In the Alters’ World (and the series of books found here), creatures of legend reveal themselves to the world. Born through genetic abnormalities, defects and mutations, the Alters have lived for centuries as outcasts of human society, hiding their true nature from the world while colorful stories have been written by many to describe what they’ve seen. How are these creatures different from what was described in the stories? What relationship do they have with humanity? Every entry of the Alterpedia will delve into a new creature from around the world. This week we cover:
Dullahan
A haunting figure, the headless horseman roams the countryside hunting while typically carrying their own severed head under their arm. Though originally an Irish myth, an unseelie fairy, the Dullahan has grown to be more commonly associated with the Headless Horseman of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Because of this, the Dullahan sits in a strange place in folklore as both being incredibly well known and yet have very few people recognize its name.
With the rise of shows such as Sleepy Hollow, the figure of the Headless Horseman has come back to the cultural mind again. This raises a question: Does this dark rider truly exist, or is it just a folktale used to scare people into staying off the late night roads?