Dullahan

This article is about the Irish mythological figure. For the Thoroughbred racehorse, see Dullahan (horse).

The Irish dullahan (also Gan Ceann, meaning "without a head" in Irish) is a type of unseelie fairie.

Mythology

The Dullahan is a headless rider, usually seen on a black horse and carries his own head under one arm. The head's eyes are small, black, and constantly dart about like flies, while the mouth is constantly in a hideous grin that touches both sides of the head. The flesh of the head is said to have the color and consistency of moldy cheese. The Dullahan's whip is actually the spine of a human corpse, and the wagons they sometimes use are made of similarly funereal objects (e.g. candles in skulls to light the way, the spokes of the wheels made from thigh bones, the wagon's covering made from a worm-chewn pall). When the dullahan stops riding, it is where a person is due to die. The dullahan calls out their name, at which point they immediately perish.

There is no way to bar the road against a dullahan — all locks and gates open on their own when it approaches. Also, they do not appreciate being watched while on their errands, throwing a basin of blood on those who dare to do so (often a mark that they are among the next to die), or even lashing out the watchers' eyes with their whips. Nonetheless, they are frightened of gold, and even a single gold pin can drive a dullahan away.

Popular culture

• Several Castlevania games feature the Dullahan figure, although as undead rather than faeries. They first featured in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for the Nintendo Entertainment System as "Headless Hunters", and again under the same name in Super Castlevania IV for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. They appear in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, this time adopting the name "Dhuron", which was most likely a phonetic mistranslation. The Dullahan was featured as a "boss" enemy in the Japanese-only PC Engine game Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, as well as the more widely distributed Super Nintendo game it inspired, Castlevania: Dracula X (Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss in Europe), and the Nintendo DS game Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. More recently, the character was featured in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Castlevania: The Arcade (only in Japan and Europe), and Pachislot Akumajō Dracula II (only in Japan).
• The Disney film Darby O'Gill and the Little People does not name the Dullahan directly, but portrays it as the headless driver of the Cóiste Bodhar.
• In the Golden Sun franchise, Dullahan appears as a powerful boss monster and ally that can be called by the Necromage class.
• The Dullahan makes several appearances as an enemy in the Final Fantasy series of games.
• In the Vagrant Story video game, the Dullahan is a boss that the protagonist, Ashley Riot, encounters early on.
• In the Blue Dragon video game, the Dullahan is a robotic headless centaur who is the mini-boss on the Road to Jibral.
• In the Durarara!! anime and manga, a Dullahan named Celty Sturluson is featured as a main character.
• In the Hataraku Maou-sama!/The Devil is a Part-Timer anime and manga, Devil King Sadao's mundane bicycle is referred to as 'The Dullahan'.
• In the Lost Girl episode "Where There's a Will, There's a Fae," a Dullahan mercenary is present.
• In the Strider 2, for the original PlayStation, a Dullahan appears as a Stage Boss.
• One of the recurring creature types in the Monster Rancher franchise is the Durahan, named using a Romanization of the Japanese pronunciation of the word "dullahan." Although typically appearing as a spectral suit of armor, the flavor text of the creature references the dullahan myths.
• In the game Shining Force (Sega Genesis), he is an enemy known as "Durahan". Players may be fooled at first by a large face but that is only a decoration on his armor for upon closer inspection, you will see that he has no head.
• In the book Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil by Derek Landy, A Dullahan appears to take Stephanie to Dr. Nye so she can have him seal her true name.
• In the Hallmark movie "The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns" (1999), a troupe of leprechauns has a brief encounter with a very depressed Dunlang the Dullahan.

See also

• Celtic mythology in popular culture
• Headless Horseman

External links

• The Dullahan Legend at Scary For Kids.
• Dullahan Website
• [1]