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Episode 30 – Halloween Episode: The Headless Horseman

Happy Halloween, Strangers! We here at Strange Woods Podcast are so proud to have hit one year of podcasting! To celebrate, we have a very special Halloween episode for ya'll: The Headless Horseman! Who is this mysterious and terrifying specter? Where did he come from? Is he just a work of fiction or is there some truth to his tale? Don't lose your head...we'll find out!

 

                                             STOP! INSIDE JOKES AHEAD!  

If you haven’t gotten to listen to the episode yet, spoiler alert! This post contains lots of stuff that will make waaay more sense if you listen to the episode before or while reading. So if you haven’t already, pump the brakes and listen to the episode or just click above to play so that you can be in on all the shenanigans to follow! 

 

Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/EQU8jVSH5G

Produced by Peter Woodward

Listener Story

This week, our listener story came from Angela from Texas. She discussed a rental home that had some reeeeally spooky stuff going on: sightings of ghost kids, weird sounds, and animals acting out! Creepy sauce.

Not a good time to lose one's head...

On this special Halloween episode, we dove into America’s first ghost story, The Headless Horseman!

For over 200 years, this tale has been known and celebrated: the huge headless rider in Sleepy Hollow that comes out nightly to lop the heads off his terrified victims! But what is the story behind the story? Was this enduring villain merely the work of an author’s imagination or did inspiration come from somewhere in history?

THE HISTORY

In Literature...

The Headless Horseman was introduced to the world in Washington Irving’s short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in 1820. The story is about Ichabod Crane, a lanky Connecticut schoolmaster that relocates to the small village of Sleepy Hollow in Tarrytown, NY. The area is known for its haunts and legends, the most famous of which is that of the ghost of Hessian soldier who was decapitated by a stray cannonball during the American Revolutionary War. He was said to ride nightly on horseback, carrying his severed head with him and looking for victims to decapitate. The superstitious schoolteacher eventually falls victim to this specter, although the ending is somewhat left to the reader’s interpretation. 

In TV and Cinema...

In 1949, Disney released an animated cartoon, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, bringing Irving’s characters to life on the small screen and setting their story to music with the voice of the incomparable Bing Crosby!

Here’s the cartoon if you wanna watch!

The Horseman has also been featured in several television shows and films more recently, most notably the 1999 movie Sleepy Hollow starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. 

In real life...

Headless Horseman fans and curious spooky people can visit Sleepy Hollow in New York if they choose. The setting for the story is an actual place! In fact, in 1996, the area of North Tarrytown officially changed its name to Sleepy Hollow. 

During spooky season, visitors can attend such events as the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, the Haunted Hayride, Legend Cirque, and The Sleepy Hollow Haunted House!

Year-round, visitors can see the Headless Horseman Bridge, the Headless Horseman Statue, The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse, and Sunnyside: the home of author Washington Irving. There are shows, tours, and exhibits aplenty! Sounds like a blast. Definitely putting that on my list of things to do!

Here’s the link to the website. Check that out!

Home

THE MYSTERY

Where did this legendary figure come from? What are his roots? Let’s find out…

Ewen of the Little Head

One potential origin story is that of Ewen of the Little Head of Scotland in the 1500s. Accounts vary from source to source with slightly different names, details,  and components to the tale that led to Ewen’s unfortunate death and resurrection as the the Headless Horseman. 

In general, the legend states that the Headless Horseman began his life as Eoghan a’Chinn Bhig (Ewen of the Little Head), son and heir of the fifth chief of the MacIaines of Lochbuie. He was called “Little Head” for his frequent acts of foolishness. He was supposed to be the heir to the position of chief of his clan, but was not well-respected. He also had a very domineering and unpleasant wife. Ewen was pushed by his wife to either request more land from his father or in other sources, demand that his father name him as official heir to being chief. Whatever the request his father refused him, angering and shaming Ewen greatly. He and his father argued, leading Ewen to challenge his father. During battle, Ewen was decapitated, possibly during the Isle of Mull skirmish of 1538.

It is believed he still haunts that area, headless and angry…and that he rides a headless horse! 

Here’s a video about that!

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Another potential source for the Headless Horseman legend lies within a volume of children’s stories. The Brothers Grimm traveled Germany in the early 1800s collecting local legends and folklore from peasants to create a compendium of stories. We know them from such classics as Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood. 

Contained in their stories was also the presence of a headless horseman in two separate tales. The first was about a woman gathering acorns in the forest who hears a hunting horn. She turns to see a headless rider in a gray coat sitting on a gray horse. 

The second was about a man named Hackelberg who was so devoted to hunting, he didn’t want to go to heaven. Instead, he begged God to let him hunt on Earth until Judgement Day. In the story, God grants his request and he becomes “The Wild Huntsman”, with he and his black hounds roaming Germany on an endless hunt. 

The Dullahan

The most complete and what seems to be the most likely origin for the Headless Horseman comes from Irish folklore with roots in Celtic mythology. The story is that of the Dullahan, also called Gan Ceann (pronounced GAHN KEY-AHN) which means “without a head” in Gaelic. 

The Dullahan is a demonic fairy who carries his own rotting head in one hand and uses the other hand to wield a whip made of human spines. Whoa.

The Dullahan

He is a harbinger of death who is said to be an adaptation of the Celtic god, Crom Dubh. Crom Dubh was known to demand blood sacrifices through decapitation. The Irish believe that when Christianity came to Ireland in the 6th century and sacrificial rituals were condemned, Crom Dubh took physical form as the Dullahan to continue getting the souls he wanted. 

His description is pretty gross. He wears a long black cloak and is covered in rotting flesh. His severed head has the foul odor of rotting cheese with the complexion of stale dough. Harsh. Furthermore, the mouth on the head has a terrifying grin, and the eyes are lit up and dart back and forth looking for victims. 

The Dullahan is also depicted as riding a black horse that is sometimes also headless, or he is driving a carriage pulled by six black horses with fire coming from their nostrils and hooves. 

Furthermore, no gate can stay locked against him, and anyone who looks at him is immediately blinded. This is because he whips out their eyes with his spine whip or throws a basin of blood into their eyes! Yikes.

On each journey he makes, he apparently can speak only once stating the name of the soul he wishes to take that night. There is no escape once he says the name and it draws out the soul of the victim.

He is not invincible, however. He can only frightened by precious metal–some sources say gold–which can be thrown before him on the ground, causing him to retreat. Gold = demon fairy repellent. 

WHAT ELSE DID WE DISCUSS?

This is Bing Crosby...

For the children who don’t know…This is Bing Crosby. He was a singer/crooner back in the 1940s. He had a very distinctive voice and was famous for his songs and voice work in television, radio, and movies. He is probably most known for his Christmas songs like “White Christmas”. And he is, of course, the singer and narrator for Disney’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” cartoon that we talk about in this episode. 

Inflatable Godzilla and T-Rex Costumes...

We approve. Yay, Halloween!

Helena Bonham Carter

For the children who don’t know…This is Helena Bonham Carter. She is amazing. Famous for her roles in Fight Club, the Harry Potter series, Sweeney Todd, and most of Tim Burton’s movies, she’s truly a great actress. 

Mike the Headless Chicken

Chicken whose head was chopped off in Colorado in 1945 that lived for 18 months afterward…gross.

Darby O'Gill and the Little People

Darby O’Gill and The Little People starring Mr. Sean Connery himself. You may know him better as…oh, I don’t know…Bond…

The Wild Hunt

The Wild Hunt is a legend that is known all across Europe that, generally speaking, is a nighttime ride attended by a supernatural group of hunters in pursuit of prey. The type of creatures or beings that hunt and are hunted vary from place to place. 

Jeremy's "art" that you couldn't see...

Jeremy shot this picture of…art…over to the group during recording. It says “The Headless Horseman” under the drawing. So…yeah…art. 

STRANGE WOODS RECOMMENDS...

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

It’s awesome. Check it out.

Outlander

This dirty, dirty show. Heehee.

Again...Mr. Ballen

He’s great. We’re fans. Go watch him on YouTube if you’re a fan of the strange, dark, and mysterious delivered in story format. 

Black Rifle Coffee

Coffee…nectar of the gods. This coffee is exceptional. And…excuse me, Headless Horseman’s Roast? I mean…you gotta, right?

Thanks for coming back and hanging out! Hope you enjoyed this episode and your Halloween is spooktacular!

Please let us know how we’re doing and if there are any future topics/stories you’d like us to cover!

We love ya, Strange fam!

Remember a few things:

1) Beware of spontaneous teleportation…

2) Headless Horse Man = decapitated centaur

3) Try to keep your head on straight…and attached…

and never forget to Stay Strange! 😉

LATER, STRANGERS!


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