jupitersterrain four

The Irish dullahan or dulachán ("dark man") is a headless fairy, usually riding a black horse and carrying his head under one arm (or holding it high to see at great distance). He wields a whip made from a human corpse's spine. When the dullahanstops riding, a death occurs. The dullahan calls out a name, at which point the named person immediately perishes.  In another version, he is the headless driver of a black carriage.  A similar figure, the gan ceann ("without a head"), can be frightened away by wearing a gold object or casting one in his path

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a Middle English poem which utilises a decapitation myth

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