The Crone's Death/The Magical Amulet
Here I will post my findings concerning the Crone's death and connecting scenes which were deleted or left unsaid.
A larger plot cut from the finished version of the film involved Ichabod discovering the Crone's headless corpse outside her cave. He was to notice that she was not wearing a necklace she wore while living. Later he would discover the same pendant being worn by Katina who had been gifted the bauble by Lady Van Tassel.
Before the Crone gave Ichabod the location of the Headless Horseman's grave, we were to see a close shot of her mimicking a neck being cut, an excuse to give us a glimpse of a necklace she was wearing which would later play a role in the story. As to what the entirely of that role once was, there is no way of knowing for certain.
The scene as it is in The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
85. 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.
86. 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.
Novelization:
Ichabod followed the prints down an incline. The path was familiar here. Ahead of them was a hill. At the top, firelight danced angrily in a clearing, silhouetting the surrounding trees. As they climbed the hill, Ichabod slowed Gunpowder. He could see the source of the inferno now: the entrance if the crone's cave.
Gunpowder shied, rearing up on his hind legs. Ichabod struggled to keep the frightened horse under control. Finally he jumped off and made his way on foot.
The flames shot out from the cave like a giant blowtorch, sending waves of black smoke toward him. Coughing, Ichabod plunged through, pushing the smoke away, trying to see.
The ground was rocky here, invisible through the blanket of smoke. His foot slipped and he fell hard, sliding on a hard sloping boulder.
He landed on his hands. When he lifted them, they were deep red. The rock was coated with blood. Beside him lay an inert figure - a body, clothed in rags.
Ichabod gasped, backing away. It unmistakably was the crone, despite her lack of a head. The skin of her severed neck was shredded, and it still bled. Blood was everywhere - gathered in pools by the cave entrance, slickening the surrounding rocks, wetting the scattered leaves.
Ichabod fought back his disgust and tried to think clearly. Something was missing. Something else.
The stone amulet. It's gone too.
A horse's whinny pierced the sound of the raging fire. It wasn't Gunpowder; the sound was too loud, too powerful.
Daredevil?
Ichabod squinted, trying to see through the smoke, but it was impossible. He could only listen as the hoofbeats grew dim, galloping away.
Instead of finding an empty path as he chases the Horseman, I believe Ichabod was originally in this scene witnessing flames erupt from the Crone's cave. It is exactly in this moment that the scene occurs in The Art of Sleepy Hollow.
Pictures of the deleted scene found on the Inkworks Trading Cards:
Official Sleepy Hollow comic:
In the comic, the necklace is mentioned again after Katrina witnesses her father's death, as she faints in Ichabod's arms.
The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
"Ichabod catches Katrina as she swoons. Horrorstruck, he hugs her . . . and thus notices that hanging on a ribbon around her neck is the little carved bauble taken from neck of the dead Crone. Almost at the same time, Ichabod sees that the flagstones where Katrina was lying there is now a "Drawing" done in chalk, identical to the "Evil Eye" drawing he found under his bed."
The novelization:
"As he moved her away from the trampling feet, he caught sight of a ribbon around her neck and a bauble that hung from it.
The crone's bauble.
Ichabod's heart lurched in his chest. What now? What was Katrina doing with this? What connection could she possibly have with the Witch of the Western Woods? Someone in the church must have given it to her."
In The Art of Sleepy Hollow it is briefly mentioned while Katrina sleeps:
Katrina lies insensible in her bed . . . the ribbon with the bauble around her neck.
Katrina is first seen wearing the amulet when she and Ichabod have their confrontation at the cottage ruins. She wears it from there onward until she and Masbeth attempt to escape the windmill.
We can also see the necklace around the Crone's neck right before she is killed.
On the trading cards, Mary stoops to retrieve the amulet.
During the sequence where light is shed on Lady Van Tassel's murdering spree, Katrina can easily be seen wearing it one minute...
It is gone after we hear from Lady Van Tassel how she killed her sister. Right after we see the flashback to the Crone's murder, Mary does seem to have something in her hand for a few frames.
The above ties with the story told in the official comic book of Sleepy Hollow. In it Lady Van Tassel eludes that while she wore it, the amulet kept Katrina from death or harm. She snatches it from her to bring about her death, as she seems to have done in the film.
Also in the official comic the Crone states that the amulet she wears will protect her from the 'other' when he comes.
The amulet is among the accessories accompanying the Crone action figure.
The Prop Store website was at one time selling the actual prop necklace and dress.
The website Costumerguide has more photos of the Crone's costume. The photos above are from their site: http://www.costumersguide.com/sleepy9.shtml
More mention of the Crone's death in the novelization. It is the word for word the same in The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
Yes. The pieces were beginning to fall together. "The Horseman does the killing," Ichabod mused aloud as he quickly dressed for the day's work, "but, I believe, at the bidding of a mortal, someone of flesh and blood."
"What makes you say that?" Young Masbath asked.
"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!
"Then . . . she was not killed by the Hessian. Someone only tried to make it seem so."
Ichabod nodded. "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 was stolen from his grave. The person who stole it has power over him. Here is why the Headless One has returned through the fate of the Tree of the Dead - he chops heads until his own is returned to him!"
In the end I believe this entire plotline should have been included in the movie. It would have been an interesting addition.
A larger plot cut from the finished version of the film involved Ichabod discovering the Crone's headless corpse outside her cave. He was to notice that she was not wearing a necklace she wore while living. Later he would discover the same pendant being worn by Katina who had been gifted the bauble by Lady Van Tassel.
Before the Crone gave Ichabod the location of the Headless Horseman's grave, we were to see a close shot of her mimicking a neck being cut, an excuse to give us a glimpse of a necklace she was wearing which would later play a role in the story. As to what the entirely of that role once was, there is no way of knowing for certain.
In one feature the amulet is barely noticeable.
In another the necklace almost appears to have been digitally enhanced.
The scene as it is in The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
85. 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.
86. 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.
Novelization:
Ichabod followed the prints down an incline. The path was familiar here. Ahead of them was a hill. At the top, firelight danced angrily in a clearing, silhouetting the surrounding trees. As they climbed the hill, Ichabod slowed Gunpowder. He could see the source of the inferno now: the entrance if the crone's cave.
Gunpowder shied, rearing up on his hind legs. Ichabod struggled to keep the frightened horse under control. Finally he jumped off and made his way on foot.
The flames shot out from the cave like a giant blowtorch, sending waves of black smoke toward him. Coughing, Ichabod plunged through, pushing the smoke away, trying to see.
The ground was rocky here, invisible through the blanket of smoke. His foot slipped and he fell hard, sliding on a hard sloping boulder.
He landed on his hands. When he lifted them, they were deep red. The rock was coated with blood. Beside him lay an inert figure - a body, clothed in rags.
Ichabod gasped, backing away. It unmistakably was the crone, despite her lack of a head. The skin of her severed neck was shredded, and it still bled. Blood was everywhere - gathered in pools by the cave entrance, slickening the surrounding rocks, wetting the scattered leaves.
Ichabod fought back his disgust and tried to think clearly. Something was missing. Something else.
The stone amulet. It's gone too.
A horse's whinny pierced the sound of the raging fire. It wasn't Gunpowder; the sound was too loud, too powerful.
Daredevil?
Ichabod squinted, trying to see through the smoke, but it was impossible. He could only listen as the hoofbeats grew dim, galloping away.
Instead of finding an empty path as he chases the Horseman, I believe Ichabod was originally in this scene witnessing flames erupt from the Crone's cave. It is exactly in this moment that the scene occurs in The Art of Sleepy Hollow.
Pictures of the deleted scene found on the Inkworks Trading Cards:
Promotional image:
Official Sleepy Hollow comic:
In the comic, the necklace is mentioned again after Katrina witnesses her father's death, as she faints in Ichabod's arms.
The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
"Ichabod catches Katrina as she swoons. Horrorstruck, he hugs her . . . and thus notices that hanging on a ribbon around her neck is the little carved bauble taken from neck of the dead Crone. Almost at the same time, Ichabod sees that the flagstones where Katrina was lying there is now a "Drawing" done in chalk, identical to the "Evil Eye" drawing he found under his bed."
The novelization:
"As he moved her away from the trampling feet, he caught sight of a ribbon around her neck and a bauble that hung from it.
The crone's bauble.
Ichabod's heart lurched in his chest. What now? What was Katrina doing with this? What connection could she possibly have with the Witch of the Western Woods? Someone in the church must have given it to her."
In The Art of Sleepy Hollow it is briefly mentioned while Katrina sleeps:
Katrina lies insensible in her bed . . . the ribbon with the bauble around her neck.
Katrina is first seen wearing the amulet when she and Ichabod have their confrontation at the cottage ruins. She wears it from there onward until she and Masbeth attempt to escape the windmill.
We can also see the necklace around the Crone's neck right before she is killed.
On the trading cards, Mary stoops to retrieve the amulet.
During the sequence where light is shed on Lady Van Tassel's murdering spree, Katrina can easily be seen wearing it one minute...
... and it is gone the next.
It is gone after we hear from Lady Van Tassel how she killed her sister. Right after we see the flashback to the Crone's murder, Mary does seem to have something in her hand for a few frames.
The above ties with the story told in the official comic book of Sleepy Hollow. In it Lady Van Tassel eludes that while she wore it, the amulet kept Katrina from death or harm. She snatches it from her to bring about her death, as she seems to have done in the film.
Also in the official comic the Crone states that the amulet she wears will protect her from the 'other' when he comes.
The amulet is among the accessories accompanying the Crone action figure.
The Prop Store website was at one time selling the actual prop necklace and dress.
More mention of the Crone's death in the novelization. It is the word for word the same in The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
Yes. The pieces were beginning to fall together. "The Horseman does the killing," Ichabod mused aloud as he quickly dressed for the day's work, "but, I believe, at the bidding of a mortal, someone of flesh and blood."
"What makes you say that?" Young Masbath asked.
"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!
"Then . . . she was not killed by the Hessian. Someone only tried to make it seem so."
Ichabod nodded. "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 was stolen from his grave. The person who stole it has power over him. Here is why the Headless One has returned through the fate of the Tree of the Dead - he chops heads until his own is returned to him!"
In the end I believe this entire plotline should have been included in the movie. It would have been an interesting addition.
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