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. The dullahan's whip is actually a human corpse's spine, and the wagons they sometimes use are made of similarly funereal objects (e.g. candles in skulls to light the way, the spokes of the wheels made from thigh bones, the wagon's covering made from a worm-chewn pall). When the dullahan stops riding, it is at where a person due to die is. The dullahan calls out their name, at which point they immediately perish.

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 (often a mark that they're among the next to die), or even lashing out the watchers' eyes with their whips. Nonetheless, they are frightened of gold, and even a single gold pin can drive a dullahan away. The myth may have inspired the Headless Horseman in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Another legendary parallel is the Green Knight, in the medieval story of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," who is otherworldly, greenish in color, hostile, determined to take Sir Gawain's life and, after Sir Gawain strikes him, headless. This story has antecedents in the ancient Feast of Bricriu, with legendary Irish warrior Cu Chulainn in the role later played by Sir Gawain. See also Celts as head hunters

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 Disney film Darby O'Gill and the Little People, a dullahan makes an appearance as the coachman of the Cóiste Bodhar (death coach). Upon the arrival of the Death Coach, the dullahan calls out Darby's name and orders him to board the coach. Darby reluctantly complies and is borne into the heavens on the way to the afterlife, but his life is saved by the wily King Brian Connors, who tricks him into wishing a fourth wish, negating them all and causing Darby to be ejected from the coach.
  • In Treasure of the Rudras, Dullahan is a floating cuirass and the arm pieces of the armor, and appears as a common enemy in the haunted castle.
  • 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, due to his use of exceedingly powerful attacks, one of which has a chance to instantly kill most of your party - and guards a powerful summon. He may also be summoned by the correct character class before or after defeating the boss.
  • This mythological creature also appears as an enemy in Lufia 2, however in the English version its name got mistranslated into Jurahan.
  • 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. They are also found in Final Fantasies III, IX, and XII.
  • In Dragon Quest VIII, the Dullahans are like the ones in Castlevania, headless armors with a somewhat expressive face on their shield and wielding a flail. They appear as the enemies Dark Dullahan, Dullahan, and Hell's Gatekeeper. The Dullahan version is also an obtainable monster in the spin-off Dragon Quest Monsters, specifically the Joker version.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • In Saint Seiya, one of Hades' 108 Spectres wears the Surplice (armor) of Dullahan.
  • In Shadow Man: 2econd Coming for PlayStation 2, the Grigori Sephiroth member Farduroth is heavily suggested to be Dullahan's true form. He is headless and wields a massive flaming sword made of a material called "nephilim".
  • Dullahan is a minor character in Shrek the Third but is credited as Headless Horseman.
  • In Valkyrie Profile: Dullahans are common enemies found on dungeons, they are represented by a headless animated suit of heavy armor.
  • In Final Fantasy 6: Dullahan appears as a boss in front of Daryl's grave before you achieve ownership of the second airship.
  • Dullahan appear in a short story written by Diane Duane entitled "Herself", which can be found in a collection of Irish fantasy short stories, Emerald Magic (ISBN: 0765344238)

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