This ferocious creature also carries a whip made out of a human spine and a bucket of blood in some versions of the folklore, as if he weren't already frightening enough. This Irish demonic fairy rides on a great black horse - which itself is sometimes headless - or in a black carriage drawn by six horses. According to, the Dullahan holds his own head high up, which bears a hideous grin, small black eyes, and the smell of molding flesh. While uniquely terrifying in its own right, Irving's equestrian looks downright kid-friendly compared to Irish folklore's Dullahan. That specific tree, where Ichabod Crane first sees the horseman, marked the place where Major John André, a courier for the traitorous Benedict Arnold, was captured by local farmers and turned over to General George Washington, per The New York Times. The German auxiliary troops had been known for being particularly merciless in battle, killing their hostages and bayoneting retreating militia.Īs Irving wrote of the tranquil town in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the place seemed under some "witching power, that holds a spell over the minds of good people." In fact, spooky locations he names in his tale, like Major John André's Tree, are actually existing remnants from the war for American independence. As told by The New York Times, by name-checking the Hessian soldiers of the American Revolution, Irving conjured a familiar fear for contemporary readers. In fact, the battle of White Plains was a mere eight miles from the town of Sleepy Hollow, where Irving wrote his ghastly tale. During the American Revolution, German mercenaries fought alongside the British troops.
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