The Headless Horseman

Most of us associate the Headless Horseman with the American tale "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irvine. It is actually a motif in European folklore dating back as far as the Middle Ages (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headless_Horseman). Many of you probably saw the Disney cartoon at some point in your life – or some of the more modern movies retelling the tale. I am a Canadian and Irish citizen. Since my home is in Canada – I spend some time trying to reconnect to my Irish ancestry every now and then – through music – or research. I recently came upon a reference to a Celtic headless horseman – and while researching I came across the mythology behind a number of different headless horsemen from around the world.



American Folklore surrounding the headless horseman almost entirely is derived from the Washington Irvine story. “The legend of the Headless Horseman begins in Sleepy Hollow, New York, during the American Revolutionary War. Traditional folklore holds that the Horseman was a Hessian artilleryman who was killed during the Battle of White Plains in 1776. He was decapitated by an American cannonball, and the shattered remains of his head were left on the battlefield while his comrades hastily carried his body away. Eventually they buried him in the cemetery of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, from which each Halloween night he rises as a malevolent ghost, furiously seeking his lost head”( Steiner, Henry John (24 January 2014). "A Phantom is Born? 235 Years Ago". River Journal. Tarrytown, NY: River Journal Inc. Retrieved 14 October 2011.).



The Irish and Scottish Celtic tradition has its roots in battle as well. “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.”( Fox, David The Headless Horseman at Federated Caledonian Societies South Africa). The Irish dullahan in English is “dark man”. He is a headless demon of sorts – who carries a head at his side – lifting it up and down to see . He also carries a whip made from a human spine. When he calls out a name and a person dies. When he stops riding a person dies.



German folklore is interesting because in some variations of the story he is a hero for the people – seeking out capital criminals to feed his appetite. In other variations he blows a horn to warn hunters not to hunt the next day. It likely is most influenced by the Brothers Gimm who wo recount two German folktales of eye witness accounts.

Indian folklore shares similarities to the German version of the Headless Horseman in that he is portrayed as a heroic figure. “The jhinjhār is a headless horseman found in the folklore of Rajasthan
. Unlike most headless horsemen, the jhinjhār is often portrayed as a heroic figure. Most stories about the jhinjhār describe it as a Rajput prince who lost its head while defending a village or caravan from bandits but refusing to back down even after being beheaded, while other versions describe it as a Mughal cavalryman trying to defend its prince. In Madh Pradesh, folklore states that jhinjhārs are said to be born out of violent and wrongful deaths that occur in protecting innocents: they do not harm innocent people, and are also said to fight on foot as well as mounted on horseback. Jhinjhārs are said to be vulnerable to powdered indigo dye, which, if thrown on them, can dispel their frenzy and allow them to die peacefully.”( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headless_Horseman)

The story of Sleepy Hallow is really about love – or at least two men competing for an 18 year olds hand in marriage. The interpretation is that one man is really the horseman in disguise and makes the other man disappear - marrying the girl. The legend takes hold in the story when the townspeople promoted the idea that he was “spirited away by supernatural means”. The story is open to interpretation by design.

As long as movies like Harry Potter continue to be popular, the Headless Horseman motif will survive. We don’t know exactly when and where this legend began or how this legend will continue to develop in the future. One thing we know for sure - the headless horseman is ingrained into our culture as a metaphor, motif and depiction of evil or good - depending on where you live.