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{{Villain Infobox
[[File:The_Headless_Horseman.png|thumb|300px|The Headless Horseman]]
 
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|image = The Headless Horseman.png
The '''Headless Horseman''' appears in many stories from European folklore. In America, the image was popularized by Washington Irving's short story ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. ''Since then, the Horseman has appeared in many movie adaptations. The most wildly excepted image of this ghostly figure is a man dressed in black who rides atop a black horse and carries a jack o Lantern under his arm which serves as his primary weapon though he can also be seen carrying an axe or sword.
 
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|size = 200
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|fullname = Unknown <small>(canonically)</small><br>
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Ewan <small>(Russian folklore)</small>
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|alias = The Headless Horseman<br>
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The Green Knight <small>(Celtic folklore)</small><br>
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The Wild Huntsman <small>(German folklore)</small><br>
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Dullahan/Dark Man <small>(Irish folklore)</small><br>
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The jhinjhār <small>(Indian folklore)</small>
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|origin = ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow''
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|occupation = Hessian soldier and mercenary <small>(American folklore, formerly)</small><br>
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Fairy <small>(Irish folklore, formerly)</small><br>
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Rajput prince <small>(Indian folklore, formerly)</small><br>
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Mughal cavalryman <small>(Indian folklore, formerly)</small><br>
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Serial killer
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|skills = Equestrianism<br>
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Haunting<br>
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Swordsmanship<br>
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Combat skills<br>
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Horse riding skills<br>
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High intelligence<br>
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Ferocity<br>
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Bloodlust<br>
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Throwing jack-o'-lanterns
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|hobby = Murdering people.<br>
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Collecting human heads.
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|goals = Collect the heads of the living.
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|crimes = Mass homicide<br>
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Stalking<br>
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Mutilations
 
|type of villain = Homicidal Ghost}}The '''Headless Horseman''' appears in many stories from European folklore. In America, the image was popularized by Washington Irving's short story ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow''. Since then, the Horseman has appeared in many movie adaptations. The most wildly excepted image of this ghostly figure is a man dressed in black who rides atop a black horse and carries a jack-o'-lantern under his arm which serves as his primary weapon though he can also be seen carrying an axe or sword.
   
 
==History==
 
==History==
 
===In American Folklore===
{{Stub}}
 
 
==In American Folklore.==
 
 
 
In Irving's short story, The Headless Horseman was a Hessian soldier in the American Revolutionary War who was killed in battle when a cannonball knocked off his head and has since been a spirit. He won't cross the church bridge. The story climaxes with his famous pursuit of Ichabod Crane, who disappears mysteriously from Sleepy Hollow. It is strongly implied, however, that the Horseman was Ichabod's love rival [[Brom Bones]] in disguise.
 
In Irving's short story, The Headless Horseman was a Hessian soldier in the American Revolutionary War who was killed in battle when a cannonball knocked off his head and has since been a spirit. He won't cross the church bridge. The story climaxes with his famous pursuit of Ichabod Crane, who disappears mysteriously from Sleepy Hollow. It is strongly implied, however, that the Horseman was Ichabod's love rival [[Brom Bones]] in disguise.
   
 
===In Celtic folklore===
 
===In Celtic folklore===
The Irish ''[[dullahan]]'' or ''dulachán'' ("dark man") is a headless fairy, usually riding a black horse and carrying his head under one arm (or holding it high to see at great distance). He wields a whip made from a human corpse's spine. When the ''dullahan'' stops riding, a death occurs. The dullahan calls out a name, at which point the named person immediately perishes. In another version, he is the headless driver of a black carriage. A similar figure, the ''gan ceann'' ("without a head") can be frightened away by wearing a gold object or casting one in his path.
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The Irish ''[[Dullahan (mythology)|dullahan]]'' or ''dulachán'' ("dark man") is a headless fairy, usually riding a black horse and carrying his head under one arm (or holding it high to see at great distance). He wields a whip made from a human corpse's spine. When the ''dullahan'' stops riding, a death occurs. The dullahan calls out a name, at which point the named person immediately perishes. In another version, he is the headless driver of a black carriage. A similar figure, the ''gan ceann'' ("without a head") can be frightened away by wearing a gold object or casting one in his path.
   
 
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. The battle denied him any chance to be a chieftain, and both he and his horse are headless in accounts of his haunting of the area.
 
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. The battle denied him any chance to be a chieftain, and both he and his horse are headless in accounts of his haunting of the area.
   
 
In the Walt Disney film ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People,'' a headless dullahan appears driving the coisté bodhar, or Death Coach, which carries souls to the afterlife.
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===In English Folklore===
 
''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is a Middle English poem which utilizes a decapitation myth. In this medieval story, the Green Knight rides into King Arthur's court and dares any knight to behead him with his own axe. After he is beheaded, the Knight simply picks his head up, and rides back out carrying it.
 
''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is a Middle English poem which utilizes a decapitation myth. In this medieval story, the Green Knight rides into King Arthur's court and dares any knight to behead him with his own axe. After he is beheaded, the Knight simply picks his head up, and rides back out carrying it.
   
In the Walt Disney film ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People,'' a headless dullahan appears driving the coisté bodhar, or Death Coach, which carries souls to the afterlife.
 
 
===In German folklore===
 
===In German folklore===
The German Legends of the Brothers Grimm (''Deutsche Sagen'') recount two German folk tales of a headless horseman.
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The ''German Legends'' of the Brothers Grimm (''Deutsche Sagen'') recount two German folk tales of a headless horseman.
   
One is set near Dresden in eastern Germany. In this tale, a woman from Dresden goes out early one Sunday morning to gather acorns in a forest. At a place called "Lost Waters", she hears a hunting horn. When she hears it again, she turns around she sees a headless man in a long grey coat sitting on a grey horse.
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One is set near Dresden in eastern Germany. In this tale, a woman from Dresden goes out early one Sunday morning to gather acorns in a forest. At a place called "Lost Waters", she hears a hunting horn. When she hears it again, she turns around she sees a headless man in a long gray coat sitting on a gray horse.
   
 
In another German tale, set in Braunschweig, a headless horseman called "the wild huntsman" blows a horn which warns hunters not to ride the next day, because they will meet with an accident.
 
In another German tale, set in Braunschweig, a headless horseman called "the wild huntsman" blows a horn which warns hunters not to ride the next day, because they will meet with an accident.
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In some German versions of the headless horseman, he seeks out the perpetrators of capital crimes. In others, he has a pack of black hounds with tongues of fire.
 
In some German versions of the headless horseman, he seeks out the perpetrators of capital crimes. In others, he has a pack of black hounds with tongues of fire.
   
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[[Category:Urban Legends]]

Revision as of 17:14, 25 May 2020

The Headless Horseman appears in many stories from European folklore. In America, the image was popularized by Washington Irving's short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Since then, the Horseman has appeared in many movie adaptations. The most wildly excepted image of this ghostly figure is a man dressed in black who rides atop a black horse and carries a jack-o'-lantern under his arm which serves as his primary weapon though he can also be seen carrying an axe or sword.

History

In American Folklore

In Irving's short story, The Headless Horseman was a Hessian soldier in the American Revolutionary War who was killed in battle when a cannonball knocked off his head and has since been a spirit. He won't cross the church bridge. The story climaxes with his famous pursuit of Ichabod Crane, who disappears mysteriously from Sleepy Hollow. It is strongly implied, however, that the Horseman was Ichabod's love rival Brom Bones in disguise.

In Celtic folklore

The Irish dullahan or dulachán ("dark man") is a headless fairy, usually riding a black horse and carrying his head under one arm (or holding it high to see at great distance). He wields a whip made from a human corpse's spine. When the dullahan stops riding, a death occurs. The dullahan calls out a name, at which point the named person immediately perishes. In another version, he is the headless driver of a black carriage. A similar figure, the gan ceann ("without a head") can be frightened away by wearing a gold object or casting one in his path.

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. The battle denied him any chance to be a chieftain, and both he and his horse are headless in accounts of his haunting of the area.

In the Walt Disney film Darby O'Gill and the Little People, a headless dullahan appears driving the coisté bodhar, or Death Coach, which carries souls to the afterlife.

In English Folklore

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a Middle English poem which utilizes a decapitation myth. In this medieval story, the Green Knight rides into King Arthur's court and dares any knight to behead him with his own axe. After he is beheaded, the Knight simply picks his head up, and rides back out carrying it.

In German folklore

The German Legends of the Brothers Grimm (Deutsche Sagen) recount two German folk tales of a headless horseman.

One is set near Dresden in eastern Germany. In this tale, a woman from Dresden goes out early one Sunday morning to gather acorns in a forest. At a place called "Lost Waters", she hears a hunting horn. When she hears it again, she turns around she sees a headless man in a long gray coat sitting on a gray horse.

In another German tale, set in Braunschweig, a headless horseman called "the wild huntsman" blows a horn which warns hunters not to ride the next day, because they will meet with an accident.

In some German versions of the headless horseman, he seeks out the perpetrators of capital crimes. In others, he has a pack of black hounds with tongues of fire.

Navigation

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Aliens (AC) | Amanda the Doll | Black Goo | Bloody Mary | Bunnyman | Charlie | China Doll | Clown Doll | Crisis | Crying Boy | Ghost (Johnny, I Want My Liver Back) | Ghost Trains | Hairy-Armed Woman | Hatman | Homey the Clown | Hook Killer | Illuminati | John and Susan Buckley | Joliet the Haunted and Cursed Doll | Kankandara | Kidney Thieves | Kunekune | La Tunda | Licking Maniac | The Man Upstairs | Martinez Dog Demon | Melon Heads | Men in Black | Momo | Mystery Killer | Nain Rouge | Nameless Thing of Berkeley Square | Orie Chef | Paimon | Patasola | Rain Man | Robert the Doll | The Seeker | Skinned Tom | The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water | Teke Teke

Possessed Objects
Amanda the Doll | China Doll | Clown Doll | Coffin on Wheels | Curse Jar | Ghost Trains | Joliet the Haunted and Cursed Doll | Painting of the French War | Robert the Doll

See Also
Theology Villains | Creepypasta Villains | SCP Foundation Villains | Trevor Henderson Villains

           Sleepy Hollow logo|Villains

Book
Headless Horseman

Movies
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad: Headless Horseman | Brom Bones
Sleepy Hollow (1999): Lady Van Tassel | Headless Horseman | Reverend Steenwyck
The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow (2003): Headless Horseman
Headless Horseman (2007): Headless Horseman | Satan

Television
Main
Moloch | Henry Parrish | Hidden One | Malcolm Dreyfuss

Moloch's Servants & Horsemen
Ancitif | Andy Brooks | Demons | Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | Conquest | Headless Horseman | Famine | Hessians (Gunthur) | War | Headless Horseman's Head | Gina Lambert | Lilith the Succubus | Order of the Blood Moon | Pied Piper | Serilda of Abaddon | Tree Monster

British Army
Abraham von Brunt | Banastre Tarleton | Benedict Arnold | William Howe

Hidden One's Servants
Pandora | Kindred

Dreyfuss Enterprises
Abraham von Brunt | Logan MacDonald | Helen Donovan | Jobe

Others
Atticus Nevins | Carmilla Pines | The Devil | Evil Frank Irving | Golem | James Colby | Katrina Crane | Leena Reyes | Mary Wells | Orion | Ro'kenhronteys | Solomon Kent | The Four Who Speak As One

Template:DreamWorks Villains

           Shrek Logo Villains

Kingdom of Duloc
Lord Farquaad | Thelonious | Duloc Guards (Captain of the Duloc Guards) | Stone Dragon

Fairy Godmother's Cottage
Fairy Godmother | Prince Charming | Elves

The Poison Apple
Prince Charming | Rapunzel | Captain Hook | Pirates | Evil Queen | Cyclops | Headless Horseman | Stromboli | Trees | Mabel | Rumpelstiltskin | Black Knights | Witches | Gnomes | Little Red Riding Hood

The Crone's Nest
Rumpelstiltksin | Witches (Griselda & Baba) | Pied Piper | Alternate Universe Dragon

Others
Merry Men | Monsieur Hood | Unidentified Witch | Shrek | Dragon | Shrek's Father | Santa Claus | Sugar | Jiminy Cricket | Ogre's Hunters | Chef Lady | Bandits | Merlin | Wicked Ice Queen | Frankendrop | The Keeper | Luna | Black Knight | Pinocchio's Evil Clones | Giants | Alternate Universe Fairy Godmother | Quasimodo

See Also
Puss in Boots Villains