The Dullahan
When most people hear the term “Headless Horseman”, they think of Ichabod Crane and Sleepy Hollow. But did you know there are many legends of headless horsemen that have nothing to do with Irving’s tale of horror?
Take the Dullahan, for example: a headless rider on a black horse, or a coachman, carrying his own head. The Dullahan legend has been around at least since the Middle Ages, first mentioned in Thomas Crofton Croker’s book “Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland”, published in 1825.
Considered a bogeyman to some, the Irish consider the Dullahan an unseelie fairy - a wicked fairy!
The Dullahan, or Dulachan, often rides a headless horse, carrying his own head under his arm, and takes out the eyes of anyone who sees him with his whip. Probably a good thing, though, because he’s not a pretty sight: his face is rotting from the bone and is often said to have the consistency of mouldy cheese. Weirdly specific, but you do you, boo.
Though the original texts never mention what the Dullahan’s whip is made of, it’s commonly depicted as being made from a human spinal chord.
The sight of the Dullahan is, according to my sources, an omen of death. With his black coach, a mounted coffin, and his headless black horse, he sometimes accompanies a banshee to your door. If you open it, a basin of blood will be thrown in your face, and the Dullahan will drag you away.
The Dullahan may or may not be a later imagining of the god, Crom Dubh (himself a reimagining of Cromm Crúaich). Crom Dubh love a bit of human sacrifice, and his preferred method of dispatch is decapitation. When St Patrick put a stop to such things, the story goes that Crom Dubh hit the road, “calling the names of those doomed to die, and carrying his head under his arm.” (source: Irish Times)
Creepy, right?
It’s not clear if the Dullahan’s role is to escort someone to the afterlife or rob them of their soul, but according to legend, if you see the Dullahan, you have about 24 hours to live. And then the Headless Horseman will come for you again.