Dullahan

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The Irish Dullahan (also Durahan, Gan Ceann) is a type of unseelie faerie. It is headless, usually seen riding a headless black horse and carrying his head under one arm. The head's eyes are massive and constantly dart about like flies, while the mouth is constantly in a hideous grin that touches both sides of the head. The flesh of the head is said to have the color and consistency of moldy cheese. When the dullahan stops riding, a mortal dies. There is no way to bar the road against a dullahan--all locks and gates open on their own when it approaches. Also, they do not appreciate being watched while on their errands, throwing a basin of blood on those who dare to do so. Nonetheless, they are frightened of gold, and even a single gold pin can drive a dullahan away. The myth may have inspired The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

The Dullahan is portrayed in fantasy fiction and video games as a beheaded knight who carries his severed head under one arm while viciously attacking interlopers in the place that is haunted by the Dullahan. They also have some magic in their bodies, giving them magical swords or the ability to breathe fire from the severed head. Alternately, the Dullahan may be an animated suit of armor.

[edit] Dullahan in Fiction

In the Castlevania series, the Dullahan is typically one of the game's earlier bosses, carrying its head and attacking the hero with a lance. In later games, he's a headless knight, carrying a demonic shield inscribed with a face which acts as its head, or, he is a headless horseman riding the front end of an undead horse back and forth, while wielding a sword or spear. He is also in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness as a boss near the end of the game. The name is frequently mistranslated to transliterations or corruptions such as "Dhuron".

In Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Dullahan is an incredibly difficult optional boss, appearing as a headless knight with a rather large sword - generally considered the most difficult in the game - and guards a powerful summon.

This mythological creature also appears as an enemy in Lufia 2, however in the English version its name got mistranslated into Jurahan.

The Dullahan appears as a boss character in the videogame Shadowman: 2econd Coming. In the game, he is the alternate form of a demon named Farduroth, and appears as an enormous knight whose head detaches and flies above the arena.

In Vagrant Story dullahan is a type of animated armor, always without a helmet, and appears mostly in the Undercity section of Lea Mondé after you defeat him in the Wine Cellars.

In Ragnarok Online, Dullahans are heavily armored monsters who remove their heads to use as a weapon against players. They are fairly difficult and appear in the fields of Niflheim, as well as in the town itself.

Dullahan is a mini-boss in the game Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest atop Mt. Gale. He also appears in Final Fantasy VI as the boss in Daryl's Tomb in the form of a skeletal charioteer pulled by purple-flaming skeletal horses.

In Dragon Quest VIII, the Dullahans are like the ones in Castlevania. They appear as the enemies Dark Dullahan, Dullahan, and Hell's Gatekeeper.

In Shining Force, sword-wielding creatures who serve once as a boss and afterwards as minions bearing the aforementioned resemblance also appear, but are more in purple color and fully centaur. They do not have obvious magical powers though they can put allies to sleep, poison them and carry the dreaded Doom Blade which can kill the foe instantly. Strangely they are absent from Shining force II.

In the Monster Rancher series, there exists a monster named Durahan that's a hollow suit of armor specializing in strong attack and defense.

The Dullahan is an enemy in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. It is a hovering suit of armor whose only weak point is its backside.

In Capcom's cult classic Gotcha Force, there are both Ghost Knights and an Elemental Knights that can be fought and/or used by players. Both of them are hollow, ghostly suits of armors (missing several pieces, so one can easily see that they're empty) that float around, and are completely without heads. The gigantic swords that they wield have their heads near the bottom of the blade and merged into the pommel.

In the Squaresoft fighting game, Tobal No.1 for the Playstation 1, Dullahan appears as a possessed headless suit of armor in the game's dungeon mode. He has a very low life bar which allows the player to defeat him quickly but he also possesses a very high offense rate which also requires for the player to exercise caution when fighting him.

Dullahan appears in several Final Fantasy games as a boss monster.

In Disgaea Dullahans are the third level of the Dark Knight monster class.

In the arcade game Ghouls'n'Ghosts, Dullahan is the first end of level boss. He appears as a large statue which sheds it stone skin as the player approaches. He then lifts his head from his shoulders, and carries it above and in front on his body as it spits fire at the player.