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"My name is Ichabod Crane. I was a Professor of History at Merton College, Oxford, when I was enlisted in the Queen's Royal Regiment and sent to the American colonies to fight the patriots. It didn't take long for me to have a change of heart, and I defected....the rule of tyranny betrayed the weight of my conscience and I couldn't allow myself to give my life for anything less. So...I became a spy under the command of General Washington."
—Ichabod Crane[src]

Ichabod Crane is the co-protagonist in the television series, Sleepy Hollow. He is a man born in the 18th century, an Oxford history professor, before he joined the British Army for an adventure in the American colonies. Once in the New World, however, he became a believer in the American cause, and was made a captain in the Continental Army, reporting to General George Washington. Unbeknownst to Crane, there was more at stake than just American Independence, and he was discovered to be the First Witness as described in the Biblical Book of Revelations, though this knowledge was kept from him. His service eventually led to his confrontation with the Horseman, the result of which put him into a stasis for over 200 years, awakening in the year 2013. There he found his partner, Abbie Mills, the Second Witness. It was eventually revealed to him that his wife, Katrina, had cast a spell on him in order to save him and put him on the path as one of the Witnesses described in the Book of Revelations who would be “brought together for a seven-year period of tribulation to defend humanity from the forces of hell. Their battle is prophesied to ordain the fate of the world on judgment day.”

History[]

Early Life[]

Crane was born to an aristocratic family in England in 1751. He said he was the son of Thomas Crane, a nobleman and Oxford don. He attended Eton College and during his 6th form in the spring of 1763, had his first run in with the supernatural when his best friend, Bertram Willoughby, was killed at the age of 14, and mysteriously drained of his blood. The killer was never caught, though Crane himself obsessed about finding Bertie's murderer. His family removed him from the College to protect him from an outbreak of sickness which also halted the killings, which had come to 5 murders over 12 weeks. He returned to complete his studies the following autumn.

After he finishing his education and following his father to Oxford, he also worked as a professor of history at Merton College, Oxford University. A friend then convinced him to enlist, so they might have an adventure in the American Colonies, and he joined the Queen's Royal Regiment as a Lieutenant.[4] Despite his father's disapproval, he left Dover, England for the American colonies in 1770. [5]

Service to the Crown[]

Under the command of Banastre Tarleton, Crane was required to interrogate Arthur Bernard, a freed slave suspected of sedition and treason. Tarleton wanted the name of whoever wrote of rebellion under the pen name Cicero. Upon his capture, Katrina Van Tassel, who claimed to be a Quaker, came to his defense and said of Crane, “Your eyes betray you, the inner voice that wants to show him mercy; it's called a conscience.” Arthur seemed to understand, however, who Crane was to be, and told him, “I'll let you in on a secret; there are demons all around, hiding as men among men, turning them against one another. Join me against them.” Crane thought him unhinged.

After Tarleton then opted to hang three men for treason, Crane objected , and Tarleton warned Crane not to make him doubt his loyalty even as Crane got a glimpse of something demonic behind his commander's face. When Crane then met Katrina nearby, she told him, “You possess a gift, the power to bear witness. Do you realize what it means? How valuable you are in this fight....Evil gains its strength when good men do nothing. You are a good man, Ichabod Crane.”[6]

When Crane returned to continue Arthur's interrogation, Tarleton told him he had failed and gave him one option to redeem himself; take the prisoner to the forest and kill him. Crane could not do such a thing, and released Arthur, who told him to repeat the words "Ordo Ab Chao" to Katrina and “she will know which side your heart has chosen” and would take him to George Washington. As Arthur walked away, he was murdered by Tarleton, who was revealed to be a demon. After a fight with Crane, the demon fled from the forest while Crane made his way back to Katrina for aid.[6]

A Change of Heart[]

This incident preyed on his mind, “It didn't take long for me to have a change of heart, and I defected....the rule of tyranny betrayed the weight of my conscience and I couldn't allow myself to give my life for anything less. So...I became a spy under the command of General Washington.”[4] At Washington's directive, Crane then became an apprentice to Benjamin Franklin, and assisted Franklin in his experiments in electricity[7]

In 1773, Crane was attached to t he 37th Virginia militia under Colonel Jonathan Brewer. They were tasked with retrieving a stone box from the British in Boston. As the British import tax on tea was at an all-time high, Crane “devised a diversion to gain entry. With the help of a local politician and ally in Boston, Mr. Samuel Adams....At the time, it was referred to as the destruction of the tea, you've coined a far more festive name.” The target box was guarded by a Hessian who lit a bomb to prevent them taking it. Only Crane survived the blast, he took the box and sent it to Washington.[8]

Ichabod yields in battle

Abraham challenges his friend.

In 1774, Crane's friend, Abraham Van Brunt, who had been the impetus behind Crane leaving Oxford in the first place, was reunited with Crane. He was engaged to Katrina van Tassel who had met Crane while he was still in a red coat. After spending much time together, Crane and Katrina developed feelings for one another, and Katrina confessed she did not love Abraham, that her heart belonged to Ichabod Crane, and she would end her engagement. The next day, the two men were tasked with delivering the Declaration of Resolves of the First Continental Congress. Abraham was distracted by Katrina's rejection, and when Crane admitted his knowledge of Katrina's love for him; Abraham grew angry, and challenged Crane to duel which Crane tried to refuse, but Abraham pressed the attack. They were the surprised by Shadow Warriors, and Abraham was shot. When Crane tried to help him, he angrily demanded that his former friend leave.[9]

In the course of his service, Crane found himself fighting alongside the Mohawk, and greatly admired their skills in espionage; he would later mention that they were great spies and could move untraced.[10] Two scouts he considered friends, Wistaron and Wiroh, told him the story of how the dream demon Ro'kenhronteys had killed Wiroh's father for failing his friend.[3] By 1778, he also worked with Daniel Boone, from whom he heard the tale of Squire Boone's ailment after his expedition with the Shawnee. He explained that Boone wore an animal pelt hat to hide the scars left from that incident.[11]

In 1780, a British spy, John Andre was delivered to Washington. Washington and Crane visit Andre in his cell, and discover that Andre's tongue was cut from his mouth. Papers in his possession led to Benedict Arnold's treachery. Washington thanks the Dyer sisters for their aid in capturing the spy; Crane witnesses them meet with Washington and notices the snake brand on their wrists. [12]

Final Battle[]

By 1781, Crane's destiny was known by his commanding officer, General Washington, who directed his actions without telling him of his role. When Hessian soldiers ambushed Crane's unit in the Hudson Valley, Washington ordered Crane to hunt down and kill a very specific Hessian soldier in battle, a mercenary who would be branded with the symbol of a bow on the back of his hand. During the battle, Crane searched for the Hessian among the dead, checking their hands when another soldier alerted him to the Hessian riding toward him. Crane shot him, knocking him from his mount, but he rose up and advanced on Crane who grabbed a musket and brought it to bear. The Hessian knocked the gun from his hands, and Crane noted the bow on the back of his hand as the enemy attacked with a broadaxe. Taking a fatal wound to the chest, Crane used his last strength to decapitate the Hessian[4]. The two fell on the Philosopher's Stone which had been secreted there by George Washington and Benjamin Banneker. As they bled out their life's blood, the two became linked by the blood.[13] Crane was taken to triage, where his wife, Katrina rushed to save him. Katrina put a spell on him that would put him in stasis, and he would be resurrected when the time was right. Crane was then hiden in a cave near Sleepy Hollow along with Washington's Bible, awaiting his awakening, when he would fulfill his destiny as a Witness.[4]

Resurrection[]

Ichabod awakes

Ichabod Crane emerges from his grave after two centuries.

In 2013, Crane awoke in a cave. Shocked and frightened, he discovered nothing of what he remembered remained. Terrifying vehicles had nearly killed him, and when he at last made it to Sleepy Hollow, things were even worse. He was confronted by bright light, and strange machines, and men with weapons. That last he could at least understand, and complied when ordered to surrender. He was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Sheriff August Corbin. Abbie Mills, who witnessed the murder, eliminated him as a suspect, but what she did say caught his attention. When he indicated the murderer was someone whose head he had once cut off, Crane was considered of questionable sanity by the police, and was ordered taken to St. Gregory's for a 72 hour psych evaluation.

Abbie, who was tasked with transporting him, disobeyed orders and asked Crane to show her where he had awakened. Revisiting the cave, Crane discovered Bible which had been buried with him. The marked passage foretold the coming of the Horseman. Crane speculates that the Headless Horsemen is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

When the Horseman strruck again, Crane is taken to a murder scene with Abbie, where he was directed to his wife's tombstone by a bird. The stone stated Katrina was burned for witchcraft. Abbie then took Crane to St. Gregory's, as ordered, where she revealed something supernatural happened to her in the past. That night, Crane was visited by Katrina in his dreams. She confirmed that she was a witch, and revealed that her grave contained not her body but the Horseman's skull. She was trapped in Purgatory by the demon they fought. She told her husband that he was the first Witness and he must stop the Horseman from retrieving his skull which would restore him to full power. In this, Crane and Abbie proved successful and formed an alliance.[4]

Tribulations[]

In Blood Moon, Crane was once again visited by Katrina in his dreams, warning him about an evil to come. The following day, Crane attend Corbin's funeral and he empathized with Abbie's pain, mourning his wife. Crane then came to the conclusion that the evil that Katrina spoke of was another witch. When the pair were called to a crime scene where the victim was burnt beyond recognition, Crane noticed that the victim's heart was missing. With the name of the victim to go on, Crane came to the conclusion that the witch, Serilda was hunting down her victims based on their bloodlines; their ancestors had been responsible for her execution in the past. Crane and Abbie missed the chance of catching Serilda's after she obtained her target: a dead man's ashes; and using his ashes, she regained her flesh and attacked. Using the gunpowder stored in the old ordinance tunnels, Crane threw a torch to set the black powder alight, the explosive combustion again burnt the witch, defeating Serilda.[14]

Ichabod stung with venom

The scorpion sting gives the dreamers control in Ro'kenhronteys' world.

After witnessing a public suicide of a woman named Dr. Maura Vega, in For the Triumph of Evil, Abbie told Crane that Vega's eyes were white. When examining the eye, it burst, spilling sand from it. Abbie then confessed to Crane that she had a nightmare that included Crane, a faceless creature and Dr. Vega, although she had never met Vega before. They sought out files on Dr. Vega and found that she had been Jenny's former doctor. Crane thought the best option was for them to speak to Jenny, Abbie said she did not talk to her sister, but he pointed out the need. Jenny agreed to speak with Crane alone, and convinced her he was in earnest, but she said there was nothing he could do, “It was all over but the crying.”

He then told Abbie that what was between her and Jenny was between them, but it might also be standing in the way of truths they must know. Abbie confesses that she saw the same demon in the woods Jenny had, but lied about it, fearing the consequences of telling the truth to an unbelieving world. Jenny suffered those consequences, Abbie remained safe, but at the price of having tuned her back on her sister.

Their next visit was to Garrett Gillespie, who found the Mills sisters as girls after their disappearance of four days. Gillespie however was all ready involved in a hostage situation, and asked to speak with Abbie. He also had white eyes and told Abbie that the "sandman” was coming for her next. Gillespie then took his own life. After discussing Abbie's nightmare, Crane connects her dream monster to a creature called Ro'kenhronteys, from Mohawk mythology. He says they need a shaman. They visit Seamus in hopes of his aid in defeating the creature. After they convince him of their sincerity, he prepares a ritual for Abbie, and Crane impetuously joins her so they may face Ro'kenhronteys in his realm together. With his aid, Abbie admits her guilt, and says it was the action of a frightened child, she will not do it again, and banishes Ro'kenhronteys. Afterward, she thanked Crane who suggested she make amends with her sister. Abbie had already decided to do so, but when she arrives at Terrytown Psychiatric, Jenny had gone.[15]

In their search for Jenny, Crane was told of Abbie's difficult childhood. He suggests the best lead would be to visit Jenny's past foster homes to gain information on her habits. Eventually, they learn of a cabin Jenny would go to to visit a friend. Breaking in the cabin, they recognize Jenny and Corbin in the photos on the mantle, Abbie hadn't realized her sister was close to Corbin, too. Jenny then emerged from the back and held them at gun point. Fed up by their pointless arguing, Crane shouted them into silence, “Enough! If your familial ties meant so little to you, you'd spend far less effort baiting her into a fight just to stoke your misguided pride. And you, do make some effort not to be such an easy target. Now drop your weapons, both of you.” Jenny then retrieved something that Corbin wanted her to keep safe: A sextant. Crane demonstrated the mechanism was actually a projector that showed a map of Sleepy Hollow from the 18th century created by Washington. The map showed the location of a chest Ichabod found during The Boston Tea Party. They were then ambushed by Shadow Warriors who escaped with the sextant. Holding one Hessian hostage, he told Crane their objectives; to use The Lesser Key of Solomon to unleash 72 demons upon Earth. His last words were "Moloch shall rise" and then used a suicide pill. Team Witness then utilizes Crane's eidetic memory to recreate the map, and determine the location of the box. They race to the church depicted to stop the Hessian group and destroy the book. Crane learns that Moloch is the one who guards Katrina in Purgatory.[8]

Ichabod in quarantine

Crane is quarantined after contracting the Pestilence's plague.

In John Doe, Crane and Abbie, respond to a missing child case, and find the sick sick boy speaks only in Middle English. Crane understands the language, and can communicate with the boy. He discovers the child is Thomas Grey from Roanoke. The modern world immediately assumes he means Virginia, but investigators find nothing. The boy has an unidentified illness that has already infected one of the EMTs. The boy tells Crane of an evil girl, and Crane comes to the conclusion that the boy is from the sixteenth century colony of Roanoke, North Carolina, also known as the Lost Colony.

Retracing Thomas' route, using his tracking skills, Crane finds the hidden colony on an islet in the river, somehow hidden from the world. All the villagers manifest the same symptoms as Thomas but don't appear ill. Crane speaks with Thomas' father, and is told that the colony must remain intact to protect the people and prevented the illness from spreading, they are the seed for the Horseman Pestilence to rise, who can be contained if Thomas returns to the village. Upon returning to Sleepy Hollow, they learn that Thomas' illness is spreading like a plague and Crane, too, has contracted it. He is immediately quarantined and falls unconscious. He finds Katrina who explains she is being held in Purgatory by Moloch, and he could not have found her there if he were not close to death himself. He and Thomas are then smuggled out of quarantine by Abbie and Frank, and they set off for the colony where Abbie hopes once restored to the colony and it's water, the illness will abate. When Crane carries Thomas into the well, they are healed, and the illness dissipates from all those infected in the real world, and Pestilence is thwarted.[16]

Ichabod drinks poison

Crane willingly opts to sacrifice himself.

In The Sin Eater, while visiting Katrina's grave, Crane is shot with a tranquilizer dart. He regains consciousness in an underground cell and is confronted by a man who he identifies as a Rutledge, a descendant of the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the leader of a chapter of Freemasons. Crane claimed membership as well. When requested, he told the the story his association with the patriot, Arthur Bernard, and his change of heart. When his tale confirmed the contemporary version they had from Katrina, they told him that the spell had bound him to the Horseman and that Crane had to take his own life in order to destroy the Horseman. Abbie then interrupted them and told Crane there was always another way, that he needn't die, she had found a Sin Eater, Henry Parish, who could break the bond. Crane thought there was no time for that and drank the poison provided. Henry arrived in time to carry out the ritual, and cleansed the poison from Crane's blood as he separated Crane from the Horseman.[6]

107Promo7

Crane with the Horseman's head

In The Midnight Ride, the Freemasons are still in Sleepy Hollow and plan a meeting to discuss the campaign against the Headless Horseman. Abbie wasn't invited to attend since Masons are a male only fraternity, but Crane insisted the Second Witness be allowed to attend. When they arrived at the masonic lodge there were gunshots inside the residence. Armed with a sword, Crane investigated and discovered the Masonic brothers had been beheaded. Running into Abbie, they spot the Headless Horseman departing. While the police investigate the crime scene, Crane searches for anything that could tell him what the Mason's had planned. He realizes that the horseman is looking for his skull, and Crane came to a conclusion that they had to destroy it, only to discover the skull couldn't be destroyed.

The Witnesses would then discover the heads of the Masons hanging from a clock tower like lanterns. Crane told Abbie of the use of lanterns in his past, and mentions a manuscript that told of a way to destroy the Horseman. They visit the Tarrytown Museum of Colonial History to locate the manuscript, and found it available online. Crane deciphered the manuscript by discovering a hidden password engraved in the back of the skull's teeth. Abbie had been told by Andy Brooks how the horseman could be caught. With the aid of Captain Irving, they created a diversion and lured the horseman into the masonic cell, weakening him with ultraviolet lights.[17]

Once captured, they spoke to the Horseman through his Necromancer, Andy Brooks, and Crane discovered that the Horseman the horseman was Abraham Van Brunt. He served Moloch by taking on the role as the Horseman of Death in exchange for Katrina. Andy then helps the Horseman to escape after smuggling in an artifact that dispels the magical wards of the chamber.

In the ensuing weeks, Abbie has a vision that allows her to see the birth of Crane's son, information she shares with him much to his shock. They then must confront a Golem that had been created by a young Jeremy Crane, and only Crane's blood, Jeremy's blood, can be used to destroy it. In the aftermath, Crane has a vision of Purgatory. Moloch tells him that his death is assured and that he will give Abbie’s soul over to him. Troubled, Crane shares his vision with Abbie.

In The Indispensable Man, the Witnesses discover a dark secret about George Washington's death, and their search for his true tomb leads them to a map that will show them the way to Purgatory and a chance to rescue Katrina. The map, however, is also what Moloch needs to win the war. In the end, Crane burns the map in front of Abbie and Henry, but after agonizing over it recreates it, with tears streaming down his face, knowing the decision is for himself and not the greater good.

In Bad Blood, The Witnesses discover that the only way to stop War from rising is to cast a particular spell on the land where the rising will occur, and the only witch that can cast the spell appears to be Katrina. Crane confesses to having recreated the map, and the Witnesses use it to travel to Purgatory where they are tested. Crane denies the image of his father, and refuses to accept the vision offered, and it is shattered. He finds Abbie and offers a fist bump to prove himself to her. When they find Katrina, he offers to take her place in Purgatory so she may leave, but is vetoed by Abbie. He and Katrina then depart to perform the ritual. When it fails, Henry ensnares them and reveals himself as Jeremy Crane, he had been using his father for his own ends all along. He tells them that War has already been loosed – he is War. Henry hands Katrina over to the Headless Horseman, then entombs his father in his former grave. Henry breaks the second seal, and delights in telling Crane he is the Horseman of War.

Rise of War[]

Season two opens with the statement that a year has passed and that both Katrina and Jenny are dead. Crane and Abbie as the Witnesses, must stop Moloch and find the Key to Purgatory. Crane told her of being an apprentice for Franklin working on an electricity experiment involving a kite. Apparently, Franklin was trying to destroy the key with a lightning strike, but his attempt failed. Crane then suggests that they talk to the imprisoned Henry for answers. Speaking with Henry triggers a memory about the Gehenna Key in Abbie, and Crane suddenly realizes he has no real memories of the past year, not even how they captured Henry. Abbie concurs, and Henry reveals all the things they were experiencing was an illusion created by Moloch. The illusion shatters, Abbie is snatched away and Crane is still in the coffin Henry imprisoned him in. Determined, Crane finds that the soil above him is high in sulfur, and he concocts a rudimentary measure of gunpowder, and blows open his grave. He hikes out of the woods and when he gets signal, finds a message from Jenny; she is trapped in a warehouse in Rt. 9, the road he happens to be on. He tries driving for the first time and breaks her out, but allows her to take the wheel for the actual get away. He tells Jenny of Franklin's sketchbook and they go to retrieve it. They find Franklin's coded message, and deduce the location of the key.

Crane then gets a message from Abbie who contacts him from Moloch's lair. They bring each other up to date, and she tells him to leave her in Purgatory, the risk is too great. He is adamant, “The Bible foretells two Witnesses. You and I must remain together if there is any hope of victory; the only risk, Lieutenant, is in leaving you behind.”

Crane and Jenny hurry to the spot where the worlds meet and Jenny warns him not to eat or drink anything inside. Crane enters the portal with an incantation and the key. He resists the illusions Purgatory offers in favor of Abbie and their partnership, and the pair of them escape the realm, the key crumbling to dust after use.[7]

Ichabod-and-abbie-summon-the-kindred

Crane jump starts the Kindred

In The Kindred, Crane and Abbie look through past accounts on the Kindred; a monster created by Benjamin Franklin constructed of body parts from fallen Patriots. The only thing needed was a galvanizer to resurrect his creation. They hope to use the Kindred to distract the Horsemen so they might save Katrina. By the time they find Abraham's carriage house, Abbie is uncertain the Kindred will obey them, so they carried it to the Horseman's property, use a spell and the galvanizer, and minutes later the Kindred comes to life. It is very skilled in combat, and is evenly matched with the Horseman.

Crane breeches the carriage house and pleads with Katrina to escape, but she decides to stay as a spy, much to his frustration. As the Kindred disappears, Death and War following, Abbie signals Crane it was time to leave. He then promises Katrina he will return. He is deeply troubled by their failed attempt.[18]

In Root of All Evil, Crane and Abbie get a call saying there was a robbery at her bank. The suspect was a woman Abbie knew as kind and dedicated; it was very unlike her to commit a crime, but she died doing so. In going over the the surveillance, Abbie notes a suspicious coin Henry left behind that the teller pocketed. Research discovers it is what Crane describes as a Judas coin. It is said that even good people could show their "dark side" if they have it in their possession. They were directed to meet an acquaintance of Jenny's who was interested in the supernatural for the sake of profit, Nick Hawley. He has some information on neutralizing the coin and the three of them work together when it is Jenny who next obtained the coin. They follow her to a hunting preserve where the new sheriff, Reyes, is. They find Jenny with a rifle aiming toward Reyes, until Abbie stops her. She claims Reyes was behind their mother's death, but they get her to drop the coin, and Hawley uses pieces of stained glass to capture and contain it. While the others check on Jenny, he disappears with the coin. Crane tells Abbie, “What matters now more than ever is that you and I stay true. Trust is the only currency with any value.” Hawley then provides Crane with a set of manufactured credentials and identification claiming to feel guilty they got nothing from the adventure.[19]

In Go Where I send Thee, Abbie tries to teach Crane to drive before getting a call concerning family friends, the Lancasters. Their only daughter disappeared recently, after hearing a mystical flute; the sound lured her away, and though they retrieved her, she disappeared again. Tracking the child, Crane discovers a flute made of human bone. Once he plays it, Abbie falls into a trance and wanders away. He snaps her out of it and takes the flute for analysis; he finds calcium from the bone structure was rich, which leads to the conclusion that the victim was about 10 at death. The sound coming from it was hypnotic. He concludes the creature they seek is a Pied Piper. Crane says such a creature used a flute to draw away Patriots, and killed them with unmatched speed. Using the flute, he sends Abbie into a trance and follows her into the woods where he comes across Nick Hawley. Hawley agrees to help them locate the Piper's lair , help them find the missing girl, Sarah, but wants the flute for his aid. Abbie and Crane locate the girl and unchain her, while Nick deals with the Piper, they then plant some charges to slow it down while they escape. Once clear of the den, Nick demands the flute, telling them that the job is done, and that they should live up to their bargain. Abbie gives it to him, but breaks it first, telling him they will not give him that kind of power, and Crane labels him a "privateer." With Sarah reunited with her parents, Crane and Abbie are faced with a horrifying truth when the family curse strikes Sarah's brothers. Her mother feels she must take Sarah into the woods to use as bait against the Piper whom she hopes to destroy. When Abbie talks her down, they are interrupted when the Piper attacks. As Crane engages it in a sword fight, Abbie finishes it off. [20]

In The Weeping Lady, Crane gets a visit form the re-enactor seamstress, Caroline, who gives him gifts of 18th century style clothing. He is grateful, and then stunned when Caroline makes advances. He blurts out the he is a married man. Caroline is embarrassed and flees. Crane is concerned for her, he does like her, and wants her friendship, so asks Abbie to drive him to her house where he can make things right, insisting a text – Abbie's suggestion – just won't cut it.

The Weeping Lady

Crane saves Abbie from the Weeping Lady

He tells Caroline that he treasures their friendship, that he hasn't many friends, and wishes to make amends. She is charmed that he had taken the time to come and see her, to make things right, and agrees to a friendship. He bows and departs with a smile. It would be the last time they speak. The next morning, a distraught Crane arrives at a river side crime scene where Caroline's remains are being zipped into a body bag. He is near tears as he asks Abbie to confirm it is really his friend who is dead. He finds the coffee mug she was holding when he saw her in her home, and is determined to find what might have killed her.

Having been told the story of the Weeping Lady, he and Abbie head to the local library for research. When he hears Abbie give a warning, he finds that she has been targeted and pulled into a watery portal. He reaches in and manages grab her, pulling her to safety, but she isn't breathing. He cries that she has drowned, when Hawley arrives and revives her with CPR, something Crane had never seen before, but would later use himself.[21] When Abbie presents Crane with a scrap of the ghost's veil, he recognizes it as a Scottish cotton lace, once belonging to Mary Wells, his former betrothed. Before he left for America in 1770, he broke things off with her, mainly because of her extreme jealousy. Although she had traveled to America to bring him back, he had then received a letter that said she had returned home without him. Abbie points out if Mary had been jealous of Katrina 200 years ago, now that she is actually married to Crane, it makes her target number one. Crane realizes that a note from his wife was lost in the portal, and Katrina is in danger.

Crane and Abbie arrive at the Horseman's carriage house just as the Horseman rushes out. Inside, Crane finds a puddle and Katrina's note. They rush to the other end of the watery portal, and find Katrina on the river bank, having fought her way free. Crane confronts Mary's spirit while his wife and partner prepare a hex to set Mary's soul free, and send her spirit to rest. Abbie and Katrina are able to release Mary's soul, but before departing, she points an accusing finger at the witch. Upset, Crane demands some answers from his wife, and Katrina confesses to Crane that she knew the details behind Mary's accidental death, and forged the letter he received. Had he known of Mary's death, Katrina feared he would take her body back to England himself, thereby throwing his own destiny off course. He is angered by her deception, "You are my wife - my wife, Katrina - yet there is so much that you've kept from me. You were a spy for Washington, you're a witch, you were pregnant with our son, and now this." The Horseman then arrives and is prepared to kill Crane, but Katrina holds him off, saying her husband had saved her from danger, and she would return with the Horseman if he repaid Crane with his life. At Caroline's funeral reception, Crane delivers the heartfelt eulogy, then asked Abbie, "Marriage is difficult on the best day, but without trust... without honesty... how can a union between two people hope to survive?" [22]

Crane is still struggling with the issues raised in the last episode, and while Abbie tries to teach him stress management through yoga, he prefers his own version of stress management; drinking rum. When they then respond to a complaint, they find a murder scene with one survivor; Joe Corbin. She tells Crane, she used to babysit Joe, and he always loved his Superman outfit. "Once a hero, always a hero," nods Crane. Crane and Abbie learn that the creature responsible for the deaths is a Wendigo, a monster from Algonquian folklore. It is winter, famine, gluttony, and cannibalism incarnate. Crane relates it is, "A skin-walker from Shawnee and Algonquian legend, which possesses both human and bestial attributes and partakes in the act of cannibalism...Once the appetite is triggered, the transformation begins. The beast can only return to human form after the consumption of human organs." They track Joe down in the woods and witness the transformation, and capture him after bringing him organs, and he reverted after he ate them.

They learn that Joe was cursed by Henry, who had take the bone flute from Go Where I Send Thee... and ground it to dust in order to enclose it in a letter he sent to Joe, which cursed him upon contact. Henry wants Joe to bring him a powerful poison, Jincan, from his father's collection, in exchange for the cure. Hawley manages to get Crane a meeting with some Shawnee who might help, but they have nothing but contempt for Hawley, and turned away until Crane told their spokesman, Big Ash, that Hawley would retrieve the mask he had sold if they would help with a Wendigo cure. When Big Ash was dismissive, Crane cagily said to Hawley, "the Shawnee could not help Squire Boone. What makes you think they would help us?" That caught their attention, and they allowed Crane to meet their shaman, Frank. Crane is provided with a skull cup with a hex engraved upon it. Big Ash says that the Wendigo has four seasons, four cycles of transformation. If they don't succeed by the final cycle, the result could be permanent. Crane and Abbie find Joe as the beast, and he recites the spell. It works very slowly, and the Wendigo is about to kill Abbie, when the spell finally works. Crane then finds stress relief in on-line gaming.[11]

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Rescuing Katrina

In Deliverance, Crane and Abbie await her turn to vote, and he is appalled by a mere 40% voter turnout. She points out that it took 180 years and two constitutional amendments for her to get the right, and he agrees that universal suffrage is a boon. When they are then told a red-headed Jane Doe in Colonial garb was taken to a hospital, they rush to find Katrina suffering from a high fever and an apparent abdominal infection. Worried for her well being, Crane and Abbie take her away, so Henry's minions cannot find her. As they dress her in clothes from lost and found and smuggle her out, Henry's men arrive. Abbie follows Henry's men, while Crane takes Katrina to the archive to research her illness. They learn of the Hellfire Club, and Katrina tells her husband of how she had spoken with Abraham, which disturbs him. His research into the Hellfire Club finds a similar case where inception in a “vessel” was discussed. Crane actually shows his anger to Katrina, suggesting it was Abraham who was responsible for “inception,” but Katrina angrily denies it, and tells him it could be from no man. He then finds why Henry wanted the poison from Corbin's collection, "Jincan is no ordinary poison; it's been used for centuries by dark covens to grow demons. Henry is growing a demon inside of you." They are forced to escape the archives when Henry's men arrive, and are able to flee to a nearby church. While there, Katrina tells Crane and Abbie that Henry can help her, and of her faith in him because he is her son. Crane's faith is strained, but admits he has not given up all hope for Henry. He forces a meeting with his son, and learns from Henry that the demon inside Katrina is Moloch. He angrily attempts to reach Henry's human side, and a brief contact between them shows Crane images of his son's tortured life.

Back at the church, Crane wishes for an army, and Abbie provides. They approach Sheriff Reyes, telling her Crane uncovered a doomsday cult based on the historic Hellfire Club, and they raid the Hessian base to retrieve the tablet and its hidden crystal in order to thwart Moloch. Reyes was finally convinced of Crane's usefulness, and he tells her, “I'm a criminal profiler, with an emphasis on acts of historical imitation.” He rushes back to Katrina as Moloch struggles to break free. He pulls the boards off the window and smashes the tablet to find the crystal which he then held in sunlight. The rays of the Borealis force Moloch to retreat. Katrina, however, isn't breathing. Crane duplicates the CPR he had seen performed on Abbie previously, and revives her. He tells Abbie, “Holding her just now, is a joy I've not felt in an age. And yet....” [21]

In Heartless, Crane and his wife have a moment's peace together. Reunited, Katrina tries to give him what he needs to trust her again. He worries that secrecy is hard habit to breaks and she replies, "I am sorry, and I pray that you can learn to trust me again. We need each other, as husband and wife, to win this war." They are interrupted by Abbie trying to track down Henry after he has been quiet for a week. She figures he is up to something. A new body has dropped at a local club, however, and Abbie and Crane try to identify the creature responsible for the death. Katrina helps them narrow the focus of their search then has a vision of a crying baby in a crib which worries Crane. Abbie tries to make plans with Crane, but he is more concerned about escorting Katrina home. They eventually put the clues together and come to the conclusion they are dealing with a Succubus, Katrina explains that they are drawn to secret desires and can mimic people's desires. Katrina recites a spell to try to track the succubus, she drips wax on a map and it encircles the harbor, Abbie realizes that the succubus is at Hawley's boat, so she and Crane arrive at the dock and hear Hawley struggling with the succubus. Crane attacks the succubus, while Hawley uses a crystal, pressing it into her skin, burning her, even as the succubus draws out his life force. Abbie arrives and shoots the succubus sending her into retreat.

While Abbie calls Katrina, Crane tells Hawley that that the creature is drawn to those with secret desires, and Crane notes the way Hawley is looking at Abbie, and asks his intentions. Back at the cabin, Abbie and Katrina argue over whether Henry can be saved, and Crane has to break up the fight. After the team deals with the threat of the succubus, Crane returns to base and is told that Katrina has gone back to Fredericks Manor. Although not happy with the decision, he thinks it is a bold move, and could pay off. He says Abbie was right about letting relationships evolve, "Katrina is the love of my life, but she is also a highly skilled operative, a fact I tend to overlook. Katrina's heart has always been deep and mysterious, a fact she has used to her advantage." [23]

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Seeking the Sword

In Magnum Opus, Crane receives a brief mirror contact from Katrina while he and Abbie research Grace Dixon's journal which reveals a secret weapon, the Sword of Methuselah. Katrina warns him they must hurry in obtaining the sword, or the Horseman of Death would beat the Witnesses to it. As Crane and Abbie reach their destination, the Horseman arrives as well. They hide from him as he attempts to enter the hidden cellar. But he is distracted when Abbie accidentally knocks over a brick. The Horseman closes in on her hiding place, and then Crane chooses to distract him by yelling his name. The sun rises, forcing the Horseman to flee. Crane leads the way down where they encounter stone statues. One of them was identified by M. Dixon scratched on to the lamp it was holding; Abbie's ancestor. Crane came to the conclusion they were not statues but petrified people, and one mythological beast could do that; a Gorgon. Abbie decides the Horseman should be first in, in order to distract the monster since he had no eyes.

They wait for sunset, and with Death taking the lead, Crane and Abbie follow. As the two monsters battle, Crane uses his smart phone's camera to avoid eye contact, and still keep tabs on the fight. With the Horseman distracted, they head into a chamber where numerous swords surround a vessel of liquid. Crane tells Abbie to choose carefully, she may get only one guess, and there may be a trap if she is wrong. He then faces Abraham, literally, he can see Abraham's head as a result of the chamber's magics. He challenges him to a duel, Abraham accepts, and they battle in earnest. Eventually, Crane retreats to the chamber and Abbie has picked the wrong sword, and all the blades turn to snakes. When the Horseman then enters, she sees his face as well, and tells him there's no sword. Crane confronts him, then a the sound of a horn being blown stops them. It shakes the cave, and it is a sign that Moloch has entered Earth. Crane and Abbie discover that the container of liquid contains oil, not water. A single torch lowered into it causes the flame to be extinguished. But when both Witnesses put in their torches together, Methuselah's Sword is revealed. With it in hand Crane declares, "Moloch shall not rise."[24]

Moloch is rising, and Sleepy Hollow faces a cataclysm; the apocalypse is upon the Witnesses, and as they race to Fredericks Manor, the car is stalled as lightning strikes. At a nearby gas station, the desperate Witnesses commandeer a motorcycle, and by the time they arrive, Crane is thrilled with the bike and says he wants one when war is over. As they entered Fredericks Manor, Abbie discovers a pentagram superimposed on the town, highlighting the locations Henry performed Moloch's deeds. Crane sees the binding ritual set up, and saves Katrina before it was completed. Crane made no hesitation as he wielded the Sword of Methuselah, but Abraham tells him that, “The Sword requires a sacrifice... the life of anybody who wields it. The moment a man uses the Sword to kill, his soul, and hence, his life will be taken with it.” Katrina agrees he could be right, and so the Horseman is captured, not killed. Cane laments, “ Our marriage has been under a lot of strain of late, and now she's saved Abraham's life, only to save mine, I know. I should hang the risk and kill him.” But Abbie says that doesn't work for her. She suggests, however, that perhaps their deaths could be their jobs fulfilled, two Horsemen, two witnesses.

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The Battle Against Moloch

Jenny then suggests a man without a soul to loose as the wielder; Frank Irving. He accepts the roll, and they must hurry to find Moloch who is burning the four white trees. With every tree destroyed, the closer he comes to merging Purgatory to the earthly plane. Crane asks his wife, “If Henry stood in the path of defeating Moloch, would you be able to kill Henry?” She tells him there will always be another choice. Hawley provides supernatural weapons from his stores, and time is running out, Hawley keeps on eye on the imprisoned Abraham, the team face off an army of demons sent by Moloch. Frank arrives, wielding the Sword, he faces War, and destroys the Horseman's armor avatar, injuring Henry and making him vulnerable.

An angry Crane takes a brief down time to tell Katrina he heard her tell Abraham she cares for him. “You're a spy, you're a witch, you lied to me about Mary's death, sometimes I question the very idea of our “marriage”...we are but comrades in arms, until Moloch is defeated.” Mortally wounded, Frank falls, and the team quarrel over who should wield the sword, Crane says, “I have been on borrowed time for far too long. I awoke in this... strange time for no reason other than this moment. It ends now, with purpose.” But there is another way. Crane holds the vulnerable Henry at sword point and says he will use if he must, but just as the biblical Abraham was spared killing his own son with the provision of a ram, so to can Moloch be that ram for the Cranes. Henry asks if his father would die to kill Moloch while leaving him alive Crane replies, “That is what sacrifice is. Allow me to fulfill my duty as a Witness and end this madness.” Henry realizes that Crane has never given up on him and never will. He takes the Sword and delivers his father to Moloch who demands Henry kill his mother first. Crane immediately offers his own life, but Henry kills Moloch instead, “any man willing to sacrifice his child...should die. As should any god!”[25]

Six weeks after Moloch's demise finds Crane living apart from his wife. He in the Archives, she at the cabin. They have not spoken since the night Moloch was destroyed and Henry vanished. He is feeling very prickly, and is sure there are signs of evil about, and spends his time trying to track them. When he and Abbie do, in fact, discover a trio of demons, they are joined in the fight by the winged Orion, apparently an angel freed from imprisonment Purgatory when Moloch was destroyed. He now seeks the power the lesser demons are called to; the Horseman. Abby thinks they may have a new ally, but Crane points out Lucifer, too, was an angel.

Katrina calls Crane and he meets her as she proposes that she be allowed to try and separate the man Abraham from the Horseman. He is stunned, “Save Abraham? Even if it were possible, he is our sworn enemy....It is not a decision to be made lightly, one I must consider.” With Orion's arrival, however, Katrina moves unilaterally and releases the Horseman before the fallen angel can kill him. Crane must get between Katrina and Abbie's argument and then tells his wife, “it was deeply unfair of you to use our marriage as leverage.” They all then get back to work, and Crane discovers “reference to the Angel Orion in a number of Apocryphal biblical sources, in each, he arrives in the weeks before great catastrophes....Was he there to prevent these events, or to bring them about?”

When Jenny and Hawley pinpoint the Horseman's location, they all converge. They discover Orion is a zealot who wants to destroy the Horseman to usurp his power, and then purge the world of any he deems capable of harboring evil, starting with Katrina. Orion engages the Horseman and drives his weapon into his back. Crane picks up the fallen broad axe and levers the weapon from Abram's back, then uses the axe to destroy it, before handing the axe back to the Horseman, “In this case, the enemy of my enemy is my ally.”

Crane then tells Abraham, “If you strike me down, the chance will be lost, the chance for you to become the hero you always thought you could be.” The Horseman agrees to let Katrina try her spell, and that he would not kill while she tried, but he would not be their prisoner. When Crane later confronted his wife about her actions, he accused her of using their marriage as a bargaining chip rather than try logic or fairness, that the situations of Henry and Abraham were not the same and she wants “to save him out of guilt and lay it at my feet.” He then says, “you and I must redefine our marriage, if we are to give life to our marriage.” Abbie later tells him that the fact they, too, disagreed was good for them, pushing each other. He tells Abbie, “No matter what obstacles we face, no matter how many disagreements we have, our bond cannot be broken.”[26]

Another week passes, and Crane is making progress with Katrina. They are dressing for and evening at the Hudson Historical Society reception showcasing their objects from the John and Abigail Adams collection. While there, Crane is approached by his friend, Grant Hollister, an art restorer who asks if he believes in the spirits supposed to haunt Sleepy Hollow's past. Before Crane can reply, Hollister is called away by society member, Evan Miller. Supper is interrupted by the discovery of Hollister's body dangling in the Tarot's Hanged Man position.

Katrina remembers Abigail Adams speaking of such murders in 1781, Crane also recalls, and names them the Durham Killings. They decide that Katrina's strong memories of Abigail are urging them toward resolution of the killings. They discover the painting Hollister was working on was a self portrait by a man called James Colby, and that he is the murderer, held in his own painting by a hex set by Katrina's coven member, Reverend Knapp, in 1782 at Mrs Adams behest. Observing the painting, Crane realizes, “The blood on his tool is from killing Grant, he's using it to paint the inverted cross, to finish that image of the Hanged Man. Like the Hanged Man itself, Colby plans his resurrection by finishing the unfinished work, if he requires more blood to paint with, he will take another victim.”

Crane witnesses another victim, Miller, being drawn into the painting, and resolves to follow. Crane and Katrina then enter the painting and are able to rescue Miller and escape. When Colby then completes his resurrection and leaves the painting, Abbie arrives and shoots him. At Crane's direction, she then shoots the painting, and kills Colby. Crane then approaches his wife and tells her, “you and I have been in a state of suspension, trapped in the same old patterns, but the forces that have kept us as such are gone. We will find a new state of being, together.”[27]

In Kali Yuga, Abbie introduces Crane to Karaoke; he doesn't quite get it, but he is trying. They then are on hand when Hawley takes a call from Carmilla Pines who lures him to a meeting. She has returned and needs him to perform another heist, to steal the statue of Kali from Theodore Knox's estate. When he refuses, she reveals herself to be less than human and tells him he owes her.

The Witnesses then get a silent alarm from the Archives, when they arrive, they find Hawley and the demonic Carmilla. Hawley warns them off then departs with the blueprints of the Knox estate. They analyze the residue the demon left and name her a Vetala.

Jenny asks her sister if she and Crane are all right. Abby responds, he's trying to figure out his relationship with his witch wife while they're mourning their Horseman-of-War son's death, which I'm guessing is pretty complicated.”

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Trapped in the Vault

The Witnesses then head to the Knox estate, and Abbie calls Crane “Speed Racer” as he finally gets to drive. They spot their quarry and pursue them across the grounds. Crane and Abbie are then locked in the vault by Hawley. Crane tells him, “Mr. Hawley, when we first met, I considered you nothing but a faithless privateer, but I have come to know you as a man of courage, a man of compassion, a man who fights for his friends.” Hawley says he probably had it right the first time, and leaves them in a vault which then began to close in on them. They realize that their signals were crossed, and that their failure to communicate included Abbie not telling him she had Orion's sigil. He tells Abbie, “in the past few weeks, today, I have felt our bond sorely tested.” Crane tries trial and error on the unlocking mechanism, finally the trap releases the pair.

They pursue Hawley who is being prepped for Vetaladom by Carmilla with the statue they stole. The statue is destroyed, Hawley saved, and Carmilla flees. In the aftermath, the Witnesses affirm their partnership, with Crane saying, “We are far greater than the sum of our parts, but we cannot rely on our bond to last unless we tend to it.” To that end, Abbie has him sing backup to “Proud Mary.” [28]

In Spellcaster, Crane makes a tentative first move toward independence in his new world, and goes to look at a house for sale, “Call this an exercise in optimism.” Katrina discovers that an old enemy, Solomon Kent, was among those who escaped from Purgatory. He was known as the Warlock, and he was responsible for the Salem witch trials. A coven eventually banded together and banished the Warlock for his actions. He is now searching for the Grand Grimoire, a powerful black magic spell book.

Abbie and the Crane try to find the complete book before Kent can use it, and Crane believes Kent wants it for the resurrection spell to alter the death he caused that set him on his bath. But if he does so the world will be swamped by the dead returning. When Abbie says he and Kent are like twos sides of the same coin, he responds, “We fight for something. For love, family, a life. I pray we never lose sight of what is important, for that is what drove Kent into darkness.”

They find that Grace Dixon cataloged all of the magic known to her world including "The Traveler Spell." An ancient, powerful invocation that allows the user to jump into the past, and realize that is what Kent is planning, and it would disrupt history utterly. When Crane finally confronts Kent, he informs him that he has brought harm to Katrina and her family, and he beat the warlock down. He then tells Abbie, “it made me realize we are, all of us, walking a razor's edge between darkness and light.”[29]

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Crane confronts Jefferson

In What Lies Beneath, the Witnesses discover a repository, the Festella, created for their use by Thomas Jefferson himself. Unfortunately it is infested with dangerous Reavers, who have already captured a party of workers and eaten one of them. Upon investigation, Crane recalled, During the war, rumors surfaced of a highly classified project commissioned by General Washington. The construction of an impenetrable chamber meant to safeguard vital secrets to the Cause. Jefferson christened this chamber with a rather florid term: Fenestella.... Basically it was a fancy word for underground room."

With the arrival of the reavers, they beat a hasty retreat to get more firepower. Abbie noted that in Grace Dixon's journal she recorded a meeting between Washington and Jefferson, January, 1777, in which they discussed "...dark, damned souls will be used to protect the Fenestella."

On their next foray, Crane used the flash from a $7,000 camera to blind the reavers so to gain access to the chamber. When they did, they were met by a hex powered holographic image of Thomas Jefferson. He tells them the contents of the room will aid them in their roles as Witnesses, but to attack the reavers nest will destroy the chamber, and he fears the men must die for the greater good. Abbie and Crane disagree, the men must be saved. They get the surviving workers to the surface, and agree the reavers are far to dangerous to be allowed to live. Crane returns to the chamber where Jefferson tries to dissuade him, and Crane replies, “You once told me a single life is worth more than a thousand books. The work that we did together, those truths still hold.” Jefferson tells him he, too, is a founder, and the world they dreamed of could not be in better hands .[30]

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Figuring it out

In Awakening, the Witnesses agree that they must establish their own code of conduct, putting their bond, their mission, before any other consideration. They then get a report that several people entered a fugue state and mindlessly hurt others, they couldn't recall what happened, except hearing a toll of a bell. Crane realized the bell in the town center was from the same foundry as one that he was tasked with destroying in 1773, a bell that could awaken latent witches with its tolling. Since there had once been two covens nearby, those with witch blood could number in the thousands. The Witnesses decide the bell must be destroyed. Crane collects all the ingredients he needs to make a black powder bomb, and he Jenny and Abby truck the bell to the munitions tunnels. Henry and Katrina arrive as they work, and Crane demand Henry let Katrina go, in a moment, however, he realizes his wife is there of her own free will. She tells Crane she and her son are going to awaken the witches and the town shall be theirs, that she had been foolish to think she could make a life with a mortal man. Shocked, he tells her what she says now cannot be unsaid. She replies that she does not belong in this time - or beside him. “If this truly is your choice, so be it.” He and Abbie are then flung into the tunnel by Henry and bricked in as the witches take the bell.

Crane and Abbie realize they only have a few hours to stop the ritual. He says ruefully, “Katrina has chosen to side with the enemy. When we made those rules this morning, I had no idea they would be so sorely tested.” They are captured at the old town hall, after Crane confronts Henry, “I did not abandon you, Henry, I did not even know you existed! You're as much a man out of time as I, yet you cling to the past so tightly like an angry, unruly child.” and Abbie set a charge under the bell before they were tied to a support post while the witches worked their hex. The Witnesses were not without resources, they cut their bonds with a flint Abbie had in her pocket, then they each took a pistol Crane had secreted under his coat. He aimed for the bell, she at Henry. Henry stopped Crane's bullet but Abbie's struck him in the chest and he fell. Crane says he is sorry things ended as they did, and Henry says he has no regrets, then father and son share a quote from Hamlet. He dies as his parents kneel beside him.

Crane turns to Katrina and tells her they both did all they could to save Henry and that it was not her fault. Furious, she says it is all his fault. She slams him aside, “You are the source of my sorrow, Ichabod Crane, you are the reason I was not there to raise my son! I never should have saved your life when the Horseman cut you down....I should've let you die! And this time, I will!” She casts a spell and steps through a portal, Abbie throws herself after, leaving Crane calling after them as they vanish. [31]

The finale opens with a reprise of the opening scene of the Pilot; Captain Ichabod Crane engaged in battle. He examines the fallen and the captured for a mark of a bow on their hand. Before he finds one, he is told a captured a woman has information she will impart only to him, naming the Hessian with the bow mark as proof she has something to say, so he leaves the field, and does not face the Horseman.

In a cell in town, he meets a woman calling herself Abigail Mills. She tells him he will meet the Horseman soon, and that he will cut him down, but will die himself. If he releases her, she will explain everything. He decides she has no information and begins to walk away. She stops him with the news the Horseman has an ally and Crane cannot defeat them without her. Crane has her released. Once they observe the carnage on the battlefield the Horseman left, she tells him his enemy is a demon, and she knows because her told her so – 200 years in the future.

Crane then has to answer to his Colonel, and volunteers to transport Abbie to an encampment for runaway slaves so he can question her on the journey. In the carriage he tells her she has three miles to convince him. After offering snippets of personal information she suggests talking to someone who might support her tale of a greater war, and he agrees to take her to Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin is delighted with Abbie, even as Crane rolls his eyes. When she said the Horseman's ally is a witch, Franklin sends Crane from the room. Abbie admits that Katrina is the witch out to kill Crane, and Franklin advises he not be told, that he is not ready for that news. Franklin knows of the Grand Grimoire and the traveler's spell, and the believes there is a way to reverse it and they must see Grace Dixon at Fredericks Manor. The Horseman the arrives and Franklin is killed in the confrontation, Abbie and Crane flee. With the loss of Franklin, he decides Abbie is an agent who had arranged the death. She says they were the target, not Franklin. She then tells him that Katrina is his enemy, that she is pregnant, and hiding it from him, and tells him to examine the photos on her cell phone for proof of their friendship.

He stalks out and goes home where his wife was waiting. He notices herbs other ingredients she has used for expectant women and asks her if she is. When she denies it, he notices the Grimoire open on the table, and grows trouble. When he is then called to report to the General, he tells his escort to ride ahead, and runs to check on Abbie's story. After a time figuring out how to access the photos in her "rectangular thing" and finds a video of himself and Abbie. Everything she said was true. He fetches Abbie from her cell and they head to the Manor and Grace.

At the Manor, Abbie introduces herself, and Grace realizes who she is immediately. She says she can help, but as she prepares the counter spell, both the Horseman and Katrina arrive outside. As the witch dismantles the wards, Crane steps outside to stall them, saying that even if they kill him, should Abbie be successful, it will not matter. As a farewell, he tells her he will be grateful to meet her again, it would be a pleasure to make her acquaintance all over again. He steps out, battles Death, and time stops. Abbie and Grace successfully reset the correct time line.[1]

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Crane weeps for his wife

Abbie finds herself back where she started; moments before Katrina casts the spell. Furious at being thwarted, Katrina slams Abbie, and tries to strangle her with her magic. Crane lunges for a nearby knife, but Katrina snatches it first and turns it on her husband. He slaps the Grimoire from her hand and she drops Abbie. Crane and Katrina struggle for the blade, as he pulls her forward, she is impaled. She falls, and he holds his dying wife in his arms. He tries to speak, but she ignores him in favor of a vision of their son. Crane weeps as he uncurls her fingers from the knife hilt, and his wife dies, her body disintegrates before him. Abbie tries to comfort him, saying he had no choice. He bitterly scoffs, “Yes, I did. We all did.”

In the aftermath, Jenny offers her condolences. Abbie tells him the most crucial battles are still ahead of them, and they must stick together, and she asks, “Are you ready, Captain?" He replies resolutely, "Ready, Lieutenant."[1]

Pandora and the Hidden One[]

After the deaths of his wife and son, Crane takes a break, looking for solitude. He did not talk to Abbie during that time, so much so, it became a habit, “a deeply regrettable one.” He apparently heads back to the old country, visiting his family seat in Scotland where he finds an ancient Sumerian tablet in the family crypt. It is when he tries to bring the undeclared artifact into the US after an absence of nine months, that he is incarcerated by customs, and has to be bailed out by his partner – who spent the intervening months training as an FBI agent. He tells her he wears Katrina’s enchanted necklace, which was linked to Abraham’s soul, a few nights before, it cracked, the magic gone. Crane reasons that the broken necklace indicates that someone has bested the Horseman, “dark forces are in motion,” and it is time for the Witnesses to resume their duties. He also has a new mission, save the Archives from demolition by having them declared an historic site. It is during the course of the second mission he meets Zoe, who offers to help him with his quest for citizenship, and he tentatively tries dating for the first time in over two hundred years.

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Among the fears that their new foe, Pandora, unleashes in the city, one, in Whispers in the Dark, deals with secrets, and Crane reveals that once, while the prisoner of General Howe, he was offered an easy out if he revealed his compatriots names. Although he did not, he was frightened enough to briefly consider the proposal, and that shamed him. He also realizes that the world of dating is now open to him after he meets Zoe Corinth.

In Blood and Fear, he reveals his first encounter with the supernatural was when he was still a school boy, his best friend had been murdered, and he fears that the weapon used then is the same one they were then pursuing. His research indicates that the knife itself has been linked to countless murders throughout history, and each wave of murders stopped after an outbreak of blood borne disease. He realizes that the curse can be broken when the blood it feeds on is tainted. When Crane cannot infect the current wielder, he infects himself with malaria and uses his own blood to defeat the killer. Pandora reanimates Crane's old enemy, General Howe in Dead Men Tell No Tales, apparently trying to be as personal as possible with the Witnesses. She orders Howe and his undead troops to Sleepy Hollow on Halloween. Crane and Abbie break into Howe's grave, where they find mysterious bone fragments. Aided by Abbie's FBI contacts,they trace the bones to a crypt beneath the Capitol building, which was built for Washington and contains a prototype of Greek Fire. Using the Fire, they destroy Howe and his men.

In Novus Ordo Seclorum Crane identifies the deity summoned by Pandora as a Sumerian god known as 'the Hidden One.' Having seen the Shard when it was in Colonial hands, he realizes they need the casing it was in to draw it out of Jenny. While Crane and Joe distract Pandora and her consort, Abbie drains the Shard's power into the casing. When the Hidden One destroys the casing, she takes the pieces of the casing, which are full of unstable energy and about to explode, through Pandora's tree, and into a portal to another dimension. The resulting energy release apparently destroys Pandora's box and her tree, and Abbie vanishes. In One Life, a month later, Crane continues his desperate search for Abbie, and accidentally summons a demon that feeds on that desperation. He receives messages indicating Abbie is still alive, and with the help of FBI agent, Sophie Foster, Crane prevents the demon from killing Reynolds, who is also missing Abbie. Crane traps it in an enchanted mirror which is subsequently destroyed. Abbie, meanwhile, wakes up alone in another world, using her memory of Crane as her tether to reality and sanity in a place where time passes ten times faster than for Crane. Finally, by projecting his astral form into the mystical world, Crane at last finds Abbie. Pandora appears to them and cuts Crane's spirit adrift, offering to free Abbie in return for the Shard. Abbie refuses and destroys it, then uses a portal inside a well marked by Betsy Ross' cutlass to escape, and call Crane back to his body. [32]

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Finding Leeds' Secret Doorway

Crane becomes concerned about Abbie's obsession with a symbol discovered in the other realm, especially after it distracted her during a struggle between Crane and Dr Japheth Leeds, in Dark Mirror. It wasn't until Incommunicado when the Hidden One confronted Crane in the Archive, that the symbol's power was revealed. It drains the deity's magic and creates a mystical barrier around the Archives, trapping him and Crane within. With few other options, they agree to a truce to work together to escape.

In Dawn's Early Light, the Hidden One has turned on Pandora, and she approaches the Witnesses, and although skeptical, Crane listens as she tells him they need her box to defeat their foe and it can only be regenerated in the catacombs where it was first forged. Crane and Abbie travel to the Delaware River, using Betsy Ross' flag to transport themselves to the River Styx. They discover the remains of a expedition led by Washington and Betsy Ross to secure a portal to the catacombs. Inside, they find Betsy, who has been in stasis in the crypt since 1776. Crane tries not to let her know how much time has passed, and she discerns that his heart now belongs to Abbie, he affirms she is his partner, and they will not be going back to 1776 with Betsy. Having regained all of his power, the Hidden One prepares to destroy the world so he can remake it in his image. [33]

In the final confrontation with the Hidden One, it is Abbie who makes the ultimate sacrifice from which there is no return. Crane is suspended between life and death, it is his chance to say goodbye to her. She explains Pandora's box took her soul, but now that the box is broken, she is free. Abbie also explains Witnesses are Eternal Souls, and whatever the next stage is, she is ready. They will meet again, but in the meantime, he is to bash monsters and look out for Jenny. Abbie offers a fist bump, but Crane kisses her hand and bows instead. He calls her by name, and tells her he will miss her. She tells him, “Do more than that. Honor our bond, and be brave, be strong, I know you will be, you're my guy, always.” He asks her, "What is there for me in a world without you?"[34]

Kidnapped[]

Not long after Abbie's death, Crane pays a visit to her grave. He speaks to her, using her as as sounding board, and filling her in on what's been going on in her absence.... He is pursuing his citizenship. Things have been quiet on the monster front, but he doesn't expect that to last. And as if summoned, Ezra Mills shows up. He tells Crane that Abbie's death has set wheels in motion, and Crane needs all the information Ezra can give him. There must always be two Witnesses. When one dies, their soul doesn't move on, it's eternal. The essence passes on to someone from their extended bloodline, creating the next Witness. Crane has to find the new Witness before "they" do. Ezra gives him a letter from George Washington dated 1789. A flashback then shows Washington and Betsy Ross discussing Crane's future. They know that hundreds of years will pass before Crane will carry on what they have built. It will be Crane's duty to head a secret organization, founded by Washington, to battle the supernatural. Ezra says not all of the men in the know are bad, but some have lost their way. It seems FBI agent, Jack Walters is one of those because when he shows up, Ezra departs. Jack offers a ride to Crane who asks if he can refuse. Jack suggests it's better not to, and Crane is off to Washington D.C.[34]

When next seen, Crane has been held incommunicado for about two weeks. He has been asked numerous times to recount his history and partnership with Abbie. He tells them his job is to fight evil, “Demons, Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the ongoing success of shows about real housewives. You know... evil.” [35] He has not seem Walters since his arrival, and decides it's time to depart. He knocks out his interrogator, and runs down a tunnel off which he discovers a room with photos of Abbie and him, and a great deal of research material. Still unsure who exactly he is running from, Crane makes his escape and comes out on a foggy runway at Ronald Reagan National Airport. The fog clears and he sees the iconic buildings of the nation’s Capital in the distance.

Crane makes it into the city and heads to the Lincoln Memorial, where he sees Lincoln’s head has been removed. He crosses paths with OHS Agent Diana Thomas as she is dealing with her first occult creature. Crane helps her fight a demon off after it kills her partner, and, confused, Diana turns her gun on him after the demon flees. He does his best to calm her down, and convince her he is on her side and must pursue the killer. Diana doesn’t put her gun away, but she does let him escape to pursue the demon. After the demon escapes, Crane takes a minute to leaves a voice mail for Jenny telling her he hasn’t found the new witness yet.

401Promo7

Crane expands his horizons

When he again crosses paths with Diana, she brings up the fact that there is a kind of archive for the supernatural. He wants to see the Vault immediately. The man working behind the desk, Jake, knows Crane’s Sleepy Hollow work. Jake’s job is to catalog all the happenings that occur on the fringes of the supernatural. Diana seems to believe both men are crazy and wants to leave, but Crane is fascinated by this place. Crane is also introduced to Alex, who shows Crane around. When he finds books with Washington’s seal, he determines there is a text written beneath the text in Benjamin Franklin’s code. He has most of his new team, only Jenny is still missing.[35]

When the demon hunt puts Jake in peril and the demon gets the jump on him and starts to strangle him, Jenny appears and shoots the demon. Crane is delighted to see her and introduces her to the others. They hug warmly, glad to have family around once again. With the Demon taken care of, Jenny and Crane at last have time to talk. Jenny admits she’s no closer to finding the next witness than he is, but she tells him he’s not alone.

Crane and Diana also have a chat, and he says he’s going to stay in DC for a while to find out who abducted him and why. She’s determined to find the people behind her partner's death. Crane warns her if she starts down this path, there is no going back.[35]

A New Chapter[]

In a dream, Crane calls to Abbie. He sees someone running through the shadows but they don't respond to his calls. A young girl appears. Crane wakes up from his nightmare. Jenny is in a trance, playing a singing bowl. When she comes out of it, she asks if it worked to find the new Witness. Crane describes the girl and that seemed familiar. Jenny offers to do some research while Crane goes to the vault to check the files. Crane accesses the Vault through the tunnel since he doesn't have a clearance badge. He tells the others that he needs a book on dream interpretation, and is also provided with a security badge.

Crane's search for the new Witness, however, isn't as difficult as he expected, because apparently Witnesses always find each other, and when Diana gives Crane a lift into DC, she tells him of a daughter who is now not speaking, and hasn't for weeks. Crane notices the photo on her phone, he realizes that it is a picture of Molly, Diana's daughter, and the girl he saw in his vision.[12] When he has a chance, Crane calls Jenny and tells her about Molly.

At the elementary school, Diana and Crane spot the girl with Jenny. Crane seems to be in a near trance as he walks toward Molly, she recognizes him, and says, "Hello." Diana stares at her daughter in shock. Molly continues speaking, telling Diana what happened, how Jenny helped her against a pair of bullies. Jenny tells Crane that she needed to see Molly, and he warns her that Molly isn't Abbie. Jenny agrees, and says that they have to help Diana and Molly get through it all. After they close the case, Jenny tells Crane that Diana can handle things, and he says that they must tell her the truth about Molly that night. Diana says that they can talk about it in the morning after she spends a night with Molly. Crane and Jenny sit outside the house in Jenny's truck, and Jenny realizes that they're not going to tell Diana yet. They watch mother and daughter through the window, and Crane says that they deserve one night's peace.[12] [12]

404Ichabod1

Crane on trial

In The People vs. Ichabod Crane, Crane is drawn into the trap created by a demon of despair, Sicarius Spei, the slayer of hope, and put on trial in an 18th century setting for the death of Abigail Mills. The prosecutor in the case wears the guise of his son, Henry, who claims that everyone he touches died, and his actions led to Abbie's death. Crane argues that she willingly sacrificed herself to stop the apocalypse. He then asks the observers indulgence, that he may defend himself. Meanwhile, Jenny explains to Diana that as Witnesses, Crane and Abbie had a bond so strong, it could be used to pull them out of alternate realities, and that such a thing was a gift, not something to be afraid of.

Crane faces his demon spawned accusers, and tells them “You say that everyone around me dies. 'Tis true. I have suffered great loss in my life; but is that not the plight of a soldier? For that is what I am. A soldier, engaged in the most vital of wars. So too was the Lieutenant. She was my partner. She was my friend. She knew all too well the risks of engaging in battle, and I would die a thousand deaths if it meant she would live but one more hour.”

When Henry then brings up his own complaints, an exasperated Crane barks, “Henry, I didn't know you existed!” Then finishes with, “I will always regret what happened to you, Henry, but if you are a demon, you chose the wrong face, for I cherish the opportunity to speak once more with my son, to tell him that, in spite of everything between us, I always loved him. I never gave up hope for him. Every battle I joined, I did for those I love and seek to protect; especially you, Henry. My boy.”

Finally, Molly is called upon to bring Crane back from his despair, and tells him, “he's a nice man. Kind. Funny. But he can also be sad. He thinks that he's alone, but the funny thing is, he's wrong. He's got lots of friends, but he feels like he's let them down...But he hasn't. He gives people something they all need...He gives everyone hope.”[36]

In Loco Parentis, after Molly has gone looking for answers on her own, Diana allows Crane to explain to her what they are, and he tells her, "'And I will give power unto my two Witnesses. These are the two olive trees, the two candlesticks that stand before the God of the Earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouths and devoureth their enemies.' That's what the Bible says about us....It means we're in this together. Two Witnesses, we look out for one another; anything we face, we face as one. It means...you're not alone.”[37]

By the series end, he tells the other members of the 355 Agency, “When I first walked through these doors, this was Agency by name only. But we have, every one of us, restored it to its former glory. So I ask you today, now... trust me.... Because if Banneker bequeathed these armaments to the original heroes of our agency... then 'age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.' And with these in our hands, I have no doubt, as one, we can only prevail.” In the end, he is granted his citizenship by the President of the United States, and installed as the director of the Agency, with both Diana and Jenny on his team, with orders to report directly to the President.

Personality[]

Highly intelligent, humorous, and methodical, Crane is very much a duty-driven and selfless man. Deeply loyal to his friends, Crane has a strong sense of honor and values it above most other considerations excepting his duty as a Witness. He has repeatedly displayed his great selflessness and devotion to the greater good, and was willing to let Abraham and Katrina marry despite his own love for Katrina, showing clear discomfort towards the idea of Katrina betraying his best friend's trust. When Abraham lashed out at him, Crane was unwilling to harm him and engage him fully, and held back. Although he was outraged by Abraham's deal with Moloch, Crane regrets how his own actions led to his friend's downfall. He even said he wanted Abraham to be redeemed, and was willing to allow Katrina to find the spell to remove his Horsemen powers. Despite his outstanding skills, he was never known to be arrogant or condescending and could acknowledge any contribution others made, and show great respect to those who deserved it.

He would willingly sacrifice himself without hesitation for the greater good, evidenced when he calmly agreed to kill himself so as to kill Death as well, and was only stopped by his son in his guise of Henry Parish and his fellow Witness. He is a strong-willed man with the mental strength to deal with deep emotional scarring and depression.

He is, to a remarkable extent, despite all his family members have done to him, a good family man. He still deeply cared for Katrina, even after her betrayal, and was devastated by her death. He also loved his son, despite having never known him, and despite his fundamental opposition; he never truly lost all faith in Henry, and often tried to talk him around and make Henry see reason. He was hopeful when Henry killed Moloch, and showed concern for his well-being. The deaths of his family hit him hard, and he will never let himself off the hook for that very easily, even though he knows he was doing the right thing. He would not want anyone to see how much he was hurting, he wanted to get on with it. Henry and Katrina made their decision to turn dark; Crane and Abbie made their decision to fight against it, and that is the decision he has to live with, he has to be strong because they have other battles to fight, so he took a nine month sabbatical in order to recover and then soldiered on.

Despite having the means to later potentially kill Henry, having the Philosopher Stone and a weapon capable of harming a Horsemen, Crane did not resort to such means and reasoned with his son instead, showing a deep level of sorrow when Jeremy agreed to a truce but told his father he would never forgive him.

Powers and Abilities[]

Powers[]

  • Precognitive dreams: Crane can sometimes have dreams foretelling the future. These dreams only occur when something of significance is about to occur. With the knowledge he gains from his prophetic dreams, he can sometimes prevent events from coming to pass.[18]
  • Spell casting: Despite not being a witch, he has been known to cast the odd spell. He has performed a spell created by the Sisterhood of the Radiant Heart that animated the Kindred, although it took him two tries before succeeding. He also performed a spell that transported both him and Lara to Hell and back.[38]

Former Powers[]

  • Mystical connection: After Death and Ichabod Crane fought on the battlefield in 1781, the two mortally wounded each other. The two bled onto the Philosopher's Stone which linked the two together; if one of them died, they both would. Crane awoke in the 21st century as Death was also awakened.[4] This mystical connection was severed by Henry Parish in The Sin Eater.[6]
  • Horseman physiology: As a former horseman of the apocalypse, he possessed many powers and enhanced traits. When the mantle of War was separated from him, he lost all of the powers that came with being War, retaining only the knowledge.
    • Immortality: Formerly immortal; there were very few ways to kill him, one being Delilah's Dagger.
    • Sword of Fire: When he was briefly the Horsemen of War, he could ignite his sword to a temperature that could cauterize wounds and destroy obstacles.

Abilities[]

  • Eidetic memory: He has an extraordinary eidetic memory which allows him to easily remember anything he sees and hears, even tastes and smells, with perfect accuracy.
  • Occult knowledge: he is highly knowledgeable in regards to the occult practices and zoology.
  • Multilingual: He is fluent in a number languages which include English (Modern and Middle), German, Greek, Latin, Sumerian, Cuneiform and Franklin's Alphabet.
  • Hyper Observant: He is very observant and is skilled at reading people's body language.
  • Master Combatant: He is in excellent physical condition and is a very experienced and highly skilled in swordsman, marksman, and in hand-to-hand combat. His skills make him more than able to handle supernatural enemies, and has proven to be skilled enough in battle that he was able to defeat the Horseman of Death.
  • Flutist: He showed that he is capable of playing the flute with the Pied Piper's bone flute.[20]

Former Weaknesses[]

  • Delilah's Dagger: While the Horseman of War, Crane could be cut or killed with the dagger.
  • Obedience: While War, Crane did everything that Malcolm told him to do without hesitation.

Relationships[]

Henry Parish[]

Jeremy Crane

Jeremy Crane in his youth

Henry Parish is the pseudonym eventually adopted by Jeremy Crane, Ichabod and Katrina Crane's son. Crane had been completely unaware that he had fathered a son, and was blindsided when Henry Parish revealed that he was, in fact, Jeremy Crane, an enemy of the Witnesses, and an ally of Moloch. Crane had, to that point, developed a liking and respect for Henry in his guise as sin eater, but it had all been a sham on Jeremy's part. Although Crane never trusted Henry after he knew the truth, he never quite lost faith in the man who chose to oppose him at every turn. He had an undying and eternal hope that Henry would one day prove his worth. He never lost that kernel of faith in his son.

Katrina Crane[]

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Husband and wife, reunited

Crane first met Katrina when she was a working with Arthur Bernard. Katrina was cold to Crane upon their meeting, as she saw as an enemy. Eventually, however, she saw him as the good man he truly was. She warns him of the danger he was in, and when Crane was forced to fight the shadow demon posing as his commanding officer, he was badly hurt, and dragged himself to Katrina for aide, making clear his shift of allegiance.[6] He and Katrina became good friends, and after Katrina was betrothed to Crane's best friend, Abraham Van Brunt, they grew closer still. She finally confessed her love for Crane, telling him she was going to break off the engagement with Bram. Crane loved her too but was torn between his love of Katrina and his affection for his friend who would be hurt by their actions. He eventually followed her lead, simply because he was so much in love.

Crane and Katrina wed, and despite being deeply in love, at no time did she tell him that she was a witch. When Crane was felled by the Horseman, she defied her coven and cast a spell on him to send him into stasis, to awaken when needed.[9] Only after his resurrection did he find out she had cast a spell on him. [4] Eventually he finds that she is trapped in Purgatory. He gambled everything to rescue her from Purgatory, and tried to understand and accept all the secrets and lies that he eventually uncovered. [14] It was this habitual secret keeping that began to create stress in their relationship[39]

Katrina never quite managed to fit into the new world they found themselves in. She continued to keep secrets and cast her husband in a secondary role. For the first time, his trust in her was shaken. When his role as a Witness began to take precedence, and his opposition to their son became clear, Katrina turned on him completely, and tried to kill him. She was, instead, accidentally killed as they both struggled for a knife. He still wept for her loss.[1]

Abbie Mills[]

Abbie

Abbie and Crane hug it out

Abbie Mills is Crane's partner and co-Witness. His ordained partnership with Abbie has transformed into loyalty, friendship, and complete dedication. When Crane first met Abbie, however, it took her a while to warm up to him. Confused by the era he was in, he assumed Abbie was an emancipated slave, and he assured to her that he was a part of the abolitionist movement. After working together on the murder of her mentor, she learned to trust Crane, bizarre or not.[4] He usually calls her "lieutenant" and only rarely by her first or surname, only falling back on her given name in emotional circumstances. He soon learned that he could use Abbie as a sounding board and find good advice if he sought comfort. He told her that she was his partner and his better half. Crane first put his own life on the line for Abbie confronting Ro'kenhronteys, and drank the a substance that would send him to Ro'kenhronteys' world so that Abbie wouldn't have to face him alone.[15]

When Crane first entered Purgatory with Abbie to save Katrina, Katrina couldn't leave without a soul taking her place. Abbie insisted she stay, but Crane strongly opposed. Abbie convinced him to trust her, and before separating, he promised that he would return for her.[40] Doing everything in his power and knowledge, he obtained a key that could free her from Purgatory, and he immediately moved to keep his promise and free Abbie from Purgatory.[7] He often displayed signs of being overly protective, when he learned that Nicholas Hawley had feelings for her, he indirectly discussed with Abbie that it wouldn't be wise to get into a relationship with such a man who only cared about profit.[23]

Crane has come to understand that Abbie's life and well-being matter to him more than anything else, and that he does not want to follow his path without her.[25] When Abbie sacrificed herself by entering the Tree of Fear with the Eye of Providence, Crane never gave up hope that Abbie was still out there, and sought for her relentlessly, even putting his own life at risk to do so.[41] After getting her back, Abbie then sacrificed herself again, this time for good. Crane was devastated by the loss. Not long after her death, he had a vision where he got the chance to say goodbye to her, and see her move on.[34]

It is strongly hinted at throughout part of the second and the third season that Crane might have loved Abbie. Betsy Ross stated quite decisively, "Your heart belongs to Abigail Mills." Pandora later also accused Crane of being in love with Abbie, going so far as to say, "you love her...she is your hope, your everything." Indeed, Crane said that he was prepared to die alongside her, and was unhappy continuing in a world without Abbie.

Joe Corbin[]

Joe

Joseph Corbin, Season 3.

The son of the late sheriff August Corbin. Crane first met him when he was infected by the curse of the Wendigo delivered by Henry Parish. Crane worked to reverse the transformation with a Shawnee spell. Joe later decided to aid the team and continue his father's work. Several months later, he became a valuable ally whom Crane held in respect.

They were on a quest to search for a sacred relic his father collected known as the Shard of Anubis. He was able to help the team indirectly as he collected some useful items during that time, as well as slaying a few monsters. When Joe was subverted by the Hidden One and died at Jenny's hand, Crane was deeply sympathetic, "My condolences, Miss Jenny. Master Corbin fought bravely, and he saved countless lives, and we will honor him by picking up his standard and marching on."

Betsy Ross[]

Craneross

Crane and Betsy on a mission

Betsy Ross was General Washington's secret operative and often times partner to Ichabod Crane during the American Revolution. Although she flirts with Crane, their relationship never advances to anything intimate. She vanished from his life without any more than a farewell note around 1780, "I am leaving and I fear I will never see you again. Do not try to find me...I have never been one who can bear saying goodbye to someone I love," leaving him confused and a little hurt. He would rationalize it to Abbie, saying that Betsy had her path, and he had his.

Betsy had, in fact, been in a form of stasis in the alternate dimension where the Catacombs were located, and was discovered there by Crane and Abbie more than two centuries later. They woke her up when Abbie noticed she was breathing. Crane could not tell her how much time had passed for her, and she saw that he was now committed to Abbie and their partnership. In the end, she returned to her own time where she wrote the brief note that had ended her relationship with Crane and she never saw him again

Zoe Corinth[]

Zoe Corinth

Zoe speaks to Crane

While not a fighter in the supernatural war, she counts as a close friend, and Crane's first attempt at socializing since the 18th century. They first met in the courthouse after his spontaneous speech of what America stood for, and caught him outside. She found out that he was determined to save the Archives from being demolished, and in order to do it, he must become an American citizen to sign the paperwork. They commiserate about all the hassles of red tape.

Eventually, she tracks him down at the archive to offer her help with getting him through the process of the citizenship, her brother-in-law is on "the congressional subcommittee for immigration.” He accepts, gratefully. They manage to fit in a few dates between monsters, but after he had ghosted her because of his, work and she was hurt by his actions - or rather lack - she arrived at the Archive to have it out and was kidnapped by the Kindred. He rescues her and then apologizes to her for his behavior, saying he wasn't ready. She told him he probably was, just not with her, and they parted amicably. Before leaving, she wished him the best of luck for his future.

Sophia Foster[]

Sophis

Sophia "Sophie" Foster

FBI undercover agent, Sophie Foster first teamed up with Crane after he made a failed attempt to rescue Abbie from Pandora's tree and called up a despair demon instead. She told him he screwed up, but helped him defeat the demon. She revealed that she wants to fight against evil because her parents were killed by paranormal forces. Her cover was artifact collector, much like Jenny and Joe. Sophie becomes a member of Team Witness in the fight against the supernatural evil that terrorizes the inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow.

Diana Thomas[]

401Promo19

Crane and Diana

A single mother and a former Marine, she is an agent for the Department of Homeland Security. After Crane escapes his interrogators and emerges in Washington DC, he crosses paths with Diana for the first time at the Lincoln Memorial where he saves her from a demon. She is, of course, a skeptic when it comes to the paranormal, but she did witness the death of her partner, Eric, died after the demon raised by John Wilkes Booth killed him beneath the Lincoln Memorial. She slowly comes to realize that there is another world, and that Crane can help her navigate it. Although angry and frightened when she discovers that it is her daughter who is the new Witness, she eventually comes to trust Crane, and accepts him as her partner, even going so far as to request a transfer to the 355 Agency to join him in his work at the series end.

Molly Thomas[]

Mollycrane

Molly and Crane, Witnesses

The true Witness and Crane's anchor. She's the daughter of Diana Thomas and Mitch Talbot. She is strong, adventurous, dedicated, and independent, as well as a talented young chef. She first saw Ichabod Crane after her first faint spell while she was in school, and drew his picture numerous times in her journal before they ever met. After Abbie's death, her soul automatically sought Molly's, causing transient aphasia. Since then she idolizes Crane, and creates various drawings of him in her personal sketchbook. At first she wasn't able to talk, but when she encountered him, she was cured instantly. Her role as the new Witness began when she saved Crane's life from the spider demon's curse, telling him he is a kind, sad man, but he's still a beacon of hope, and he must never give up on it. They became good friends since then, as she learned more about her destiny, as well as dealing with visions from her fainting episodes.

Alex Norwood and Jake Wells[]

401Promo9

Alex and Jake

A gifted engineer who works at The Vault for Homeland Security, Alex was first introduced to the supernatural thanks to Crane and Diana. She and her partner, Jake, have vowed to defend the nation from Dreyfuss and the Horsemen after she had her first encounter with the John Wilkes Booth demon. A tinker, she creates various gadgets, artifacts, and chemicals, she is very skilled in creating weapons that aid Crane and her friends against all odds. She admits to Jake by the end of the season, that she cannot live without him. By the time Crane takes his place as the head of Agency 355, she is one of its bedrock members.

Jake first recognizes Crane as "Captain Brownbeard" from his Sleepy Hollow surveillance, when they first met at the Vault. He has a close relationship with Alex and he, too, becomes a trusted team member in Agency 355. He's a very gifted archivist and he has always keeps a kept eye on Crane's career, both as a warrior of the supernatural and as a Witness. He never hesitates as he scrambles for clues on numerous evil cases. He has rafts of information at his disposal and he quickly became a valuable member of Team Witness and Agency 355.

Lara Thomas[]

Cranelara

Lara and Crane

In an alternate reality in which Diana Thomas is made into the Horseman of War and Molly is raised in an orphanage, she later takes the name Lara and becomes Malcolm Dreyfuss' protege. She had been isolated in St. Agatha's Orphanage to break her spirit, and than taken in by Dreyfuss who tried to break her trust of the other Witness, telling her told her that he and Jenny were responsible for Diana's death, and that the Witnesses were nothing but fairy tales, anyway. Eventually, however, she tracked down Crane, a long time prisoner of Dreyfuss and, who was rumored to be dead, who told her the truth. Their bond allowed her to recognize it as the truth.

Crane convinced her to use the Grimore and travel to the past and reverse the damage that was done, and save her mother, who is not dead, but one of Malcolm's Horsemen. She traveled to the past and then headed into the Vault and stole a document containing the location of the Turricula Ignis. She made some attempts to stall both Crane and Diana, but although she saved Diana from the fate she suffered in Lara's reality, she wasn't able to stop Crane from becoming War. But she never gave up as she used a binding ritual to save him from War's consumption. She reminded Crane who he was, and to never forget they are still the two Witnesses.

After the Witnesses trek to Hell and back to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone and defeat Dreyfuss, she decided to travel the world since she was unable to return to her own time - something that no longer existed. She and Crane became allies and have a strong bond beginning to form between them through their ordeals.

With her arrival, the mantle of the Witness became hers and hers alone instead of belonging to her past self, Molly; whom she doesn't want to meet. She wants to find her place in the world as it now exits for her, and try to forget the one that was and now never will be.

Nick Hawley[]

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Crane and Hawley

Artifact hunter and con-man, Crane initially had nothing but contempt for Hawley whom he called pirate and privateer, and is disgusted by his mercenary attitude. Hawley's top priority was financial gain, and he cared little for the agenda of the Witnesses if it netted him no profit. Hawley finds Crane's archaic style bizarre, and he calls him nicknames such as "Shakespeare" and "Pride and Prejudice." After he helped save Abbie's life in The Weeping Lady, however, their attitudes began to change, and Hawley, though not completely altruistic, becomes more of an ally, and perhaps even a friend. By the time Hawley leaves the team in Kali Yuga, Crane tells him, "Mr. Hawley, when we first met, I considered you nothing but a faithless privateer, but I have come to know you as a man of courage, a man of compassion, a man who fights for his friends."

Trivia[]

  • The name Ichabod means "departed glory" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, Ichabod is the grandson of Eli and the son of Phinehas. His mother was in labor when she heard the news that the Ark of the Covenant had been taken by the Philistines, and that her father-in-law and husband were killed in the battle. The child was then called Ichabod in her grief, a Hebrew word meaning departed glory; “And she named the child Ichabod saying, ‘The glory is departed from Israel.’” (1 Samuel 4:21). [42]
  • The director wasn't too happy with the American actors being auditioned as Ichabod Crane, and that was when he came across Briton, Tom Mison, who actually pulled it off without his beard or long hair.
  • On the Season 2 finale, it was revealed that Ichabod Crane was supposed to die in November 1781. So from the time he was actually killed, he was dead/asleep for 231 years and 9 months.
  • He once stated that he has watched Glee.[19]
  • Ichabod Crane was married to Katrina van Tassel for six years before he fell in battle.[43]
  • He is a fan of Star Trek: The Original Series. "The City on the Edge of Forever" taught him about not disturbing the future by altering the past.
  • He once said in Season 1, particularly The Golem, that his favorite alcoholic beverage is rum, but he dislikes eggnog.
  • In Root of All Evil, the false passport Hawley made for Crane listed his name as Ichabod P. Crane, born 11 Sept. 1985 in London.
  • He was nicknamed by Jake Wells as "Captain Brownbeard". It can refer to his rank during the Revolution and his signature appearance.
  • He was nicknamed "Mr. Downton Abbey" by his new partner, Diana, on one occasion. Even though it was used as a jibe, he didn't seem to mind and he actually liked the show.[35]
  • Ichabod is a Harry Potter fan and sees himself in the house Ravenclaw.[13]
  • Ichabod typically addresses women and men as "miss" and "young master" respectfully; but only if they lack a rank or title.
  • If archives footage of certain characters do not count, Ichabod is one of the only four characters who made appearances in the entire series along with Abraham Van BruntGrace Dixon and Jenny Mills.
  • Upon being asked by Jake if "was there ANY part of the [Revolutionary] War [he] wasn't part of", Ichabod revealed that he can't handle being on the water, so he was not participation in sea battles.
  • It is never stated where Crane got his money in season 4, given he was previously living off Abbie's income. Once officially in the employ of The 355, however, that issue can be assumed resolved.
  • Crane appears in the TV series "Bones" season 11, episode 5, together with Agent Abbie Mills. In the archives of the Jefferson Institute, he finds a letter from the Revolutionary War, and during the graphological analysis of authenticity, Angela Montenegro finds out that the letter is authentic, but the handwriting of the person who wrote it 200 years ago is identical to the handwriting of Ichabod Crane. This fact puts the institute's experts at a loss, to which Ichabod replies, "It was written by my distant ancestor, whose name was Ichabod Crane, now you are faced with the phenomenon of handwriting transmission at the genetic level"

Appearances[]

Season One
"Pilot" "Blood Moon" "For the Triumph of Evil..." "The Lesser Key of Solomon" "John Doe"
"The Sin Eater" "The Midnight Ride" "Necromancer" "Sanctuary" "The Golem"
"The Vessel" "The Indispensable Man" "Bad Blood"
Season Two
"This Is War" "The Kindred" "Root of All Evil" "Go Where I Send Thee..." "The Weeping Lady"
"And the Abyss Gazes Back" "Deliverance" "Heartless" "Mama" "Magnum Opus"
"The Akeda" "Paradise Lost" "Pittura Infamante" "Kali Yuga" "Spellcaster"
"What Lies Beneath" "Awakening" "Tempus Fugit"
Season Three
"I, Witness" "Whispers in the Dark" "Blood and Fear" "The Sisters Mills" "Dead Men Tell No Tales"
"This Red Lady from Caribee" "The Art of War" "Novus Ordo Seclorum" "One Life" "Incident At Stone Manor"
"Kindred Spirits" "Sins of the Father" "Dark Mirror" "Into the Wild" "Incommunicado"
"Dawn's Early Light" "Delaware" "Ragnarok"
Season Four
"Columbia" "In Plain Sight" "Heads of State" "The People vs. Ichabod Crane" "Blood from a Stone"
"Homecoming" "Loco Parentis" "Sick Burn" "Child's Play" "Insatiable"
"The Way of the Gun" "Tomorrow" "Freedom"
Bones: Season Eleven
"The Resurrection in the Remains"

References[]

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