"He is coming, I need to hide"
It's a really dark night, the moon is full as I try to find my way through the dark woods. The weather is really cold with white snow visible from the trees as I try to find my way to safety.
Just then, I noticed in the shadows of the tree, a headless horseman holding a whip made of human spine and holding its head on the other hand. It is the Dullahan, I knew this was where my journey would end as everywhere got silent as it said my name.
This is an Irish folklore that speaks of the headless horseman. This same being has been depicted in other cultures, you must have heard names like the Shinigami, the Angel of death, The boatman, The Grimm reaper among others. Even though they only exist as myths today, the stories have been passed down over the centuries. Sit tight as I take you on a trip through history as we look closely into the myth surrounding Dullahan.
The origin of the Dullahan stems from an old Celtic festival where they worshipped the god, Crom Dubh, the sacrificial god of fertility. This god demanded human sacrifice, and decapitation was what made him happy (so to speak).
Did you know: this god is said to have African Origin
A very scary festival, especially if you are the chosen one to die
As years went by and Christianity grew, such practices got banned and soon disappeared from the face of the Earth. Crom Dubh wasn't happy with it and decided to take up this form to collect the souls that were his and thus the Dullahan was born.
The Dullahan is closely related to the Banshees, they are both fairies (yes I know, not exactly the way you imagine fairies to be), but while the Banshee screams or cries as a warning of death that is to come, the Dullahan comes to claim the souls of the chosen victims.
No one knows for sure how the victims are selected but the Dullahan will not stop riding until it has claimed the soul of its victim. Where the Dullahan is seen, death soon follows
This being is depicted as a headless rider wearing black armor, riding a black horse. The horse often has glowing eyes which enables it to see to the far reaches of the earth to spot its victim. The Dullahan although headless, the head is not far away. The head is sometimes held in his hands or the saddle of the horse.
The Dullahan is also seen riding a carriage made of coffins, skulls of victims as lamps with candles to light its path as well as body parts (the thigh bone of dead humans as weels). He is often seen holding a whip made of human spine.
The coach moves so fast but makes no sound, that was his it got the name "the Silent coach". You hardly see it coming, and when you do, it's too late.
The horse has also been depicted as headless in some folklores with the ability to run very fast, so fast that the hoofs and the wheels of the carriages produce fires on which path they have trudged
One Dullahan is scary enough, but sadly there are more than one, each given a particular soul to harvest and will stop at nothing until they have claimed the would of their victims
Legend has it that hardly anyone who has seen the Dullahan has ever lived to tell the tale, it only needs to say the name of the victim after seeing them and the heart of the victim will stop at that instant.
The Dullahan rides with a specific goal to take the soul of its victims and will not stop riding until this task it's done, but it's not uncommon for innocent victims to be caught in the crossfire. Those who gaze directly at the Dullahan end up either blind or dead.
With the long whip made of human spine, it would take out the eyes of whoever saw him or pour a basin of blood on the person signifying they would be next
Trying to hide is pointless when it passes, all doors open in the presence of the Dullahan.
This is really scary, even for me.
Just like every being, the Dullahan has a weakness...Gold. Cool right? For the wealthy people.
The smallest form of gold is enough to scare the Dullahan, victims who are unfortunate to see this being will have to carry gold with them wherever they go. Sadly this is not a permanent solution because the Dullahan will hunt forever until its victim's soul has been claimed. The day they forget to keep gold (of any form) close to them, is the last day they spend alive.
Get it? "gold" "spend" eh? It's a joke, if you don't get it, you can leave it.
I'm slowly freaking out here.
Over the years, this story has been passed down and has gotten different interpretations as well as the origin as depicted by Washington Irving's movie, "the legend of the sleepy Hollow".
There is more to the origin of the Dullahan that I will not be able to fully cover in this article as it's open to even more debate. With this "brief" article on the myth surrounding the Dullahan, I hope we now have an idea into this scary yet interesting Celtic Folklore.
References
How tales of the headless horseman came from Celtic mythology - The Irish Times
Lead Image Source: Reddit
Plagiarism Check
It looks like one actor in hallow movie.