Van Bilj Family

Spoiler Alert: This article/section contains details about future plotlines of LOTM: Witnesses of Sleepy Hollow described. Do not proceed unless you want to be spoiled.

The Van Bilj Family is one of the most notable old families in LOTM: Witnesses of Sleepy Hollow and its second half, LOTM: Star Spangled Crown, who once served as agents of Moloch within the Shadow Warriors and the Order of the Blood Moon, which were supposed not to be working together. However, its later mistress, Christine Van Bilj, blackmailed the dark witches (including Lady Van Tassel), forcing them to permit her alliance towards the Hessians in order to seek further goals.

The Van Bilj Family later worked for General William Howe, and Christine served as General Howe's advisor after her father, Caspar Van Bilj, was found guilty in using his children for exploitation, which not only disgusted Howe but also driving Christine into insanity, developing a sadistic split personality that would put her family towards its doom eventually.

By the storyline's ending, the only living person in Van Bilj Family is its only female descendant of its bloodline, Christine, who lived as her caring and good side under the alias of Kristen Kiwifruit.

Overview

18th Century

Colin and Christine making fun at Ichabod

The Van Bilj Family, alongside the Crane Family and the Van Tassel-Van Garret Family, are among the most notable family inside Sleepy Hollow.

After the death of the former patriarch, Carousel Van Bilj, his son Caspar took over its position. Caspar had a twin children, one son and one daughter. They both have high intellegence, especially Caspar's daughter, Christine, who was said to be a genius.

Nevertheless, Caspar spoiled the twins and used his magic skills to enhance their intellegence in order to make them his tools to gain fame in American Colonies. Christine graduated from Eton College in the age of 14 and became an advisor of William Howe, and soon she became infamous for her stretegy and her ruthless tendency.

Christine and Colin, before Christine gone mad from the revelation of her father's treachery

Colin and Christine were very hostile towards Ichabod Crane and often bullied them, and both of them were sadistic and uncaring towards others. Despite this, Christine was kind to her brother and only showed her warm side to Colin, claiming he was the man she cared most about in the world. This warm side was not shown in front of Ichabod, and so Ichabod thought Christine was a callous and cruel person who would do ruthless things trying to reach her goals. Even so, Christine did show some care towards Ichabod when she persuaded him to surrender back to the British Army, saying it was good for Ichabod and his family to make him pardoned. Due to her own intellegence as well as calm personality, Christine became the true center of her family, and everyone paid respect on her. However, this was eventually turned into the past tense when Christine knew about her father's crime.

Affiliations

• Order of the Blood Moon
• British Empire
• British America
• East India Company

Trivia

• The Van Bilj Family serves as a major rival and counterpart to the Crane Family.
  • The Crane Family was actually having a heritage of good witch, but it was only from the bloodline of Lady Crane through marriage. The paternal bloodline of the Cranes are actually mortal beings and being xenophobic towards witches, which was exploited by Ara Astaroth when she possessed Lord Crane, Ichabod's father, to kill Lady Crane and traumatized Ichabod.
  • The Van Bilj Family, on the other hand, is openly sadistic. Their paternal bloodline is from pure-blooded witches and warlocks. In spite of this, they have empathy towards the descendant of Salem Witch Trials victims, and it was revealed that Christine Van Bilj once had Pet the Dog moments when she opened her gate for those victims.
• In spite of being villains of the story, the Van Bilj Family shows no comtempt to stray witches, while the Van Garrets, Van Tassels and the Cranes (excluding a few like Balthus, Ichabod and Katrina) are xenophobic towards stray magicians, especially those convicted during the Salem Witch Trials. Ironically, the ancestors of Van Tassels are actually witch family themselves, but they are hostile to other stray witches.
• The Van Bilj Family is a foil to Van Tassel-Van Garret Family. The Van Garrets and Van Tassels, like the Van Biljs, has some corrupt members who took over other people's properties and turned against them, seeing when Sir Peter Van Garret got rid of his sworn house, Preston Family, long after Salem Witch Trials took place due to Mrs. Preston committed witchcraft, before allowing Van Tassel Family to live into their house. In spite of not reaching the scale of corrution and cruelty of Van Bilj Family, it was implied that Van Tassel Family was also corrupt, save for Katrina Crane (who served as a foil to Christine).
  • This eventually made one of them, Mary Preston, turned insane and decided to go onto a sadistic and self-serving retribution against them, eventually making her the infamous Lady Van Tassel. It was implied by Ichabod that Baltus Van Tassel, in spite of being a lot more reasonable and caring man, was just almost as corrupt as Caspar Van Bilj, who wanted to make his own daughter (who was actually in love with Ichabod) into a loveless marriage so that he could gain profits from Van Brunt Family, just like how Caspar exploiting his children's talents.
• Van Bilj Family is partly inspired by Roark Family in Frank Millers' Sin City, with its generations of Independant War era all served as either corrupt officials or sadistic killers. Arguably, Kristen Kiwifruit, who is the heroic reincarnation of Christine Van Bilj, is the only Van Bilj descendant without any traits of sadistic murderers or corrupt officials.