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 fairy.

Mythology

The dullahan (pronounced DOOL-a-HAN) is a headless rider, usually on a black horse who carries his or her own head under one arm. Usually the dullahan is male, but there are some female versions. The head and the mouth is usually in a hideous grin that touches both sides of the head. Its eyes are constantly moving about, and can see across the countryside even in the darkest nights. The flesh of the head is said to have the color and consistency of mouldy cheese. The dullahan uses the spine of a human corpse for a whip, and its wagon is adorned with funeral objects (e.g., candles in skulls to light the way, the spokes of the wheels are made from thigh bones, the wagon's covering made from a worm-chewed pall or dried human skin). When the dullahan stops riding, that is where a person is due to die. The dullahan calls out the person's name, at which point the person immediately perishes.

There is no way to bar the road against a dullahan—all locks and gates open to them when they approach. 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. They are frightened of gold, and even a single gold pin can drive a dullahan away.

See also

• Celtic mythology in popular culture
• Headless Horseman

External links

• The Dullahan Legend at Scary For Kids.
• Dullahan Website