However, they leave Gawain almost unscathed. Answer: He hanged himself. He has a Ph.D. and speaks five languages. [6] He wields a whip made from a human corpse's spine. He "would have been introduced to local ghost stories and lore at an impressionable age, Bradley says.He cleverly weaves together factual locationsthe Old Dutch Church and churchyard, Major Andre's Tree, some actual family names, including van Tassel and Ichabod Craneand a little bit of Revolutionary War history with pure imagination and fantasy," Bradley says. He was, of course, controlled by Lady Van Tassel, but he committed the actual murders. Digging, the three find the victims heads and the knights skullless skeleton. Question: Why is it in one scene revealed that the headless horsemen is just a normal guy? He rests in the Forlorn Cloister of the Scarlet Monastery, in Tirisfal Glades. I am very confused about the incentives for killing these people was, why these people in particular were killed, and in general what was going on. patron citronge liqueur; guy fieri restaurants glendale, az; impact of covid 19 on health services; vinci annual report 2018. . We are told that the horseman's sword cauterises the wounds it makes. With Katrina's removal, the wife, Mary, inherits. Find his pumpkin shrine and say this: The ending of the tale is ambiguous, with Irving suggesting that the shadowy rider might have been prankster Brom Van Brunt. This gothic ghost story has been adapted many times, including 1980's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow starring Jeff Goldblum (The Fly) as Crane. Question: Why does Widow winship have a cut on her belly? She was pregnant. Some historians believe so. But, what would the legal status of the baby be? Question: What happened to Notary Hardenbrook? When the dullahan stops riding, a death occurs. Once the drug wears off, the victim is safe and beyond the Headless Horseman's ghostly reach. This injustice demands that he continually search for a substitute. They're playing a joke on him, nothing more than that. Widow Winship and her unborn child were killed because the child was Van Garrett's. What ensues is a test of Sir Gawain's honesty. An opening in the trees gives Ichabod hope as he perceives that the church bridge is near. de Gruyter, Berlin 19271942 (Unvernderter photomechanischer Nachdruck. What of the imposing figure of the black-cloaked Hessian soldier? Terrified, the citizens holed up in the small chapel and tried in vain to kill the ghost with gunfire. Starring: Johnny Depp, Christopher Lee, Christopher Walken, Christina Ricci, Michael Gambon, Miranda Richardson, Jeffrey Jones, Casper Van Dien, Richard Griffiths, Michael Gough, Ian McDiarmid, Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller. Franz Potter, a Gothic studies professor at National University, told History that these supernatural beings usually symbolize the past which still haunts the living. Americas first ghost story, Bradley says, has endured because it accommodates the changing American imagination. The Headless Horseman is a legendary ghost, who appears in Washington Irving's 1820 Horror short-story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.Since then, the Horseman has appeared in many movie adaptations. The Dullahan holds his own grinning head, which sometimes glows, to see at a great distance. The horseman, like the past, still seeks answers, still seeks retribution, and can't rest. What happened to Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow. ", Contact me | Privacy policy | Join the mailing list | Links. The battle denied him any chance to be a chieftain, and both he and his horse are headless in accounts of his haunting of the area. As she explains in the film, her reason for this is that her family originally lived on the land, only to be evicted. That specific tree, where Ichabod Crane first sees the horseman, marked the place where Major John Andr, a courier for the traitorous Benedict Arnold, was captured by local farmers and turned over to General George Washington, per The New York Times. He's super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. [13], Washington Irving's gothic story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" features a character known as the Headless Horseman believed to be a Hessian soldier who was decapitated by a cannonball in battle. Question: What would have been the legal status of Widow Winship's unborn baby if the Horseman hadn't killed her or the baby? This "horrible missile" hits Crane, sending him headlong into the dirt as Gunpowder and the black steed speed past him. metal musicians with depression; are there sharks in the north atlantic ocean? According to Mythology & Fiction Explained, if a hunter hears the thunderous horn of the Wild Huntsman, they should not go hunting on the following day. why did the headless horseman kill the little boy why did the headless horseman kill the little boy. Once Ichabod arrives in town to investigate, it becomes necessary to remove witnesses to these events, so that they can't give him clues to what's really going on. The Headless Horseman was a Hessian soldier who fought and died in the American Revolutionary War. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. When the two horses reach the road turning off to Sleepy Hollow, Gunpowder, who seems "possessed with a demon," plunges headlong down a hill to the left. He hanged himself. Lady Van Tassel kidnaps Katrina and leads her to the old mill where she tells the truth to the girl: the real name of her family was Archer (archer in English, explaining why it was engraved on the fireplace of the old house), and after the death of Father Van Garrett had unjustly resulted in her and her family being thrown in the middle of the street, evicting them to house the Van Tassels. Christopher Lee is a bigger star than Ian McDiarmid, and therefore he is listed higher on the marquee. d) The covered bridge is a lot like the bridge in "Beetlejuice. Expert Answers. Crane and the others escape to the tree of the dead, and in the struggle, the detective is hit by a bullet fired by Lady Van Tassel, but stopped by Katrinas spellbook held on her chest; Crane, with the help of the young Masbath who stuns Mary by hitting her with a large branch, retrieves the skull and returns it to the Knight who returns human: he hoists Lady Van Tassel on horseback and kisses/bites her, devastating her lips with his fangs to then drag her with him into the tree of the dead, returning to Hell. Traditional folklore holds that the Horseman was a Hessian trooper who was killed during the Battle of White Plains in 28th October 1776. Irving set his gothic classic near present-day Tarrytown, New York, and as his story goes, schoolteacher Ichabod Crane arrives at Sleepy Hollow and hears the local Dutch legend of a ghostly headless Hessian soldier who haunts the Old Dutch Church. User Reviews Merwin, meanwhile, taught in Kinderhook. The scene happens to be a play on a common theory of how, in the original. It's mentioned in the kitchen scene where Baltus notices his wife's cut hand. The German auxiliary troops had been known for being particularly merciless in battle, killing their hostages and bayoneting retreating militia. [18], In the 1939 Will Hay comedy film Ask a Policeman, a headless horseman appears in connection with a smuggling ring.[19]. Does Christopher Walken play the Horseman in every scene? | Answer: The scene happens to be a play on a common theory of how, in the original Legend of Sleepy Hollow, that Brom was pretending to be the Headless Horseman in order to scare Ichabod Crane away from Sleepy Hollow. 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. What is the main conflict in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". The Headless Horseman has captured our imaginations for centuries, materializing everywhere from Kanye West lyrics to a Tim Burton adaptation, stage musicals, and silly Disney cartoons. Now that's out of the way, a brief introduction. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase made possible in part by the Catherine Walden Myer Endowment, the Julia D. Strong Endowment, and the Director's Discretionary Fund. Johnny Depp plays a New York police inspector tasked with solving a series of murders committed in 1799 in the village of Sleepy Hollow by a mysterious headless horseman, played by Christopher Walken. Once the van Garretts were out of the way (plus any inconvenient witnesses), the land now belongs to the van Tassel family. They're playing a joke on him, nothing more than that. In the end, the Green Knight was, in fact, Lord Bertilak de Hautdesert, who had been magically transformed into a headless giant. In "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the headless horseman confronts Ichabod Crane on his way home from the Van Tassel's party by the side of a bridge. Washington Irving's tale of the town of Sleepy Hollow, terrorized by a mysterious headless equestrian, is said to have its origins in the American Revolution and Dutch traditions of New York, according to Folklore Thursday. He appeared in the episode "The Tale of the Midnight Ride". While uniquely terrifying in its own right, Irving's equestrian looks downright kid-friendly compared to Irish folklore's Dullahan. Thank you for this explanation. [7] In another version, he is the headless driver of a black carriage, the Ciste Bodhar. It's pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. The Knight drags him out of the chapel, only to behead him and steal his head. | The show is based on "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" story by Washington Irving, about schoolmaster Ichabod Crane's encounter with a Headless Horseman. Earlier on in the film, however, the cuts cause squirts of blood to fly into the air, such as when the scarecrow is sprayed with blood. Answer: It would seem the Horseman possesses a supernatural instinct. The Hessians rode again on October 28, during the Battle of White Plains. It turns out, Washington Irving was all about recycling a good Yankee name when he heard one. The most wildly excepted image of this ghostly figure is a man dressed in black who rides atop a black horse and carries a jack-o'-lantern under his arm which serves as his primary weapon though he . Like the horseman doomed to endlessly search for his head, humans are prone to obsess about the past and their losses and are overpowered by their betrayals. Old Gunpowder is given a hard kick in the ribs, and he jumps upon the resounding planks of the bridge. The team needs to find a way to kill Dreyfuss - which will also stop the Horsemen - so with a little help from demon Jobe, they literally go to Hell to bargain . What would have been the legal status of Widow Winship's unborn baby if the Horseman hadn't killed her or the baby? The headless horseman appears as a specter who haunts the scene where Major Andr was killed and he chases Ichabod Crane. The Horseman killed her unborn child with a sword-thrust to her belly and then killed her, therefore, there are two bodies in her grave. Edit. The schoolmaster vanishes. Just like the story, the Headless Horseman pursues Ichabod Crane which ends with the Headless Horseman throwing his pumpkin head at him. The woman turns to see a rider standing over her, with a gray horse and gray cloak. Collecting the heads, the knight gets on his horse and tries to return to the forest, but is stopped by a shotgun fired by . If the mother dies, she presumably becomes a ward of the state until someone adopts her. The Headless Horseman is also a novel by Mayne Reid, first published in monthly serialized form during 1865 and 1866, and subsequently published as a book in 1866,[4][5] based on the author's adventures in the United States. You can unsubscribe at any time. It tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a superstitious schoolmaster who comes across with a headless horseman in the town of Sleepy Hollow. The Headless Horseman hotly pursues Crane until they approach the church said to be the rider's burial place. This decapitated rider has cantered through Scandinavian mythology, early German folklore, and northern Indian lore. In fact, the battle of White Plains was a mere eight miles from the town of Sleepy Hollow, where Irving wrote his ghastly tale. Sleepy Hollow's Season 4 Finale Explained, Bones-Sleepy Hollow Crossover Event: When Squints Meet The Witnesses. The team needs to find a way to kill Dreyfuss - which will also stop the Horsemen - so with a little help from demon Jobe, they literally go to Hell to bargain with the Devil himself. Humans know how to brood. Posted on . Many of the people visited upon by headless horsemen throughout the various legends are seen as arrogant, scheming, or downright foolish. He moved to the area in 1798 to flee a yellow fever outbreak in New York City, according to the New York Historical Society. Tales of headless horsemen can be traced to the Middle Ages, including stories from the Brothers Grimm and the Dutch and Irish legend of the Dullahan or Gan Ceann, a Grim Reaper-like rider who carries his head. [24], The 1999 Season 4 Hey Arnold! It inspires people because it reminds them that there are still some American mysteries, some half-truths that may never be fully knownand that's the whole point," she says. why did the headless horseman kill the little boy. In fact, Ian McDiarmid has a bigger role, but his name is mentioned after Lee's. Hey. He was decapitated by an American cannonball,[2] and the shattered remains of his head were left on the battlefield while his comrades hastily carried his body away. Jonathan Masbath is killed because he witnessed the marriage and the change of will - he would be able to testify to both. When going to kill the Killians, how did the Horseman know that Thomas was hiding under the floor? Jonathan Masbath had to die because he signed the new will as witness. Like a contagion hanging over the town of Sleepy Hollow, or the remote villages of Germany, the threat of the Headless Horseman is a reminder of our histories that just won't go away. The Hessian was a mercenary sent to America by German princes during the Revolutionary War. The village notables explain to the inspector that the killer is the Headless Horseman, a cruel Hessian mercenary with razor-sharp teeth, who lived 20 years ago, and had a grisly habit of cutting off the heads of his enemies; one day, while he was near the village in the woods to the west, he tried to hide from some soldiers and met two little girls, but one, frightened, broke a twig, causing the soldiers to find the executioner. It's not a totally happy ending since there's still the whole issue of Crane selling his soul, but Diana vows to help him find a way out of the deal. According to legends from the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the jhinjhr is known as a prince who lost his head while defending his village from bandits or highwaymen, per the History Goes Bump podcast. He just told you he didn't so you wouldn't think he was crazy. The Headless Horseman is a mythical figure in English and American folklore] since the Middle Ages. toms river little league world series roster. The classic short story is considered an example of early American folklore. episode 14 "The Headless Cabbie" depicts a headless cab driver. Lady Van Tassel then awakens the Knight once more. Related: Bones-Sleepy Hollow Crossover Event: When Squints Meet The Witnesses. This ferocious creature also carries a whip made out of a human spine and a bucket of blood in some versions of the folklore, as if he weren't already frightening enough. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. [14], The comic book series Chopper, written by Martin Shapiro, is a modern-day reimagining of the Headless Horseman. The fight ends with Crane lightly wounded and Brom dead, who is cut in two. [1], The legend of the Headless Horseman (also known as "the Headless Hessian of the Hollow") begins in Sleepy Hollow, New York, during the American Revolutionary War. May 22, 2021 . The only people who can see him are those who have consumed a strange new Ecstasy-like drug that triggers their sixth sense and opens a gateway to the afterlife. It may have been an oversight on the part of Lady Van Tassel, as the child would undoubtedly be ignorant of affairs and the intricacies of legal matters regarding wills, but then again, she probably didn't care anyway. New York, where there is a surviving old schoolhouse bearing the name Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse. Accessed 4 Mar. The plot follows police constable Ichabod Crane . Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. As for folklore mixing with history when it comes to the character of Ichabod Crane, The New York Times reports an actual Col. Ichabod B. Crane was a contemporary of Irving who enlisted in the Marines in 1809, serving 45 years. Everyone who had any knowledge of the unborn child and Van Garrett's changed will was a possible liability, and had to disappear too. Given his continued opposition to the brutal methods used by the New York court and the fact that prisoners are sentenced without sufficient evidence, his superiors, both to temporarily remove him from the city and to test him, decide to send him to the remote village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate three heinous murders, in which the heads of the victims were removed. It stars Richard Moll and Billy Aaron Brown and is directed by Anthony C. Ferrante. why did the headless horseman kill the little boy; slope game unblocked the new method why did the headless horseman kill the little boy. (Other sources quote GeneralHeath differently, but the gist is the same.) Traditional folklore holds that the Horseman was a Hessian trooper who was killed during the Battle of White Plains in 28th October 1776. The thankful President makes Crane an American citizen for his efforts and reestablishes Agency 355. After a feast hosted by the Van Tassels one night, Crane sets out on the spooky ride home on a borrowed horse only to notice a shadowy figure alongside him. It may have been because she was a widow. Widow Winship and her unborn child were killed because the child was Van Garrett's. The. Here's the history of the odd global phenomenon of headless riders and just how, precisely, they lost their precious heads. The Irish believe the Dullahan hunts for lives on festival days after sunset. Somehow, though, the girth of the saddle loosens, and Ichabod has to grab the horse's mane as the saddle falls off. (Other sources state Crom Dubh.) This leads to a final confrontation with Dreyfuss and his Horsemen, where Diana (Janina Gavankar, Star Wars: Battlefront II) shoots and wounds Dreyfuss. The next morning, a search party finds only a trampled saddle, Crane's hat, and a smashed pumpkin. Why does Widow winship have a cut on her belly? Later on after the people of the town research the stories of the Galloping Hessian, they conclude that Ichabod has been carried off by this villainous specter. The reverend then takes a heavy wooden cross and with it kills the doctor in the head; Van Tassel inadvertently lets a shot go off the gun and kills Steenwyck. "The Headless Horseman" or "A Strange Tale of Texas" was set in Texas and based on a south Texas folk tale. [27] Since 1983, Conner Prairie Interactive Historic Park in Fishers, Indiana has held a Headless Horseman festival celebrating the legend with a haunted corn maze and other activities.[28]. Kho St Cng Trnh Ngm kent, wa police news today. Balthus van Tassel is killed first - Katrina is his first-named heir, with his wife as the second. It would seem the Horseman possesses a supernatural instinct. The Horseman stabbed her in the belly to also kill her unborn child. Magistrate Philipse was consulted by the widow regarding the legal status of her unborn child, plus he was actively trying to help Ichabod, so his elimination became necessary. The indigo dye puts the jhinjhr's spirit at ease, and he disperses. Who was the father of Widow Winship's child? (full context) [10], In Germany the stories come mostly from the Rhineland. The film, whose development began in 1993, was originally intended to be a low-budget slasher, but Paramount Pictures later decided to entrust the direction to Burton with more substantial means. For Germans, the Wild Huntsman portended hunting accidents, and he even served as a vengeance figure. If you hear the dreadful faerie speak your name, then sorry, you've been chosen as his next victim to die. No. [8] A similar figure, the gan ceann ("without a head"), can be frightened away by wearing a gold object or putting one in his path. When the fated day comes, the Green Knight tests Gawain's nerve by striking him with three blows in the neck. The horseman saw that the mother was close to where he was hiding. The woman decided to steal the knights head by resurrecting him and controlling him, to take revenge on Van Garret and Van Tassel; her revenge would be accomplished by seizing the assets of the two families. "We are haunted by the past which stalks us so that we never forget it.". However, as he drove the roads of Earth by night, he did not feel the presence of Crane . Face him when he is joined with his head, and destroy it! Franz Potter, a professor at National University who specializes in Gothic studies,says the headless horseman, as a supernatural entity, represents a past that never dies, but always haunts the living. The cast also includes Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, and Casper Van Dien. This entity is very similar to the headless reapers or demonic fairy known as Dullahan in Irish myth. Despite the blow received, the ghost rises from the ground and tries to continue the journey not even paying attention to his attacker who tries, with the help of Crane, to kill the supernatural being. Youngs was a good friend of Washington Irving, and he was initially buried at the Old Dutch Church. ): Handwrterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens. All Rights Reserved. He is portrayed in the movie by Ray Park (Headless) and Christopher Walken (with head on). The Headless Horseman is a mythical figure who has appeared in folklore around the world since the Middle Ages. Since the Philosopher's Stone has taken away his immortality, Jobe takes Dreyfuss to Hell. Once Ichabod arrives in town to investigate, it becomes necessary to remove witnesses to these events, so that they can't give him clues to what's really going on. Now go and loot the various drops he has. A head shattered by a cannonball and a fallen horse make for a great ghost story. The road that the old horse goes on leads to the famous bridge of the ghost story. why did the headless horseman kill the little boytypes of family health services. As the frightened Ichabod realizes that the head is carried by the rider on the pommel of his saddle, Crane "rained a shower of kicks and blows upon old Gunpowder" and fearfully hurries toward home, but the specter's dark horse keeps pace with him. The Old Dutch Church, where Irving's Headless Horseman was said to be buried, is the final resting place of many Revolutionary War heroes. [1] The figure is traditionally depicted as a rider upon horseback who is missing his head. [12] In particular the last of the "Legenden von Rbezahl" ('Legends of Rbezahl') from Johann Karl August Musus's literary retellings of German folktales Volksmrchen der Deutschen (1783) is said to have inspired The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The headless horseman from the legend of Sleepy Hollow lost his head after it was severed by an American cannonball. The headless horseman appears as a specter who haunts the scene where Major Andr was killed and he chases Ichabod Crane. Hanns Bchtold-Stubli (Hrsg. At 1% his head flies off, and you've got a floating skull. The dullahan calls out a name, at which point the named person immediately dies. Lucifer (Terrance Mann, Sense8) isn't particularly inclined to help, so Crane sells his soul to obtain a new Philosopher's Stone. That being the case, Brom knows very well the degree that Ichabod is scared of nearly everything. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. American author Washington Irving (1783-1859). His saddle is gone, and the reins are under his feet. Thomas stayed completely still and didn't make a sound. Latest answer posted November 10, 2020 at 11:54:49 AM. Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. Latest answer posted November 03, 2019 at 11:55:33 AM. Question: Who was the father of Widow Winship's child? Van Garrett and his son are killed first, then the widow Winship when it becomes apparent that van Garrett married her, making her a possible inheritor. When a search is conducted, only the hat of Ichabod Crane is found by the stream near the bridge; close beside this hat is a smashed pumpkin. Crane deduces that the elders agreed to help the person who controls the ghost of the Knight, so that the Van Garrett estate would be inherited by the Van Tassels, the closest relatives (and that Philipse was dead because he wanted to back down). Numerous references to other Tim Burton films: a) The dress Katrina Anne Van Tassel wears at the end is similar to Beetlejuice's outfit. Ever since, the specter of a body riding on a black horse has haunted Glen Moore. User Ratings Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. In the tale "Hans Jagenteufel" from Dresden, a woman is gathering acorns near a part of the forest called "Lost Waters" when she hears a hunting horn and then a thud. The Headless Horseman pursuing Ichabod, illustrated by Frances Brundage. Answer: She was using blood magic to keep him under her spell this is why later in the film the reverend kills the magistrate just as the magistrate's about to betray their secret about Lady Van Tassel to Ichabod. Crane has vanished. As the legend goes, in Brunswick, a man named Hackelberg is so devoted to hunting that, as he dies, rather than go to Heaven, he begs God to keep him on Earth to hunt. In Scandinavian folklore, the ghost rider sits upon a white horse, with his head under his left arm, and is joined by black dogs with fiery breath. This made Katrina van Tassel next in line, making her his next target. When Ichabod and young Masbath return to their quarters they discover that the cards pointing the blame to Baltus are gone; Katrina took them so that the agent cannot blame her father, burning them in the fireplace of the ruin of a house on the moor, of which only the fireplace with an archer sculpted on her remains intact. Eventually, they buried him in the cemetery of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, from which he rises as a malevolent ghost, furiously seeking his lost head and wielding a Jack-o'-Lantern as a temporary replacement and/or weapon. Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table, takes up the contest. He's a rather nocturnal ghoul. The father of the widow Winship's unborn child was Peter Van Garrett, the wealthy landowner who was the second victim of the horseman, killed in the field after jumping from the coach when he saw the headless body of his son, Dirk Van Garret atop the coach. As told byThe New York Times, by name-checking the Hessian soldiers of the American Revolution, Irving conjured a familiar fear for contemporary readers. Already a member? During the war, the Horseman was one of 51 Hessians killed in a battle for Chatterton Hill, wherein his head was severed by an American cannonball. He also falls for local 18-year-old heiress Katrina Van Tassel, but he has a romantic rival the burly Brom Van Brunt. Meanwhile, the inspector, thinking back to last nights clash, understands that the Knight does not kill people by chance, but according to a criterion, and comes to the conclusion that he has not returned from Hell to take revenge by taking souls, but that he is acting under the influence from someone in exchange for a promise to get his missing head back. What possibly would have happened if they were not in her pockets. At night, Ichabod and the young Masbath see a cloaked figure entering the woods; following her, while the young Masbath remains behind to wait, Crane discovers that the figure was of Lady Van Tassel, second wife of Baltus and stepmother of Katrina, who is engaged in a sexual encounter with the Reverend Steenwyck. Description. what years did it snow in louisiana; badass mmorpg names; henry danger drex death; is there a shuttle from laguardia to newark; pastor mike moore birmingham al; maharishi international university computer science ranking; why did the headless horseman kill the little boy. in her side. As we know, during the American Revolution, German mercenaries fought alongside the British. Description The Headless Horseman is driven away, but he will return as long as Hallow's End looms. The Legend of Sleepy Hollowresurfaces every year around Halloween. That doesn't fit into the plot. Therefore Baltus Van Tassel is the prime suspect. "If I can but reach the bridge, I am safe," thinks Ichabod. He was decapitated by an American cannonball , and the shattered remains of his head were left on the battlefield while his comrades hastily carried . Notary Hardenbrook was too scared to talk and hanged himself; Reverend Steenwyck was kept silent because Lady van Tassel had seductive power over him; and Doctor Lancaster was blackmailed by Lady van Tassel because of his extramarital with the Van Tassel housemaid.