The Dullahan

“The Dullahan. That’s a good choice,” said my friend Declan, the leprechaun, during our latest Zoom chat. “It’s about time more people learned what inspired the story of the Headless Horseman that Mr. Washington Irving made so famous.”

 

I had to agree. My latest novel, Death’s Fair Maiden, features a banshee, and I thought a good supernatural foil for her would be the Dullahan. 

 

The earliest records of the Dullahan go back to the sixth century, but it is supposed to be tied to the ancient Celtic god, Crom, who’d been worshipped in Ireland millennia ago. An ancient king, Tigermas, led a cult that worshipped Crom and part of that worship required human sacrifices that involved beheading the victim. As the presence of Christianity grew, Crom’s worship began dying off, but Crom still needed his sacrifices, and he manifested himself on Earth in the form of the Dullahan in order to have his sacrifices. 

It must be noted that, for centuries, beheadings were all the rage in ancient Ireland. It was practiced both in battle and as a form of punishment. The ancient Irish believed the head was where the soul was located, so when they removed the heads of their enemies they were also damaging their soul. 

The Dullahan was introduced to the masses in the 19th century collections of Irish folklore assembled by Thomas Crofton Croker and WB Yeats. It could be male or female. Most of the time, their head is still with them, either tucked under their arm or floating close to their bodies. The Dullahan uses a whip made from a human spine and rides a giant black steed. The steed shoots sparks and flames from its nostrils when it runs, but in some stories the steed is headless like its rider.

The Dullan’s head is supposed to have the color and texture of either stale dough or moldy cheese and is quite smooth. A rictus grin splits the face from ear to ear, and the eyes, which are small and black, dart about like malignant flies. The entire head glows with the phosphorescence of decaying matter and the Dullahan may use it as a lantern to guide its way through the darkness. 

The Dullahan possessed supernatural sight. Holding his severed head up high, he can see for vast distances across the countryside, even on the darkest night. Using this power, he can spy the house of a dying person, no matter where it lies. 

The Dullahan is a harbinger of death, sort of like the banshee, except the Dullahan isn’t attached to a particular family. Its victims appear to be random. However, since the Dullahan is connected to Crom, it is safe to assume the victim was chosen to be a sacrifice for one reason or another.

There’s no way to block the Dullahan’s path. All locks and gates burst open as it approaches. They don’t like being watched either when they’re on these gruesome errands. Anyone who sees the Dullahan is rewarded by having a basin of blood thrown in their faces, or by being struck blind in one eye with their whip.

There are some stories of the Dullahan being less predatory. In them, he also drives a black coach instead of riding a steed. It’s known the coach-a-bower or “silent coach.” It’s drawn by six black horses, which are sometimes headless themselves and travels so fast that the friction created by its movement often sets on fire the bushes along the sides of the road. The wagon is adorned with funeral objects like candles in skulls to light the way, and the spokes of the wheels are made from thigh bones. The wagon's covering is made from a worm-chewed pall or dried human skin. When the Dullahan stops riding, that is where a person is due to die and when a Dullahan calls out the person's name, the person immediately perishes. They join other departed souls inside the coach, and the Dullahan then drives them to the afterlife. 

I first read about the Dullahan many years ago and am excited to have now found the perfect story to include him in, Death’s Fair Maiden. Coming soon. Get ready for it.