Dullahan: Ireland's Headless Rider on a Black Horse

There is an Irish legend, slightly less famous than the banshee, called the Dullahan.

He is a headless knight who rides a black horse, holding his own head under one arm. That head grins with its mouth split wide to the ears, skin like moldy cheese, and a pair of eyes like flies, constantly turning, able to see far off even in pitch-black night. In some stories, his whip is made of a human spine, and he drives a "coffin wagon" hung with dead men's bones and skulls, lit with candles.

Wherever he rides, someone dies. If he stops before a house, someone in that household is done for; if he calls a person's name, that person drops dead on the spot. Legend says he is not out to harm people, but is simply sent to collect the souls of the dead.

However, he has a weakness: he fears gold. As soon as he sees even a bit of gold, he is frightened away. So, in the old days, people supposedly placed a gold coin at their door, or sewed one into their clothes.

This is a story Irish people tell children. Every Halloween, some Irish children dress up as him, holding a fake head. Some say the famous headless rider in America's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" drew inspiration from this kind of Irish and German tale.

#Ghosts #网络转载 #世界民俗