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Legend Of The Headless Horseman 79

The legend of the headless Jagendteufel, set near Dresden, in eastern headless harbinger of death, and he is
Germany, a woman gathering acorns in a place considered to be the first ever headless
horseman originates with called “Lost Waters” hears a hunting horn and horsemen found in history books. No one really
turns around to see the headless “hunting devil” knows where or by whom the Dullahan first
Celtic beliefs about a standing over her. In Brunswick, a “Wild mentioned, but his existence is bound to an

harbinger of death who Huntsman” warns hunters not to hunt. If they do ancient Celtic god, Crom Cruach, the Dark God
decide to go against his will and get to see him of the Burial Mound.
came to speak one’s name in the woods, it’s already too late. According to the legend, about 15
And a few centuries back in time, a centuries ago Ireland was ruled by the sacred
writer who preferred to stay anonymous wrote a High Kings. They were god-given rulers, and
Martin Chalakoski
poem about a gigantic green knight who came to King Tighermas considered himself to be a
Camelot to test the king’s knights’ loyalty and direct descendant of this dark lord. The god he
honor. He dared the men to chop off his head, on worshiped demanded human sacrifices to be
“Gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak,
condition that the knight brave enough to swing made in his name each and every year, so land
Ichabod was horror-struck on perceiving that he
the axe will agree to meet him again in a year and women could bring life into the next one. He
was headless! But his horror was still more and a day and willingly bend his head in front of was at the same time the god of death and
increased on observing that the head, which him to receive an axe blow in return. Not fertility; this was a death for life sacrifice and
should have rested on his shoulders, was carried
surprisingly, King Arthur was first to volunteer Crom Cruach’s preferred method was
before him on the pommel of his saddle!”-
and take on this strange man’s strange challenge. decapitation.
Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy
But his nephew, the youngest knight at the round The Metrical Dindshenchas, a collection
Hollow.
table, proposed to do the deed instead of the of ancient texts, tells us that people from Ireland
The 1820s classic tale about Ichabod
King, and with one swift swing he chopped this praised the god upon their king’s request by
Crane was penned under ideal circumstances.
giant’s head off. giving up their firstborn in return for a rich
“Local tales and superstitions thrive best in these
Sir Gawain expected this uninvited harvest the next year. Children’s heads were
sheltered, long settled retreats,” wrote guest, now headless, to fall dead to the ground of smashed on a worshiping stone representing
Washington Irving of his story about Ichabod course. Surprisingly, he just picked his bleeding Crom Cruach, and their blood was then
Crane, the slight, smart Oxford schoolteacher
head up from the ground and reminded the spattered around.
and his “face-to-face” rendezvous with a
knight about the pledge before riding off on his Somewhere in the 6th century, according
headless horseman.
green horse with his head fixed on the pommel to the legend, St. Patrick found this stone and
Irving’s sheltered and long settled retreat
of his saddle. smashed part of it to pieces. He banished the
was in a small village on the banks of the
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one dark lord to hell and ended this ruthless pagan
Hudson River in Westchester County, New
of the best known and the most discussed practice, along with the sacrificial religion. The
York, and therein thrived the legend of a Hessian
Arthurian stories. It is above all a story of worshiping stone known as the Killycluggin
trooper whose head was taken off by a morality, dignity, and honor, yet it’s far from the Stone now sits inside the museum of Cavan
cannonball during the Revolutionary War. only one from medieval Europe to mention a County and speaks of the times when St. Patrick
Beheaded and buried headless in Sleepy
headless horseman. In fact, there are at least a brought the Christian faith into Ireland.
Hollow’s churchyard, he was believed to hunt
dozen tales and legends from the time that The old religion was losing its favor
the premises at night, desperately searching for
mention a headless apparition, most of which among the people who turned to Christianity
his missing head. It was a local favorite
came from Scotland and Ireland. instead, but it took a while until they stopped
superstition. The legend had it that those
If “local tales and superstitions thrive shaking at the thought that the Crom Cruach
unfortunate enough to met him were never heard
best in sheltered, long settled retreats,” as Irving never died, but just took on a new form. They
from again.
put it, these two countries were almost entirely feared he was still around and was still very
This wasn’t the first recorded story in the made out of such retreats in the past, and their much on his agenda to fulfill his yearly quota. In
world of a headless horseman. There are a folklore is one filled with cautionary tales about the people’s view, a god so dark could never
number of these tales in ghost lore; the Brothers
evil spirits and vindictive fairies. One of them is perish and was harvesting souls one way or
Grimm published two such German folk tales
the legend of the Dullahan, or Gan Ceann, the another. (Continued on Page 80)
from two separate towns. In the tale of Hans