Death Coach

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A death coach is a part of folk lore. Sight or sound of the coach is a harbinger of death, either of those perceiving it themselves or a relative.[1]

The belief exists as part of folklore in both the British Isles and America. It is particularly mentioned in Irish folklore, where it is known as a coach-a-bower, and the driver is frequently a headless horseman, called the Dullahan.[2] The coach is mentioned by W. B. Yeats in his collection Folk tales of Ireland.[3] A death coach is said to be seen at times on the Royal Mile of Edinburgh, where it is said to collect the souls of the dead. The coach has been portrayed in the film Darby O'Gill and the Little People.[4]

In Ireland the Death Coach is seen as a signifier of the inevitability of death, as the belief goes once it has come to Earth it can never return empty. Thus, once the death of an individual has been decided by a greater power, mortals may do nothing to prevent it.

[edit] References

  1. ^ A Folklore Survey of County Clare: The Death Coach
  2. ^ The Coach-A-Bower - Ghosts, Hauntings, Folklore & Mythology
  3. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zJ5jDUwgJFQC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=%22death+coach%22+folk&source=web&ots=FzraHjIjX5&sig=bWqV1QZAkYOQ8L_WAEHvNsfbpJE&hl=en#PPA43,M1
  4. ^ The Magic of Darby O'Gill (Wade's Wayback Machine) by Wade Sampson

[edit] See also