turns and strides back-no more nice guy!
ICHABOD (CONT’D)
He is now!
Brom throws the pistol at the Horseman.
Across the way, Theodore looks to Glenn, turns his horse and flees.
Glenn follows Theodore away.
Brom steps up, scythes ready. He and the Horseman go at it-Brom
blocks axe and sword, deflecting blows…
Ichabod grabs a long-handled SICKLE, circles them… SWINGS the sickle.
The Horseman blocks.
The Horseman battles both men at once, catching blows… counting every
strike, METAL RINGING.
Ichabod’s sickle is knocked out of his hand.
Brom catches the Horseman’s sword in one scythe, catches the axe
handle in the other scythe…
The Horseman flatfoot KICKS Brom, sending him down.
Brom picks up Ichabod’s sickle and SWINGS it…
The blade embeds in the Horseman down to the hilt.
ICHABOD (CONT’D)
Now you’ve annoyed him.
The Horseman drops his axe, grasps the sickle handle… The handle
SLAMS Ichabod away…
Ichabod crawls, shaking off the blow. The Horseman staggers, trying to
pull the blade from his body.
ICHABOD (CONT’D)
We cannot win this.
Brom yanks Ichabod to his feet and grabs his scythes.
As they flee, Ichabod grabs a wood-splitting AXE from the stump where
it’s imbedded.
Behind, the Horseman manages to extract the sickle, drops it.
Brom and Ichabod head toward the COVERED BRIDGE that leads across to
the town square.
The Horseman strides after… retrives his axe on the way.
EXT. TOWN SQUARE AND COVERED BRIDGE-NIGHT
Brom and Ichabod start across. Ichabod must help support Brom as Brom
limps.
Behind, the Horseman picks up the pace, closing fast…
Inside the bridge, Ichabod and Brom are halfway across. FOOTSTEPS are
HEARD POUNDING. Ichabod glances back…
The Horseman is not behind them. Ichabod and Brom looks up. The
POUNDING FOOTSTEPS are on the roof, passing over… !
Ahead, at the mouth of the covered bridge, the Horseman leaps down,
spinning in midair, lands, crouched.
Ichabod and Brom halt. The Horseman rises.
Ichabod releases Brom and moves forward, gripping his wood axe in both
hands, SWINGING the axe downward…
The Horseman swings his axe-SPLINTERS Ichabod’s axe handle.
The Horseman, axe in one hand, sword in the other, turns upon Brom,
and in pulling Brom aside out of the path of the sword, Ichabod
recieves a sword-thrust in the shoulder, which makes him screem out.
The Horseman lifts his sword arm, THROWING Ichabod and withdrawing the
sword in one motion… Ichabod tumbles.
Brom moves forward with scythes. The Horseman sets upon him with
incredible ferocity-battling Brom back, striking so hard and fast
it’s hard for Brom to keep blocking.
Ichabod tries to get up, but falls, looking up…
ICHABOD’S POV:
The Horseman KNOCKS one of Brom’s scythes away, takes another SWING- sends Brom spinning in a spray of blood…
The Horseman stands over Brom’s body, CHOPPING with his sword. Our
POINT OF VIEW grows BLURRY…
A BLURRY HORSEMAN approaches the POV.
Ichabod is at the Horseman’s mercy.
Then, another ANGLE-the Horseman ignores Ichabod, strides past him.
Ichabod takes a step back and collapses.
FADE TO BLACK
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD’S ROOM-NIGHT
Candlelight. Ichabod, shirtless, feverish, opens his eyes. The wound
at the top of his chest is raw but with the edges sealed shut. Ichabod
in on his bed. Doctor Lancaster bends over him. Baltus Van Tassel
observes.
DOCTOR LANCASTER
Remarkable. A wound like this should
have killed him… but it needs no
stitch and there’s hardly loss of
blood.
Baltus sees Ichabod’s eyes open.
BALTUS
He stirs.
Ichabod tries to rise, looking around, collapses in pain.
DOCTOR LANCASTER
You must be still… the fever is on
you.
ICHABOD
(weakly)
Katrina…
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, KITCHEN-NIGHT
A Woman is bent over the hearth, mumbling.
Then we see it is Katrina, mumbling over a boiling beaker of milk and
green leaves. There is a dead crow on the hearth, with one foot
chopped off and a sharp knife lying alongside.
KATRINA
(chanting, repeating the
phrases)
Nostradamus Mediamus, Milk Of Mercy
In Media Nos Laudamas…
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD’S ROOM-NIGHT
Katrina enters with the beaker of medicine. Baltus and Doctor
Lancaster are bending over Ichabod, the Doctor trying to make Ichabod
drink a livid green liquid from a shot glass.
DOCTOR LANCASTER
It will restore you.
Ichabod closes his lips tight and refuses the drink-he doesn’t
trust Lancaster. Katrina comes to the bedside with her beaker. Ichabod
sees her. He is in pain, feverish.
ICHABOD
I… I… tried to stop Brom but…
Katrina soothes him.
KATRINA
Sssh… no one could have done more.
Drink this down, it will make you
sleep.
ICHABOD
The Horseman was not set to kill
Brom… or me… If Brom had not
attacked him…
BALTUS
Later. Rest now.
ICHABOD
I have discovered something.
Baltus and Doctor Lancaster glance at each other.
BALTUS
These are ravings…
ICHABOD
The Horseman does not kill for the
sake of killing… he choses his
victims.
KATRINA
Drink…
She holds the beaker to Ichabod’s lips. He drains it and falls back on
the pillow, closing his eyes.
Baltus turns at a sound from the door.
Lady Van Tassel has entered quietly. She comes to him anxiously and
grips his hand.
LADY VAN TASSEL
What is it, Baltus?
BALTUS
Nothing… nothing… Don’t be
troubled, my love…
They hold hands lovingly, staring at Ichabod, who has fallen asleep.
ICHABOD’S DREAM-CHURCH-NIGHT
Empty church. Young Ichabod enters, carries a lantern past pews. He
HEARS a SOUND, moving behind a pew to hide.
Ahead, across the church, a RED DOOR opens… Father and the
villainous Third Man come out, shutting the door, speaking quietly.
The Third man holds a piece of parchment paper. Father is ever
emotionless.
Ichabod watches them, ducking down to keep hidden…
Father and the Third Man walk to leave down the aisle, passing close
to Ichabod without seeing him. They exit, leaving Young Ichabod alone
in the silent church.
Young Ichabod rises, begins moving fearfully forward… FOLLOW as he
crosses through the church… going to the RED DOOR… opening it…
ICHABOD’S DREAM-CHURCH, BEYOND THE RED DOOR-MORNING
Young Ichabod enters. The room contains TORTURE DEVICES: IRON CUFFS,
THUMB SCREWS, KNIFES and NEEDLES. There is a SPIKED CHAIR, fitted with
sharp spikes, adorned with straps for holding down the “accused.”
Young Ichabod backs away, terrified, then sees…
A shaft of light cuts across a large, sarcophagus-like IRON MAIDEN- where MOTHER’S EYES can be seen through the slit in the Iron Maiden’s
face. Open eyes. Dead eyes.
Young Ichabod lets out a strangled cry, runs to the Iron Maiden,
trying to pull it open, clawing at the lock…
Finally, Young Ichabod backs away, choking on misery. He looks around
in despair. He falls to his knees at the spiked chair, places his
hands on the spikes, pressing…
As he sobs, blood runs down from his hands. He looks down and sees the
CAT is there, looking up at him. The cat reaches up to rub its head
against his face.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD’S ROOM-NIGHT
Ichabod, sobbing, has jerked up out of the dream straight into
Katrina’s embrace.
She is sitting on the bed, holding him, calming him. She notices blood
on his palms.
She takes a plain linen handkerchief from her cuff and dabs at the
blood.
KATRINA
Hush… hush… you were dreaming.
Ichabod falls back on the pillow.
ICHABOD
Yes… thing I had forgotten and
would like not to remember.
KATRINA
Perhaps the remembering is the hard
road to peace of mind… What ails
you, Ichabod?
ICHABOD
I was well, it was the world that
was ill… But since I came here…
KATRINA
You were not a happy man when you
came. I think your wound was deeper
than the wound you received from the
Horseman…
(she puts her hand on
his forehead)
But your fever is broken, and though
I cannot cure the world I would make
you live happy in it… Tell me what
you dreamed.
ICHABOD
How I found my mother dead… how
good and evil sometimes wear each
other’s clothes. She was an
innocent, a child of nature,
condemned… murdered… by my
father…
KATRINA
Murdered by… ?
ICHABOD
Yes-murdered to save her soul!
By a Bible-Black tyrant behind a
mask of righteousness. I was seven
when I lost my faith.
KATRINA
What do you believe in, Ichabod?
ICHABOD
Sense and reason, cause and
consequence, an ordered universe…
Oh lord, I should not have come to
this place where my rational mind
has been so controverted by the
spirit world…
KATRINA
Is there nothing you will take from
Sleepy Hollow that was worth the
coming here?
Their eyes meet.
ICHABOD
No… not nothing. A kiss… and how
rare a thing… a kiss from a lovely
woman before she saw my face or knew
my name.
KATRINA
Yes, without sense or reason…
They hold still, perhaps about to kiss.
KATRINA (CONT’D)
It was a kiss on account.
But Ichabod breaks the moment.
ICHABOD
Oh-God forgive me-I talk of
kisses and you have lost your brave
man Brom-
KATRINA
I have shed my tears for Brom… and
yet my heart is not broken. Do you
think me wicked?
ICHABOD
No… but perhaps there is a little
bit of the witch in you, Katrina.
KATRINA
Why do you say that?
ICHABOD
Because you have bewitched me.
This time their held look turns into a passionate embrace…
EXT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, PORCH-NIGHT
Young Masbath slowly opens the door to peer out. He walks out onto the
porch, watching as…
ACROSS THE LAWN, a CLOAKED FIGURE walks, carrying a LANTERN. The
figure heads onto the long straight road, into the forest, lantern
light dissipating.
Young Masbath steps off the porch, in cautious pursuit.
EXT. THE HOLLOW-EARLY MORNING
Dawn light is visible over fog-shrouded forests.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD’S ROOM-MORNING
Ichabod awakes, rolls… finds Lady Van Tassel at his bedside with food
and drink. Ichabod covers himself with his sheets.
LADY VAN TASSEL
You slept like the dead.
ICHABOD
You are too kind to me… I do not
look to be served by the lady of the
house.
LADY VAN TASSEL
(smiles)
Nor would you be but that the
servant girl has vanished.
ICHABOD
Sarah?
LADY VAN TASSEL
Run away, like many more-people
are leaving in fear without
ceremony.
ICHABOD
Where is… ?
LADY VAN TASSEL
She watched over you till dawn. Now
it is her turn to sleep.
Young Masbath enters as Lady Van Tassel goes out.
Ichabod looks at his palms, which are stained with dried blood.
ICHABOD
Help me. I am fit for another day, I
think.
The scene incorporates Young Masbath pouring water for Ichabod to wash
himself, and helping him into his clothes.
YOUNG MASBATH
Where are we going?
ICHABOD
To the Notary’s office.
YOUNG MASBATH
Why?
ICHABOD
Because that is where I expect to
find deposited… the last will and
testament of the elder Van
Garrett…
YOUNG MASBATH
You have thought of something…
ICHABOD
… of something you said, Young
Masbath… The Widow Winship came
many a day with a basket of eggs to
Van Garrett… who I understand had
hens to spare… I begin to see. It
was Van Garrett’s child that the
widow was carrying. And what news
have you?
YOUNG MASBATH
I heard someone leaving last night.
Looked like they headed to town, but
I lost them in the woods.
ICHABOD
You didn’t see who?
YOUNG MASBATH
All I saw was their lantern.
Ichabod ponders, troubled, as Masbath brings him a shirt.
ICHABOD
The Horseman does the killing but, I
believe, at the bidding of a mortal,
someone of flesh and blood.
YOUNG MASBATH
What… ? What makes you say that?
ICHABOD
The witch… the crone, when I
happened upon her corpse, she lay in
a pool of blood. Blood poured hard
from her neck. The wound was not
cauterized.
YOUNG MASBATH
Then, she was not killed by the
Hessian. Someone only tried to make
it seem so.
ICHABOD
(nods)
It was the settling of a private
score. But the Horseman cuts heads
to a different drum. The crone
pointed us to what drives the
Hessian-his skull has been stolen
from his grave. The person who stole
it has power over the Hessian. Here
is why the Headless One has returned
through the gate of the Tree of the
Dead. He chops heads until his own
is restored to him.
YOUNG MASBATH
But what person… ?
ICHABOD
A person who stands to gain by these
murders.
EXT. TOWN SQUARE, CHURCH-DAY
WAGONS, HORSES and TOWNSPEOPLE swarm. A CROWD empties the town’s
general store. Provisions are passed along, man to man, and loaded
onto wheelbarrows.
Ichabod and Young Masbath ride, passing MANY ANGRY FACES.
All up and down the long straight road, home owners board up windows
with lumber.
Ichabod and Young Masbath stop, tying their horses in front of the
“NOTARY.” Ichabod looks off…
DOWN THE ROAD, people head to the CHURCH. Much activity…
ICHABOD
Sanctuary. Or, so they hope.
People carry supplies into the church, within the bordering WROUGHT-
IRON FENCE. Others work to build and erect massive WOODEN CROSSES.
In the crowd here, Reverend Steenwyck spots Ichabod and Young Masbath,
pushes past people, shouting…
STEENWYCK
There he is! There… !
People begin to pay attention to Steenwyck as he climbs atop a crate,
pointing toward Ichabod…
STEENWYCK (CONT’D)
(to everyone)
The desecrater of Christian burial!
Twice he met the Horseman, and kept
his head! How is it so… ?
AT THE NOTARY, Ichabod tries to ignore, heads inside, as a clod of
earth hits him on the shoulder.
IN THE CHURCHYARD, Steenwyck continues his rant.
STEENWYCK (CONT’D)
The Devil protects his own!
INT. NOTARY PUBLIC, HARDENBROOK’S OFFICES-DAY
A small, untidy room with piles of dusty documents in great disorder.
The Notary Hardenbrook looks at Ichabod with his one good eye. Young
Masbath stands near.
ICHABOD
I take it, Mr. Hardenbrook, that
wills and testaments are held here
on public record?
Hardenbrook is in a funk, trying to act calm. He passes a document
across the desk.
HARDENBROOK
I believe this is what you wish to
see. Take it and go!
Ichabod scans the will of Peter Van Garrett.
HARDENBROOK (CONT’D)
Van Garrett Senior left his estate
to his next of kin, that is to say,
to his only son. However, the son
being murdered in the same
instant…
ICHABOD
The next of kin after the son would
be the eldest of the line from Van
Garrett’s father’s sister… none
other than the Baltus Van Tassel:
something else no one thought to
mention!
HARDENBROOK
Well, you have found your way to it,
and I hope you will leave now before
my windows are boken.
The crowd murmurs outside like angry bees. Ichabod flourishes the
will.
ICHABOD
I am not ready to leave.
Hardenbrook starts moaning and wringing his hands.
ICHABOD (CONT’D)
A brick through your window is not
what puts you in terror, Hardenbrook
… there is something else… I saw
your fear, and Steenwyck’s and the
doctor’s, when you met at Philipse’s
house… Philipse paid with his
head, and you fear for your own.
HARDENBROOK
Yes, it’s true! -but we did not
know it was a murdering plot when we
were drawn in!
ICHABOD
Drawn in by whom?!
HARDENBROOK
Mercy upon me! -We meant no harm
to come to her!
ICHABOD
No harm to come to whom?
HARDENBROOK
(babbling)
But the marriage made her next of
kin…
ICHABOD
Made who next of kin to whom?! – I’m confused!
YOUNG MASBATH
He means old Van Garrett secretly
married the Widow Winship.
ICHABOD
(getting it)
Of course! And Van Garrett made a
new will, leaving everything to her
and his unborn child… So she stood
between Baltus and the legacy! Where
is the will?
HARDENBROOK
I cannot be seen to help you-the
Horseman will come for me-!
ICHABOD
I will not leave without the very
last will and testament of-
Hardenbrook digs into a mountain of documents, hurling handfuls into
the air… and flings the second will at Ichabod. Young Masbath
nervously checks the door.
HARDENBROOK
Go, then! I am a dead man!
He starts to sob.
YOUNG MASBATH
Sir…
ICHABOD
(reading)
Young Masbath… I know why your
father died. That night when Van
Garrett quarreled with his son,
Jonathan Masbath was summoned
upstairs to witness the new Will.
Here is your father’s signature. It
was his death warrant.
Young Masbath takes the document and looks at it tearfully.
ICHABOD (CONT’D)
But the secret was not safe. Mrs.
Killian the midwife was forewarned
the baby was coming-and so she,
too, had to die.
One of the other hurled documents has fluttered down fortuitously in
front of Ichabod. He picks it up.
ICHABOD (CONT’D)
The marriage certificate. Parson
Steenwyck married them. Doctor
Lancaster confirmed the widow was
pregnant. She told the secret to
Magistrate Philipse. Notary
Hardenbrook concealed the
documents…
Hardenbrook snivels and moans and wrings his hands.
ICHABOD (CONT’D)
And you all kept silence! Why?…
For some nameless dread of the man
who stood to gain by it-Baltus
Van Tassel!
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, STAIRS-DAY
Ichabod and Young Masbath start up the stairs, noticing:
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, PARLOR-DAY
Baltus, alone, with a glass of liquor, is brooding over an oak coffer
of SILVER COINS, running coins through his fingers.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, STAIRS-DAY
Ichabod continues with Young Masbath, speaking quietly.
YOUNG MASBATH
I think there is some error in your
reasoning…
ICHABOD
(politely)
Really? Do give me the benefit of
your…
YOUNG MASBATH
All these murders… just so that
Baltus Van Tassel should inherit yet
more land and property?
ICHABOD
Precisely. Men murder for profit.
Possibly you don’t know New York… ?
Suddenly he sees his bedroom door is ajar.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD’S BEDROOM-DAY
Ichabod’s entry surprises… Katrina, sitting at Ichabod’s desk,
reading his Ledger.
ICHABOD
Katrina… why are you in my room?
KATRINA
(smiles)
Because it is yours. Is it wicked of
me?
ICHABOD
No… no…
KATRINA
I missed you. Where did you go?
ICHABOD
To the Notary… I had questions to
ask Hardenbrook.
KATRINA
And did you learn anything of
interest?
Ichabod and Young Masbath exchange a glance.
ICHABOD
Well… perhaps.
KATRINA
My father…
ICHABOD
(jumps)
Your father… ?
KATRINA
Yes. My father thinks you should
return to New York.
ICHABOD
Really? Why is that?
KATRINA
(smiles)
I don’t know. Perhaps he looked in
your ledger and did not like what he
saw…
She leaves the Ledger open on the desk. Ichabod steps over to look.
Young Masbath cranes his neck to look. It is a page of doodles with
the name “Katrina” written several times, and a sketch of Katrina.
Embarrassed Ichabod closes the Ledger.
KATRINA (CONT’D)
He believes townfolk and country do
not mix.
Ichabod opens the drawer in the desk and puts away the document he
took from the Notary.
He is nervous because he knows they point to complicity by Katrina’s
father. Young Masbath, watching, understands this, Ichabod locks the
drawer and pockets the key.
KATRINA (CONT’D)
What have you there?
ICHABOD
Evidence. I’m sorry, I must ask
your…
KATRINA
Then I will leave you to your
thoughts. Sleep well.
Katrina leaves. Ichabod is troubled.
Then-to add to his troubles-he suddenly sees a HUGE SPIDER
scuttling under his bed. He doesn’t like spiders, even small ones. He
gives a yelp.
YOUNG MASBATH
It’s only a spider.
ICHABOD
Where’s it gone? -Where’s it gone?
Can you see it?
Young Masbath crouches to look under the bed. He frowns, puzzled.
YOUNG MASBATH
There’s something under there…
ICHABOD
Kill it! Kill it!
(getting a grip)
No-no… er… stun it…
YOUNG MASBATH
Help me move the bed.
Young Masbath and Ichabod move the bed.
YOUNG MASBATH (CONT’D)
Look…
UNDER THE BED is revealed a strange PENTAGRAM drawn in chalk.
YOUNG MASBATH (CONT’D)
The Evil Eye!
ICHABOD
What… ? What is… ?
YOUNG MASBATH
It is someone casting spells against
you.
ICHABOD
The Evil Eye.
The spider is sitting on the Pentagram.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD’S ROOM-LATER NIGHT
Young Masbath, fully dressed, sleeps on the bed. Ichabod sits waiting.
He takes the cover off the lantern, looks at a CLOCK. Midnight.
Ichabod heara A DOOR OPEN AND CLOSE, then a CREAK on the stairs. He
lights a candle. Then he goes to wake Young Masbath.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD’S DOOR-NIGHT
Ichabod and Younng Masbath come out of the room.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY-NIGHT
Ichabod and Young Masbath come down STAIRS with a lantern, cautious.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, SITTING ROOM-NIGHT
Ichabod and Young Masbath cross, A CREAKING FLOORBOARD is HEARD from
ANOTHER ROOM. Ichabod quickly covers his lantern.
Across the room, LIGHT comes under a DOOR, stops… continues.
FOOTSTEPS are HEARD, then a DOOR OPENING and CLOSING.
EXT. FOREST BY VAN TASSEL HOUSE-NIGHT
LANTERN LIGHT moves, far ahead. Ichabod and Young Masbath follow,
fearful, keeping hidden.
EXT. FOREST BY VAN TASSEL HOUSE, FARTHER ON (HILLSIDE)-NIGHT
Ichabod and Young Masbath stop on a hillside.
ICHABOD
Wait here.
Ichabod advances, up the hill… peers forward to see…
EXT. FOREST CLEARING BY VAN TASSEL HOUSE-NIGHT
The lantern sits on a rock. On a blanket, a semi-naked MAN and semi-
naked WOMAN are in the midst of rough SEX.
Ichabod crawls to peer from underbrush.
The couple keeps coupling, the MAN on top. His grunts and gasps are
particularly desperate. He’s all over the WOMAN, who lays back… it is
LADY VAN TASSEL.
Ichabod swallows.
Lady Van Tassel pulls down the man’s shirt, exposes his flesh. She
raises a small, sharp KNIFE behind his back.
Ichabod’s eyes widen. He’s about to shout a warning, but…
Lady Van Tassel brings the blade to her own hand, slicing deep into
her palm. Blood flows. She rubs her cut hand over her partner’s
arching back, smearing blood.
Lady Van Tassel caresses the man’s chest, neck, face… trailing blood.
The man lifts his head, in ecstasy, sucking the woman’s bloody fingers
… it’s REVEREND STEENWYCK.
Ichabod backs away, having seen more than enough.
EXT. FOREST BY VAN TASSEL ESTATE (HILLSIDE)-NIGHT
Ichabod returns to Young Masbath’s side.
YOUNG MASBATH
What was there?
ICHABOD
Something I wish I had not seen. A
beast with two backs.
YOUNG MASBATH
(wow!)
A beast with… ? What next in these
bewitched woods?!
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD’S ROOM-NIGHT
Ichabod and Young Masbath enter.
Ichabod sees that his desk drawer is slightly open.
He opens the drawer knowing the worst.
The documents have been taken.
Masbath suddenly sniffs the air. He signals to Ichabod, alert. He
shiffs again… and in the grate is the source of the smell: the
documents burned to ashes.
Ichabod, in despondency, brings his finger to his head, rubbing his
temples.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, KITCHEN-DAY
LADY VAN TASSEL
She will not see you.
She is talking to Ichabod. Her hand is loosely bandaged.
ICHABOD
Did she say… anything?
LADY VAN TASSEL
Only that she will not come down.
ICHABOD
I see. Thank you.
Ichabod turns to go.
LADY VAN TASSEL
Constable, you have not asked me how
I hurt my hand since yesterday…
which would have been polite. In
fact you have been as careful not to
look at it as not to mention it.
She strips off the bandage to show a roughly sewn cut.
ICHABOD
Yes-I’m sorry… How did you… ?
Lady Van Tassel GRABS Ichabod by the wrist, tight…
LADY VAN TASSEL
(whispering close)
I know you saw me.
ICHABOD
What… ?
LADY VAN TASSEL
I know you followed last night. You
must promise not to tell my husband
what you saw… promise me…
Ichabod tries to pull away, but she grips tighter. The FRONT DOOR is
HEARD SLAMMING. Ichabod is panicky.
LADY VAN TASSEL (CONT’D)
Reverend Steenwyck has power over
me.
ICHABOD
P-p-power… ?
LADY VAN TASSEL
He knows something terrible against
my dear husband-what you
witnessed was the price of
Steenwyck’s silence.
ICHABOD
What does Steenwyck know?
Footsteps approach the door, the handle turns.
LADY VAN TASSEL
Later-later…
She pulls away just as Baltus enters.
BALTUS
The town is in a ferment. Horror
piled on tragedy-Hardenbrook is
dead-strangled.
Baltus goes straight to a flagon on the side table and lifts it to his
lips. Ichabod stares at Baltus’s strong hands gripping the neck of the
flagon.
LADY VAN TASSEL
Oh… ! That harmless old man?
BALTUS
Hanged himself in the night!
ICHABOD
Hanged himself?
BALTUS
Reverend Steenwyck has called a
meeting at the church-tonight.
Every man, woman and child.
(to Ichabod)
He will speak against you-if you
are wise you will be gone from here.
Steenwyck’s congregation is already
halfway to being a mob.
ICHABOD
I will go when I have done what I
came to do.
Lady Van Tassel comes to calm her husband. Baltus notices her wound.
BALTUS
What is this?
LADY VAN TASSEL
I was careless with the kitchen
knife-
BALTUS
The wound looks angry-
LADY VAN TASSEL
I’ll bind it later with wild
arrowroot flowers-I know where
I’ll find some. Will you ride with
me?
Ichabod slips silently out of the room.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, STAIRS-DAY
Ichabod goes up the stairs.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, SECOND FLOOR-DAY
Ichabod knocks quietly at Katrina’s door. No answer. He quietly opens
the door.
INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, KATRINA’S ROOM-DAY
Katrina’s bed has been slept in but it’s empty and she is not there.
But in the grate there is the telltale heap of charred paper and ash,
recognizable as Ichabod’s documents.
A sound at the door makes him whip around. It is Young Masbath.
YOUNG MASBATH
I saw her riding away towards the
old pasture.
