How was the headless horseman a trick played on ichabod?

Question

from sleepy hollow, the only question that I dont really get

Answer 1

I watched the johnny depp version...

and it's like headless was taunting

johnny into helping solve or finish the curse

to close it out. if any of that makes sense..

???

Answer 2

Everyone in town knew that Ichabod was a scaredy cat. The guy who loved the girl that Ichabod had a crush on didn't like Ichabod.  He didn't want Ichabod horning in on the only eligible bachelorette in town.  Thus, he dressed up as the horseman to scare Ichabod and get revenge on him for moving in on his territory. Unfortunately, it was a joke gone wrong, as the horseman actually did in Ichabod, and probably wolves or bears ate the carcass during the night after it happened. I can just see an old bear dragging the hapless body of Ichabod into his den for a winter snack.

Nobody ever knew what happened to him, and the girl probably ended up marrying the creep.