Clothes Altered After Death

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Two heads reside in the Horseman's nest, the Tree of the Dead, that do not match the features of the actors who portrayed Dirk and Peter Van Garrett. A sculpt was created bearing Martin Landau's likeness, but it was apparently made late into production and used only for his decapitation.

In the commentary for the US Sleepy Hollow DVD, Tim Burton states that the film's opening was a late addition. This is supported by the absence of this scene from the novelization and published screenplay - and even the comic book.

In the film, we see the unearthed bodies of Peter and Dirk Van Garrett, Jonathan Masbath and Emily Winship as Ichabod investigates Magistrate Philipse's cryptic message, "Five bodies in four graves". Ichabod walks beside a row of open coffins and states the name of each corpse he passes.

The clothes the bodies wear do not match those that Dirk and Peter were last seen wearing in life, nor Jonathan Masbath in the act of death.

Peter Van Garrett.
Peter Van Garrett after death has taken him.

Dirk Van Garrett.

 
 Immediately after being killed. Note the finery of his attire. The difference in buttons in particular when compared to his corpse.

Dirk's body unearthed.

Jonathan Masbath's body as it was found in the Western Woods (below). His costume seems to match what he was wearing while living.


Masbath's disturbed grave. His body wears a belt like the one in the photo above yet the vest is different.

 
On a similar train of thought, when Peter Van Garrett is shown reacting to his son's death, we see the body from the front and then over the shoulder. In the former, the body is seen wearing the same opulent jacket and waistcoat as we have come to know. However, in the latter few frames we see a less luxuriant fabric and a trail of blood unlike the other. This leads me to wonder if this small segment of film was used from an earlier bit of footage. 

The way Peter reacts to his "son's" death seems oddly unemotional. When viewing the film for the first time, I believed the man to be his driver, nothing more. I wonder if this is how it was meant to be when the scene was filmed, and that this is an oversight? One wonders why Dirk would drive his father's carriage with both he and his father being so well to do.

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