Tuesday, April 5, 2016

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- DULLAHAN, DRY HANDS

Your stomach ties into knots as you rush down the deserted road.  The midnight hour is nigh. Galloping hooves approach. A cold breeze sweeps over you.  A rider in black draws near enough to see his cloak dancing behind him.

You want to run, but your body betrays you.  The rider has no head. Staring helplessly, your heart stops as the last thing you see is the flash of his whip.

The Dullahan is considered to be an Unseelie fairy.  He rides with his head (full of razor like teeth and complete with creepy grin) under his arm and a whip made of a spinal column.  His is sent to collect souls of the dead (and/or to kidnap them and bring them into the realm of the fey.)

This dark creature will only stop to kill.  He does not like to be witnessed and will blind a person (whiplash . . . heh heh heh) or splash them with blood as punishment.  Some believe those marked will be the next to die.  And if he calls out a name --BAM! History. Gone. Dead. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

No locked door or bar across the road can stop a Dullahan.  He only has one weakness.  Gold.  Gold frightens him. Toss a bit of gold at him and run like the devil is after you . . .  because he is.

At one time, it was believed that he was under the command of the queen of the fairies.  She would send him to wither a limb or blind a person who betrayed the secrets of the fey court (aka those lucky few that escaped back to the human realm).

His severed head is described as to be like moldy cheese and sometimes glows like phosphorous.  Hie eyes are supposed to dart like flies.

Also called Gan Ceann, Durahan, Dark Man.  He is associated with the Celtic god Crom Dubh.  This god wanted human sacrifice each year.  When his worship dwindled it is believed he became the Dullahan to continue receiving souls.

The Dullahan is also said to be the driver of the Cóiste Bodhar. A great example is the Disney movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People.
gh
"I never liked him," your friend says as she works a ripe corn cob from the stalk. "He wanted to marry me, but I did not want him.  His hands were cold and clammy.  They made my skin crawl."

Your gaze does not move from your own plant. "You should not speak ill of the dead.  It will bring trouble."

Something flashes into your view.

Her scoffing noise turns into a frightened squeal.   You look to her. Your scream echoes through the field.

A disembodied hand grips your friend withering face.

Dry Hands or Fingers is a legend from the Seneca, Cayuga, and Iroquois. Oniate (oh-nee-ah-ten) is a mummified hand that will come to punish a person who behaves badly, which includes speaking ill of the dead, is a busy body that can't stay out of people's business, or tries to sow discord within the tribe.

It is an appartion that can fly.  It's withered finger can blind, give illness, or kill a person.

Maybe Oniate is Thing's zombified cousin?

18 comments:

  1. Those are two very nasty apparitions that can really do a person a mischief! The first one sounds like he should be scarier, but I've had a thing against mummified hands ever since I read a story about a Mummy's hand that was out for revenge when I was a child - so that's scarier :)
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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    1. REading about Dullahan is scarier than anything that i can come up with.

      and the hand is just freaky too.

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  2. Loved reading about this creature! So intriguing!

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  3. At first I thought you were talking about the Legend of Sleepy Hallow. I wonder if this had some influence on that story.

    ~Ninja Minion Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
    Story Dam
    Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

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    1. it had some influence on the story according to some sites. but i wasn't going to post anything i wasn't absolutely sure about.

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  4. Creepy! I guess this is where the headless horseman came from.


    @mirymom1 from
    Balancing Act

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    1. i think he might have gotten inspiration from the dullahan.

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  5. Wow, what a lovely guy. I'm sure he makes friends wherever he goes.

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    1. yep, i bet he does, and hands off for the other too.

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  6. Gosh, I could write a lot of good stories based on your posts this month...

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  7. This sounds like something I don't want to meet on a dark night. It's a good thing I'm usually indoors after sunset. lol I wonder if this is where the inspiration for headless horsemen in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? Interesting post! Thanks for sharing and for visiting.

    ~Curious as a Cathy
    All Things Vintage: Dear Diary #AprilA2Z

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    1. none of my creature do i want to meet up with -- ever.

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  8. Visiting as the #Challenge begins. Amazing all the interests fellow bloggers poor time and energy and their creativity into. I've been busy writing about historic hotels and inns, but get to blog travel too. A win-win.

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  9. A rider without a head...how spooky!

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  10. I think there is an anime show featuring a Dullahan... :D The flying hand is really creepy though!

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    The Multicolored Diary
    MopDog

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    1. is there. i know that in The Devil Is a Part Timer his bicycle's name is Dullahan. That is such a funny show.

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