Sleepy Hollow Shooting Script
Killian’s son Thomas, a small boy, is feeding one of the horses.
ANGLE ON Mrs. KILLIAN at the door of the Killian House. She is in the
act of seeing a woman out of her door, a PREGNANT WOMAN, and handing her a bunch of herbs.
CLOSER
BETH (to Pregnant Woman) Mind you rub them well in the breech, Mrs. Sherry-don’t worry, it’ll be easy as shelling peas.
As the Pregnant Woman leaves, Beth bawls over her shoulder, turning to go into the house.
BETH (CONT’D) Thomas! -It’s you I want!
Beth goes into the house, passing a modest notice on the door: “Knock before entering-Elizabeth Killian, MIDWIFE”
KILLIAN (to Thomas) Go off home for your breakfast, Tom -kiss your mother once for you and twice for me.
As the boy goes, Ichabod has a thought.
ICHABOD Mr. Killian, I was thinking… about the old widow…
KILLIAN Old Widow?
ICHABOD Widow Winship.
KILLIAN Who told you she was old? She was comely. Widowed young and dead before the bloom was off her.
Ichabod is surprised. Before he can react further, a distant gunshot is heard-a signal followed by the distant sight of a man on horseback, hurrying and shouting, waving his rifle. It’s clear that Masbath’s murder has been discovered. Killian and Ichabod watch the Rider coming, telling the news as he comes.
RIDER (shouting) Murder, murder! The Horseman has killed again!
EXT. SLEEPY HOLLOW FARMLAND-DAY
Riders are galloping across the fields toward the murder site.
Baltus, a Dullardly Man called VAN RIPPER, who was the original Rider who found the body… followed by Brom, and a gig driven fast by Philipse, and Doctor Lancaster and various villagers.
Way behind, trying to keep up on Gunpowder, comes Ichabod.
EXT. FOREST, MASBATH MURDER SITE-MORNING
Baltus takes charge of posting armed villagers to keep an eye out
toward the forest.
BALTUS Mr. Miller-ride back for the coffin cart-the rest of you keep a sharp lookout. (to GLEN) No-not at me, Glen, I’m not going to cut my own head off! -Look out to the woods!
Ichabod hasn’t quite arrived. The others are watching as Doctor Lancaster turns over the headless corpse of Masbath. He straightens the body reverently. Everyone is shocked and spooked, looking fearfully around. Behind them-a sound. Everyone reacts but it’s Ichabod arriving.
BROM (laughs) A fine looking animal, Crane.
Ichabod dismounts, ignoring Brom. The great Detective is trying to cover up his jitters. New York was never like this.
DOCTOR LANCASTER The fourth victim, Jonathan Masbath.
ICHABOD And… the head… ?
PHILIPSE Taken.
ICHABOD Taken!
Doctor Lancaster seems unprofessionally jittery. He grasps Philipse by the arm. Philipse shakes him off and pulls out a flask. Ichabod notices this. Their behavior seems to him to be an odd moment. Then he turns his attention back to the matter at hand.
ICHABOD (CONT’D) Interesting… very interesting.
BALTUS What is?
ICHABOD In headless corpse cases of this sort… the head is removed to prevent identification of the body.
BALTUS (puzzled) But we know this is Jonathan Masbath…
ICHABOD Exactly! So, why was the head removed?
They all wait for enlightenment.
BALTUS Why?
ICHABOD I don’t know.
They all watch Ichabod to see what he will do. Philipse takes nips from his flask. But Ichabod isn’t sure. He isn’t too keen on looking at the corpse. Then he realizes:
ICHABOD (CONT’D) You have moved the body?
DOCTOR LANCASTER I did.
ICHABOD (furious) You must never move the body!
DOCTOR LANCASTER Why not?
ICHABOD Because!
Despite themselves, they are impressed. Ichabod takes heart.
Ichabod finds a huge, deep HOOFPRINT. He kneels, pulls his satchel off his shoulder, takes out a BOWL, BOTTLE of WATER and a BAG of POWDER.
The others watch, finding this bizarre, as Ichabod begins mixing the water and powder, making plaster.
BROM What is that potion?
ICHABOD You are the blacksmith, Brom. Ever shoe a horse with a hoof this large?
Ichabod fills the print with runny plaster.
BROM (grudging the point) It’s big.
Ichabod shoulders his satchel, walks all around, studies the ground, kicks away leaves… and then lopes around puzzlingly. The watchers are astonished by his antics as he leaps from hoofprint to hoofprint.
DOCTOR LANCASTER (to Philipse) The man’s a fool.
PHILLIPSE (drunk) He’s a fool and we’re damn fools- but death will make us all equal.
Doctor Lancaster impatiently hushes him and turns away.
ICHABOD The stride is gigantic…
Ichabod stops, turns, following back to way he came…
ICHABOD (CONT’D) The attacker rode Masbath down… turned his horse… came back… (stops leaping) Came back to claim the head.
He pauses to sum up.
ICHABOD (CONT’D) To sum up. Head taken. Big horse. (beat) Did this man have any enemies?
PHILIPSE Well, someone didn’t like him.
But Ichabod has already latched on to something.
ICHABOD Van Ripper, show me where the neck rested.
Van Ripper points. Ichabod opens his satchel, takes out a BOTTLE OF GREEN POWDER.
He uncorks the bottle, sprinkles a thin layer of powder on the dirt, waiting.
A reaction causes the powder to bubble a little.
ICHABOD (CONT’D) A chemical reaction, it shows there was just a smear of blood, no more.
VAN RIPPER I didn’t see none.
Ichabod’s puzzled.
Ichabod swallows, queasy, trying not to let it show.
Ichabod takes odd spectacles from his satchel, wire-framed with many lenses: MAGNIFICATION SPECTACLES. He fumbles putting them on, examines the gross neck wound.
Ichabod takes an INSTRUMENT from his satchel, a delicate SCISSOR MECHANISM TOOL that tapes off into tiny jaws. He uses it, hand shaking, to pick at the flesh.
POV through Ichabod’s magnifying spectacles: a CREEPY CRAWLY BUG is
feeding on the wound. Ichabod freaks, leaps up.
ICHABOD (recovering, faking) Interesting…
BALTUS What is it? -What is it?!
Squinting sidelong at the ground, Ichabod uses his foot to squash and grind the bug, which is too small to be visible.
He looks at Baltus, his eyes huge in his spectacles.
ICHABOD The wound was cauterized in the very instant… as though the blade itself were red hot… and yet, no blistering, no scorched flesh.
They all look worried.
PHILIPSE The Devil’s fire!
Ichabod looks worried too.
EXT. CEMETERY-DAY
The town is gathered for Jonathan Masbath’s funeral. Steenwyck stands at the open grave, reads from the BIBLE.
STEENWYCK (reading) “Be sober, be vigilant… ” as it sayeth in the book of Peter, chapter five, verse eight-“because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour… “
People WHISPER and steal glances at Ichabod. Ichabod stands with Baltus and Lady Van Tassel. Ichabod looks around, observing…
Young Masbath stands with his head bowed.
Brom stands beside Katrina, who wipes tears. Brom puts his arm around Katrina, comforting. Theodore and Glenn are nearby with rifles over their shoulders.
