Headless Horseman (Stock Character)

Headless Horseman
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Other Names	Dullahan, Crom Dubh, Cóiste Bodhar, Gan ceann, Ewen, Green Knight, Muerto
First Appearance	European/American Folklore
Created by	Unknown

Origin[]

The Headless Horseman is an archetype of mythical figure that has appeared in folklore around Europe since the Middle Ages. The figures are traditionally depicted as riders upon horseback who are missing their heads. These myths have since inspired a number of stories and characters in popular culture, including "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".

Depending on the legend, the Horseman is either carrying his head, or is missing his head altogether, and may be searching for it. Famous examples include the dullahan from Ireland, who is a demonic fairy usually depicted riding a horse and carrying his head under his arm, and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," a short story written in 1820 by American writer Washington Irving, which has been adapted into several other works of literature and film.

The dullahan or dulachán ("dark man") is a headless, demonic fairy, usually riding a horse and carrying his head under his arm. Some versions of the story claim the dullahan is the spirit of Crom Dubh, a Celtic god worshipped in Ireland until the arrival of Christian missionaries in the 6th century. He wields a whip made from a human corpse's spine. When the dullahan stops riding, a death occurs. The dullahan calls out a name, at which point the named person immediately dies. In another version, he is the headless driver of a black carriage, the Cóiste Bodhar. A similar figure, the gan ceann ("without a head"), can be frightened away by wearing a gold object or putting one in his path.

The most prominent Scottish tale of the headless horseman concerns a man named Ewen decapitated in a clan battle at Glen Cainnir on the Isle of Mull. 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. Among the Highland Scottish diaspora in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, seeing the image or hearing the sound of a horse or headless rider is traditionally regarded as an omen of an imminent death within the family.

A number of stories of headless horsemen and women are also found in Welsh folklore. The "Fenyw heb un pen" (English: The headless woman) who rides a "Ceffyl heb un pen" (English: horse without a head). Bryn Hall in Llanymawddwy is said to have been haunted by a headless horseman which only came to an end when one of the Hall's servants discerned a message from the horseman identifying the location of a buried body. The body was said to be that of an illegitimate child fathered by the Lord of Bryn Hall.

As Wales shares cultural similarities with Cornwall, it is possible that a version of the Welsh horsemen (or a Cornish equivalent) may have been what was known to the parents of Washington Irving, who originated in Cornwall.

In Germany, headless-horseman stories come mostly from the Rhineland. Rather than using decapitation, the headless horsemen killed their victims simply by touching them. They were revenants who had to wander the earth until they had atoned for their sins, sometimes by doing a good deed for a stranger, but instead of showing their gratitude by shaking hands, the stranger and the horseman held a tree branch between them and the branch would wither and die rather than the stranger. Another version of the legend spoke of Der Kopflose Reiter (the headless horseman), who would warn the living of impending danger and chase down and punish the wicked.

Dartmoor, an area in England's ceremonial county Devon, is said to be haunted by a headless rider. In Arthurian legend, a figure known as the Green Knight appeared before Arthur's court and challenged one man to come forward and strike him with his axe, warning them that he will strike them the same blow in a year. Gawain, King Arthur's nephew, accepted the challenge and beheaded the knight, who proceeded to retrieve his head and remind Gawain to meet him at the Green Chapel to fulfill his half of the challenge.

In southern Texas, stories of a figure known as "El Muerto" have circulated since the mid-1800s. El Muerto is said to dangle his head from his saddle, and his horse is variably said to produce lightning from its hooves as they strike the ground. It has been speculated that this particular iteration of the headless horseman was based on another legend in which a man was captured and beheaded for stealing horses. The man was then "made an example" when his killers tied his decapitated body to a wild horse, tied the head to the pommel of the saddle, and sent the horse on its way.

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 during The American War of Independence. Irving travelled in Germany in 1821 and had become familiar with Dutch and German folklore. In particular the last of the "Legenden von Rübezahl" ('Legends of Rübezahl') from Johann Karl August Musäus's literary retellings of German folktales (Volksmärchen der Deutschen, 1783) is said to have inspired The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Public Domain Appearances[]

All published appearances of Headless Horsemen from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.

Some Notable Appearances are listed below:

Public Domain Literary Appearances.[]

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
Volksmärchen der Deutschen by Johann Karl August Musäus
The Headless Horseman (1865) by Mayne Reid.

Public Domain Film Appearances[]

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1912)
The Headless Horseman (1922)
The Headless Horseman (1934)

Public Domain Comic Appearances[]

Jumbo Comics vol. 2 #11
Whiz Comics #30
Blue Bolt vol. 6 #8
A Treasury of Horses
Amazing Mystery Funnies #19
Arrow #2

Notes[]

Headless horsemen in popular culture are often depicted wearing a Jack O' Lantern pumpkin as a head.
Many modern depictions of Headless Horsemen replace the rider's horse with a motorcycle or other motorized vehicle.