The Headless Horseman.
The Headless Horseman is a legendary figure in English and American folklore. He is infamously known for his ascent to the mortal plane on Halloween, searching for his lost decapitated head and would kill anyone who so foolishly cross his path and take their heads as his own.
Description[]
The Headless Horseman is traditionally depicted as a man on horseback who is missing his head. Depending on the legend, the Horseman is either carrying his head, or is missing his head altogether, and is searching for it.
This entity is very similar to the headless reapers or demonic fae known as Dullahan in Irish myth with many believing that he is indeed a Dullahan especially given that he was raised by Crom Dubh upon the request of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Overview[]
The legend of the Headless Horseman (also known as "the Headless Hessian of the Hollow") begins in Sleepy Hollow, New York, during the American Revolutionary War. Traditional folklore holds that the Horseman was a Hessian trooper 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 he rises as a malevolent ghost, furiously seeking his lost head. Modern versions of the story refer his rides to Halloween, around which time the battle took place.
One belief detailing the possible origins of the Headless Horseman is his connection to the Celtic deity known as Crom Dubh. The Tuatha Dé Danann were displeased with the mistreat of the holiday known as Samhain, thus in response to this, they requested Crom Dubh make an exception by raising a soul in his care as a vengeful headless wraith and exact its fury upon those who do not follow the customs and rules of Hallows Eve treading upon the grounds of Sleepy Hollow.
The control of the Headless Horseman would then be relinquished to Samhain, the spirit of Halloween. During the holiday, the horseman would rise from his grave and act upon the orders of Samhain to kill anyone who disrespects the customs of Halloween as well as searching for his missing head. This makes the horseman as both a harbinger of the "Hallow's Death" and a vengeful spirit.