Dullahan

For today’s Vampire Wednesday were looking at yet another Irish Vampire. I never knew there were so many. I’m beyond excited!

Dullahan
The Dullahan is pronounced DAH-hool. He has a lot of variations to his name including Dullaghan, Far Dorocha, Gan Ceann, Headless Horseman

The Headless Horseman is well known from Washington Irving’s American retelling of the German folklore short story “The Ledend of Sleepy Hollow.”

After the potato famine started in 1845 people started saying the Banshee was accompanied by a headless man riding on a horse. They were seen particularly at midnight on Feast Days.

The Head was which was the color and texture of molded cheese, smiled from ear to ear. Sometimes the man would hold his head other times it was tied to the saddle. Some said that the horse was also headless.

There were also stories that the man drove a coach made of human thigh bones which was pulled by six black horse with skull heads, their eyes lit by candles in their sockets.

Really it doesn’t matter if he’s on horseback or if he’s driving a coach, he races down roads spreading disease, entire households suddenly fall ill.

Dullahan uses a bullwhip to lash out anyone’s eyes who happens to see him. He’s cursed with poor eyesight. Lucky victims get a bucket of blood tossed on them.

The Dullahan is incredibly greedy and will accept any momentary offering that’s thrown at him.

 

Photo Credit:
http://celticqueens.blogspot.com/2011/06/irish-dullahan.html
http://strangestate.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-irish-monsters.html