Headless Horseman
[2] Some versions of the story claim the dullahan is the spirit of Crom Dubh, a Celtic god worshipped in Ireland until the arrival of Christian missionaries in the 6th century.
[5] The most prominent Scottish tale of the headless horseman concerns a man named Ewen decapitated in a clan battle at Glen Cainnir on the Isle of Mull.
[6] Among the Highland Scottish diaspora in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, seeing the image or hearing the sound of a horse or headless rider is traditionally regarded as an omen of an imminent death within the family.
[10] Another version of the legend spoke of Der Kopflose Reiter (the headless horseman), who would warn the living of impending danger and chase down and punish the wicked.
[15] Washington Irving's gothic story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" features a character known as the Headless Horseman believed to be a Hessian soldier who was decapitated by a cannonball in battle during The American War of Independence.
[18][need quotation to verify] The comic book series Chopper, written by Martin Shapiro, is a modern-day reimagining of the Headless Horseman.
[22] This rendition of the Headless Horseman was also featured in the television series House of Mouse in recurring cameo appearances, along with the 2023 short film Once Upon a Studio.
[23] In the 1999 Tim Burton film Sleepy Hollow, the Headless Horseman is the ghost of a murderous Hessian mercenary (performed by Ray Park in Headless Horseman form and portrayed by Christopher Walken in his true form) summoned by Katrina Van Tassel's stepmother Lady Van Tassel to eliminate her enemies after she stole his skull from his grave and used it to control him.
[24] The Kolchak: The Night Stalker episode "Chopper" (initially broadcast on January 31, 1975)[25] features a headless motorcyclist who enacts revenge for the loss of his head on a rival biker gang,[26][27] 20 years after his murder.
[30] The 2013 series Sleepy Hollow, loosely inspired by Irving's original story, depicts the Headless Horseman as both the ghost of Abraham "Brom" Bones and as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The horseman also appears in many other games such as Assassin's Creed III, Assassin's Creed Rogue, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, Roblox, Fate/Grand Order, Team Fortress 2 and World of Warcraft as a minor or secret and usually adversarial character or even an in-game costume.
[32] Since 1983, Conner Prairie Interactive Historic Park in Fishers, Indiana has held a Headless Horseman festival celebrating the legend with a haunted corn maze and other activities.
