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Ichabod Crane

The protagonist and poor town schoolteacher. Gangly and awkward, Ichabod has a voracious appetite, a distaste for manual labor, and a deeply held belief in the supernatural. Ichabod aspires to a higher station in life and hopes to marry Katrina Van Tassel as a way to get there.

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Abraham Van Brunt (Brom Bones) 

Ichabod’s rival for Katrina Van Tassel’s hand and his foil throughout the story. Physically strong and gifted at horsemanship, “Brom Bones” is the town prankster. He may also be the Headless Horseman in disguise and possibly the original storyteller of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

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Katrina Van Tassel

The daughter of a wealthy farmer and Ichabod’s love interest. Beautiful and flirtatious, Katrina is set to inherit her father’s prosperous farm.

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Diedrich Knickerbocker 

The narrator of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Recently deceased, Knickerbocker has left behind a transcription of the story that he claims to have heard from an unidentified man. 

The Headless Horseman 

The headless ghost of a Hessian soldier that is purported to haunt the town of Sleepy Hollow.

The Storyteller

An older, gentlemanly, but poor man who relays “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” to the narrator. Possibly an older version of Brom Bones, he only appears in the story’s postscript. 

Hans Van Ripper

An elderly farmer and Ichabod’s neighbor. 

Baltus Van Tassel

A wealthy Sleepy Hollow farmer and the father of Ichabod’s love interest, Katrina.

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