Washington Irving's short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” was adapted into a film called “Sleepy Hollow” directed by Tim Burton nearly two centuries after the original publication. When the story was adapted as a film, numerous substantial changes were made. A short story easily read in one sitting was transformed into a nearly two-hour thriller, mystery and horror film by incorporating new details and modifying the original version of the story. The tale recounts Katrina Van Tassel's failed courtship of Ichabod Crane. His courtship is interrupted by the classic romantic antagonist: Broom Bones, bigger, stronger and more handsome. Ichabod wishes to marry Katrina for her beauty but also for the rich inheritance he will receive when his father, Baltus Van Tassel, and stepmother, Lady Van Tassel, die. However, the film tells the story of Ichabod Crane as an investigator sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the recent beheadings that are occurring. These changes completely alter the original story, thus failing to capture Irving's true interpretation of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The film and the original story have similarities and differences in plot, characters, and setting. Although the titles of the two works are relatively similar, the plot of each is different. If the film did not include the character, Ichabod Crane, and the reference to a headless horseman, the film would bear no resemblance to Irving's story. The difference in plot structure in the two works changes the entire story. Every aspect of the story is different between the two. The exposition offers the audience different stories because Ichabod has a new profession in the film. The conflict between the two w...... middle of paper ...... as a film is very different from Irving's original 1820 interpretation. By significantly changing the plot, Burton's film fails to capture many of the elements that Irving incorporates. Both works have differences in plot, characters, theme, point of view, but their setting allows the two to remain connected in their dark similarities. Works Cited Irving, Washington. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. vol. B. New York: Norton &, 2007. 965-985. Print.Sleepy Hollow, dir. Tim Burton. Perf. Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci and Miranda Richardson. Paramount Pictures, 1999. Film Bernardo, Susan. “The Bloody Battle of the Sexes in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow” EBSCO Publishing 39-43. Print.Orr, Stanley, "A Dark Episode of Bonanza 'Genre, Adaptation, and Historiography in Sleepy Hollow'" EBSCO Publishing 44-49. Press.