List of Sleepy Hollow characters

The following is a list of characters from the Fox supernatural drama television series Sleepy Hollow, which is loosely based on the 1820 Halloween short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving with added concepts from "Rip Van Winkle", also by Irving.^[1]

Cast

Main characters

Captain Ichabod Crane

Captain Ichabod Crane, Esquire (Tom Mison), former professor of history at Oxford University prior to the American Revolution, comes to America with the British before switching sides to spy for the Colonists, under General George Washington. In 1781, he dies while simultaneously beheading the Horseman, and their blood mixes together. Later, the Horseman is resurrected, as is Ichabod. Despite his skepticism, he proves to be an invaluable resource after his resurrection, due to his detailed knowledge of supernatural lore. Although initially he has difficulty adapting to the 21st century, by the end of the second season, he states he has acclimatized; he berates Katrina and Henry for holding onto the past. As of the third season, he is applies for American citizenship to legalize his efforts to preserve the archive he and Abbie use to research their adversaries, although the application process is delayed in "Dark Mirror" due to Crane missing an important interview while trying to save Abbie. As of "The Sisters Mills", Crane is officially head of the Hudson Valley Historical Society, giving him an explanation for his expertise and a reason for his affiliation with the FBI. He revealed that the two witnesses would have facing 7 disasters by the episode I, Witness. The first disaster would be Moloch, and the second one would be Pandora.

Lt. Grace Abigail "Abbie" Mills

Lt. Grace Abigail "Abbie" Mills (Nicole Beharie), lifelong resident of Sleepy Hollow. She was about to transfer to Quantico to train with the FBI, but after the death of her mentor she decides to stay and gradually comes to accept her role in the fight against the Horseman as the second Witness to the Apocalypse. Abbie is the driving force in the future of understanding the new Sleepy Hollow, as well as helping Crane adjust to his new era. She keeps much anger from her deceased mother's actions deep inside, as well as nurturing complex feelings over her father's abandonment. Between Seasons Two and Three, she completed a course at Quantico and is now a member of the FBI stationed in Sleepy Hollow. In the season three finale, she sacrifices herself to restore Pandora's box to contain the power of the Hidden One, but her soul is subsequently released from the box and allowed to pass on after a final goodbye to Crane, assuring him that there are other Witnesses out there to assist him in his burden.

Jennifer "Jenny" Mills

Jennifer "Jenny" Mills (Lyndie Greenwood), Abbie's younger sister who was confined in a mental institution. As teenagers, they both witnessed the rise of the second Horseman while walking through the forest one day after school. However, Abbie denies seeing the creature, while Jenny insists they both saw it, and so Jenny is institutionalized, since it seems clear she is mentally ill. Unknown to Abbie, though, Sheriff Corbin was Jenny's mentor. While in and out of mental hospitals, Jenny trained in combat in foreign countries, helping Corbin hunt down occult artifacts. She breaks out of the institution, but after Abbie tells her sister she will never again deny what they saw, the sisters are reconciled. Jenny later takes part in helping to solve the mysteries surrounding the Horseman. It remains unknown if she'll stay an ally to Crane following Abigail's death.

Betsy Ross

Betsy Ross (Nikki Reed), Ichabod's old flame.^[2] Although history merely remembers her as the seamstress who designed the American flag, she was actually a secret agent for General Washington who fought off several supernatural threats. She was later found still alive in a tomb in a hidden dimension on the River Styx, having been trapped during a mission to cross the Delaware, but the storyline concluded with her returning to her time, her "later" distance to Crane attributed in hindsight to her knowledge of his future ties to Abbie.

Pandora

Pandora (Shannyn Sossamon), a mysterious new presence in Sleepy Hollow.^[3] She unleashes six different threats against the two of them with the goal of nurturing the emotions that are inspired by their new adversaries in Crane and/or Abbie, each particular crisis causing a new bud to bloom on a tree that will serve as a means for Pandora to open a portal to Hell. Once the portal was completed, Pandora entered the tree and returned with a figure that she refers to as her 'husband', an ancient Sumerian god known only as 'the Hidden One', using her box to restore his power so that he can purge humanity. Fortunately, the Witnesses manage to destroy her box before the Hidden can fully 'recharge', leaving her forced to donate some of her power to sustain him. As she sees the Hidden One become consumed by his vendetta against humanity, Pandora turns against him to side with the Witnesses, recognising that they have a genuine bond of love and respect as opposed to the Hidden One's disdain for her, considering her just another human despite their long history.

Yet Pandora is just using the Witnesses for remaking her box in order to gather the Hidden One's power for her own use. Her box asorbs the power force from the hidden one and Abbie's life, she then claims herself as a goddess. Pandora asks Crane and his team to obey her but the offer is rejected. She is finally killed by the headless horseman after the Horseman is summoned by Crane.

Joe Corbin

Joe Corbin (Zach Appelman), the son of Abbie's and Jenny's mentor and former Sheriff August Corbin.^[4] Henry cursed him to be a wendingo, but was saved from this thanks to Ichabod and Nicks' help using a native american artifact. As of the third season, he has joined Jenny in continuing his father's work with tracking down any supernatural artifacts, effectively filling Nick's role. As then, the two have rekindled a romance.

The wendingo is completely removed when Pandora uses her box to draw out the dark power from him in order to break the barrier that imprisons the Hidden One and Ichabod. However, the wendigo in him reawakens when the Hidden One uses Jenny's fear to transform him back into his demonic form once again, which ultimately forced her to end his life by shooting him in front of her. This frees him from the demon for good, even at the cost of his own life.

Daniel Reynolds

Daniel Reynolds (Lance Gross), Abbie and Sophie's new boss and ex-lover.^[4] While he is shown to become frustrated with Abbie's secrets, it is revealed in the mid-season finale that he was reporting on her to someone else, referring to her as an 'asset' that they were 'nurturing'.

Sophie Foster

Sophie Foster (Jessica Camacho), a rogue player in the world of high-end artifacts trading who attempts to retrieve the Shard of Anubis from Jenny and Joe.^[5] She is eventually revealed to be an FBI agent in deep cover who appears ignorant of the true stakes of the investigation, although when she witnesses Crane accidentally summon a demon, she admits that she has been interested in the supernatural since her archaeologist parents vanished on a dig when she was a child.

Seasoned main characters

Season 1

The following characters continues to be main characters in season 2.

Captain Frank Irving

Captain Frank Irving (Orlando Jones), the chief of Sleepy Hollow's Sheriff's department (and is affiliated with the New York State Police). Initially skeptical of Crane and Mills' assertions, he later discovers the truth when the trio confront, battle, and trap the Horseman. After confessing to murders his possessed daughter committed, he is arrested and sent to the psych ward. Later in Season 2, Henry tricks Irving into selling his soul to him by signing a contract naming Henry as his lawyer. Irving is later killed by the armored form of the Horseman of War in "The Akeda", but is risen from the dead in "Paradise Lost", at which point he's taken back into custody. Later revealed to be under Henry's control, Irving is freed but allowed to remain alive once Henry is slain. Irving subsequently departs the country to protect his family from the forces of the Apocalypse.

Katrina Crane

Katrina Crane (Katia Winter), Ichabod's wife, Katrina is secretly a witch. It is she who casts the spell of suspended animation on Ichabod, after his supposed 'fatal' wounding by the Horseman. She is unaware that the Horseman's blood mingled with Ichabod's, and that her husband's resurrection also signals the return of the Horseman. Katrina appears to Ichabod only in dreams, telling him she is trapped in purgatory, a place between worlds, and can only be freed with the defeat of the Horseman. Ichabod and Abbie are able to free her, but soon after Katrina is captured by the Horseman, revealed to be Abraham "Brom" Van Brunt, a former suitor. She remains with him, communicating secret knowledge to Crane, but later escapes to Ichabod and Abbie. Ichabod and Katrina's marriage is strained by the secrets she keeps, which include compelling a one-time lover of Crane's to suicide. Katrina later causes tension when she tries to restore Abraham's humanity. She encounters the 'Warlock', at which time Katrina gives into her dark side, aligning with Henry's plan to awaken the descendants of her coven of witches despite the danger if these powers are activated in the modern world. When Henry is slain, she attempts to alter history by going back in time to kill Ichabod before his fight with the Horseman, the spell allowing her to 'possess' her prior self. Fortunately, Abbie is able to travel back in time using Katrina's spell, allowing her to keep Ichabod safe long enough for her to negate the time-travel spell and return them to their present, with Ichabod forced to stab Katrina to save Abbie's life.

Season 2

Henry Parrish

Henry Parrish / Jeremy Crane / The Horseman of War (John Noble), he is initially seen as a Sin Eater who helped Crane break the curse connecting him with the Headless Horseman. Later, Parrish is revealed to be Katrina and Ichabod's son, Jeremy Crane, and the Second of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, War. Henry is bitter that his parents' actions trapped him in a coffin for two centuries in a state of living death until he is released by Moloch. He believed Moloch to be his true father, but later destroys Moloch, who sees Henry as expendable. After killing Moloch, Henry spends time contemplating his life; he comes to see he protected Katrina out of love, wanting to create a "family" by awakening latent powers in the witches' descendants. He is slain by Abbie. His spirit appears before Katrina, welcoming her to the afterlife.

• He is a recurring cast from the season 1

Recurring characters

Headless Horseman / Abraham Van Brunt

Headless Horseman / Abraham Van Brunt (Richard Cetrone, Jeremy Owens, Craig Branham and Neil Jackson), a beheaded undead man later resurrected in the 21st Century Sleepy Hollow with Crane, where he was revealed to be the First of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Death. He was Crane's best friend until he found out that Katrina broke her betrothal with him because she was in love with Crane, after which he became the Horseman so he could get revenge. He later holds her captive, but she escapes back to Crane. He believes that he was meant to be the hero of his story, but that Crane was the one who turned him into a villain. After Abbie and Crane save him from being destroyed by a fallen angel, he reluctantly agrees to leave them alone and abstain from killing in exchange for Katrina being allowed to attempt to return him to his mortal form. Pandora later seals him in her box to harness his power for her husband, the Hidden One, but Crane later released him from the Box to defeat the near-God-like Pandora, recognising that the Horseman is not an Apocalypse-level threat now that Moloch is dead. He killed Pandora in the end, with the help of Crane.

Moloch

Moloch (D. J. Mifflin and Derek Mears), the main antagonist of the first two seasons of the series. He is a god-like demon with the goal to bring forward the Apocalypse and raising of the Headless Horseman. He was the one who imprisoned Katrina in Purgatory, after Katrina's coven handed her over (as punishment for saving Ichabod). He is killed by Henry after Henry learns that Moloch, who he perceived as a father, only saw him as an expendable tool, allowing all the spirits and monsters from Purgatory to escape.

Officer Andy Brooks

Officer Andy Brooks (John Cho), Mills' co-worker and former best friend. He was revealed to be affiliated with the coven that resurrected the Horseman, and, despite having his neck broken in the pilot for his failure, has since returned as an undead being to aid other spirits in their efforts to be reborn. While he is undead, he continues to help Abby solve the mysteries because he regrets all the horrible things he has done. Moloch later turns him into a more powerful creature, but Andy willingly allows himself to die to be free of his agony. His fate following Moloch's demise remains unknown; he was last shown trapped in Purgatory, helping Abbie find a way of escape to show that he was still in control of himself. He appears to harbor unresolved feelings for Abbie as he is still trying to protect her, even in death, and he once stated to Abbie that she reminds him that he still is human.

Sheriff August Corbin

Sheriff August Corbin (Clancy Brown), Mills' mentor and father figure. He was decapitated by the Horseman during the Horseman's return. He was apparently aware of the secrets of Sleepy Hollow and collected extensive records. It was eventually revealed that he was also Jenny's mentor, although the sisters never knew that he knew both of them. He continues to appear before Mills even after death as a ghost to offer support and advice. In the Bones crossover episode "The Resurrection in the Remains", Bones protagonist Seeley Booth mentioned that he met Corbin, who compared him favourably to Abbie, Corbin's only 'criticism' being that Abbie needed to learn that she didn't have to save the world all in one day.

Grace Dixon

Grace Dixon (Onira Tares), Abbie and Jenny's ancestor who helped Katrina Crane give birth to her son. Katrina left him in her care, however, his cries started a house fire that ultimately killed her. During her lifetime, she cataloged all magic known to her world in a journal that was passed down to her descendants. After Katrina inadvertently pulls Abbie back in time, Grace helps her reverse the effects of the spell, and tells Abbie that the blank pages in the back of the journal are for her to document her work as a witness. She also tells Abbie that there are others out there like herself and Reverend Knapp, and that she is surprised that the witnesses haven't encountered any of them.

Nick Hawley

Nick Hawley (Matt Barr), an arms and artifacts dealer who was in a relationship with Jenny. Despite not believing in the powers associated with the artifacts, he aids Abbie and Crane in their mission. He eventually learns the truth about Sleepy Hollow, and appears more willing to cooperate without compensation; he keeps a maelstrom crystal handy to give creatures that attack him "a nasty magical jolt". For a time he appears to harbor feelings for Abbie, though ultimately attempts to rekindle a relationship with Jenny (he is also known to be a womanizer in general). Because of his questionable loyalties and interest in the Mills sisters, he constantly argues with Crane, who is deeply annoyed by his presence and considers him a "privateer". He leaves town after his god-mother Carmilla Pines (Jaime Murray), reappears as a Vetala and escapes before they can defeat her or restore her humanity. He promised Jenny that he would come back as soon as he was sure he could trust himself not to get the others killed.

Detective Luke Morales

Detective Luke Morales (Nicholas Gonzalez), Mills' co-worker and ex-boyfriend, who's suspicious of Crane. After attempted to rekindle his relationship with Abbie, he is approached by Andy Brooks, who tells him he'll need to choose a side in the coming conflict. He was almost killed by Macey during her possession, and it remains unclear if he is still alive or not.

Cynthia Irving

Cynthia Irving (Jill Marie Jones), Frank Irving's ex-wife. Following her daughter's possession, she is informed of the events occurring in Sleepy Hollow. She is aware of her ex-husband's death and resurrection, acting as his lawyer to clear him of the previous charges despite not being a defense attorney. However, she is unconvinced that her ex-husband returned without a scratch.

Irving, while controlled by Henry, later reveals that Cynthia and thus their daughter are descended from the Sisters of the Radiant Heart, Katrina's coven.

Macey Irving

Macey Irving (Amandla Stenberg), Frank's and Cynthia's daughter who is in a wheelchair after being hit by a car. She was briefly possessed by a demon and killed one person. She is later informed by the witnesses about the paranormal occurrences taking place in the town. The fact she will never have children is something that her father is most upset about; it nearly drove him to nearly kill the man who ran her over to reclaim his soul from War.

Leena Reyes

Leena Reyes (Sakina Jaffrey)^[6] (season 2), Irving's replacement at the Police Department. She was the one who had Abbie's and Jenny's mother sent to the psych ward and placed the girls in foster care. She is unaware of the events occurring in Sleepy Hollow and distrusts Abbie and Crane. The pair later manage to convince her that a large satanic cult has taken up residence in Sleepy Hollow (descendants of Hessians, loyal to Moloch and the Horsemen), explaining the town's odd occurrences, and that Crane is working with them as a consulting expert on occult forces.

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin (Jon Sparks and Timothy Busfield)^[7] Crane's former mentor, who was a major player in the war against evil. Though he was incredibly brilliant, Crane found him arrogant and eccentric, and only agreed to assist him because George Washington assigned him to. When Abbie became trapped in the past, she initially went to Franklin for help, and he is delighted to learn the level of recognition he and his works continue to receive in the present day. He is briefly killed by the Horseman when Katrina sends the Horseman after Crane, but Abbie's success in undoing Katrina's attempt at time-travel negates these events, erasing Franklin's premature demise and his meeting with Abbie.

Crane even once stated that a bobble head of Franklin was quite accurate, for describing his ego.

Reverend Alfred Knapp

Reverend Alfred Knapp (Patrick Gorman), a warlock from the same coven as Katrina who helped her cast a resurrection spell on Ichabod. He was later present at the resurrection of George Washington, and remained in Sleepy Hollow to guard the location of the Headless Horseman's head. After the Horseman's resurrection, he confronts Knapp and then decapitates him.

Detective Devon Jones

Detective Devon Jones (Michael Roark), Morales' partner. Alongside Luke, he was assigned to protect Macey Irving, and is later killed by his demon-possessed partner.

Zoe Corinth

Zoe Corinth (Maya Kazan), a love interest for Ichabod who helps him apply for citizenship.^[8]

Ezra Mills

Ezra Mills (James McDaniel), Abbie and Jenny's father. He has been revealed to have some connection to a supernatural government division set up by George Washington, officially to aid Ichabod in his role as a Witness, but notes that the organisation has become divided in its original purpose.

See also

• List of Sleepy Hollow episodes

References