Also called Dúlachán, Gan Ceann, the headless horseman.
The tale
The Dullahan is a headless rider on a black horse, carrying his own head, which glows and grins, under his arm. Where he stops, someone dies, and he calls their name. Those who watch him pass may have a basin of blood thrown in their faces. Some tales give him a black coach, the cóiste bodhar, drawn by headless horses.
When they are met
- on lonely roads at night
- around Samhain
Staying on their good side
- stay indoors and keep the curtains drawn when he is said to pass
- carry something of gold, which he is said to fear
- never watch him pass
Honouring them, or keeping safe
- Treat his tales as reminders of mortality rather than things to call on.
- Tell his stories safely by the fire at Samhain.
What their tales teach
- the tales teach respect for death
- facing fear
Symbols
- the head carried in the hand
- the black horse
- the whip of a human spine
- the coach
Most accounts come from nineteenth-century collections, and details differ from region to region.
Sources
- Croker, Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland
- Yeats, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry
More Celtic folklore
- The Banshee The keening woman of the fairy mound
- Selkies The seal folk who come ashore
- The Púca The shape-shifter of November
- The Aos Sí The people of the fairy mounds
- The Kelpie The water horse of the lochs
- The Tylwyth Teg The Fair Family of Wales
- Leprechaun The solitary fairy shoemaker
- Clurichaun The fairy of the wine cellar