Public domain in the US, the EU and the UK

The Legend of Sleepy HollowWashington Irving, 1820

Irving's 1820 tale of the Headless Horseman is free, short and perfect for a first AI short film.

First published
1820
Author died
1859
Original language
English
Start my adaptationOriginal texts

Copyright status

Copyright ends at different dates in different countries. Here is where this work stands in the three places most readers release in.
WhereStatus
United StatesPublic domain. First published in 1820, before 1931: the 95-year US term for works of that age has run out.
European Union and United KingdomPublic domain since 1 January 1930. Washington Irving died in 1859, and the term is 70 years after the end of the year of death.
Other countriesMost countries protect a work for 50 to 100 years after its author's death, and some have transition rules. If you release or sell in a specific country, check its law.

Status checked on October 26, 2026 against the sources listed in our legal guide.

In a Dutch valley on the Hudson, the lanky schoolmaster Ichabod Crane courts the rich Katrina Van Tassel against the local hero Brom Bones. Riding home from a party, Ichabod is chased by the Headless Horseman, said to be the ghost of a soldier who lost his head to a cannonball. He is never seen again; a shattered pumpkin lies by the bridge.

Free to use

  • The story of 1820: Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van Tassel, Brom Bones, Baltus Van Tassel and the Horseman.
  • The ambiguity of the ending: the story hints that Brom might have been the Horseman.
  • The setting: Tarry Town, the Dutch farms, the haunted bridge by the church.
  • Any adaptation, including a commercial one.

Watch out for

  • The designs and story additions of later versions belong to them: Disney's 1949 cartoon, Tim Burton's 1999 film, which made Ichabod a detective, and recent TV series.
  • Recent translations and illustrated editions are protected. Use the 1820 text.
  • AI models often borrow from the 1999 film's look. Describe your own Horseman and your own valley.

The full rules, with the laws and court decisions behind them, are in our guide to adapting public domain works.

An adaptation idea

Brom Bones tells it his way: the prank that became a legend.

Format: A 12 to 15-minute short film.

Adapt it in ScreenWeaver

These are the steps as they run in ScreenWeaver today. You read and edit every step, and you start every generation yourself, in the app.

  1. 1Download the tale below. It is short, so the whole text fits in one PDF, read for free with a text layer.
  2. 2Attach it to a film project and ask for the characters, places and objects, including the Horseman and the pumpkin.
  3. 3Write the art direction: autumn on the Hudson, 1790, firelight and fog. Add your own style image.
  4. 4Ask for the scenes from Brom's point of view, then for the shots of the chase.
  5. 5Generate the frames in Storyboard, then the clips in Production.

How a whole book becomes scenes and shots: novel to storyboard.

Original texts

Where to get The Legend of Sleepy Hollow from a legal source

Questions

Is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in the public domain?
Yes. Washington Irving published it in 1820 and died in 1859. It is free in the US, the EU and the UK.
Can I make Ichabod a detective?
You can make any change you like, but making him a detective follows a choice of the 1999 film. Your version will be safer and more original if its additions are your own.
Is the story long enough for a film?
It suits a short film. For a feature or a series you invent the rest, which is allowed: what you add is yours.

General information, not legal advice. Copyright, trademark and personality rights depend on the country and on the facts of each project. For a commercial release, have a lawyer check your chain of rights.

Other works to adapt

Start your adaptation.

Import The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, build the cast and the places, write the scenes and cut them into shots. The Screenwriter plan is free.
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