Post by Graveyardbride on Feb 28, 2015 9:32:18 GMT -5
Headless Ghosts and Creatures
When Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was published in 1820, the world was introduced to the iconic character known as the Headless Horseman. But Irving’s creation echoes a legion of “beings” that have haunted our imaginations for centuries. Following are a few headless hauntings from the past:
William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury, head (no pun intended) of the Anglican Church, from 1633 to 1645. This was an era of religious turmoil in England and Laud made some fierce enemies – once, he had three prominent Puritans’ ears cut off and their cheeks branded with the letters “SL,” for “Seditious Libeler.” The court jester at the time quipped, “Give praise to the Lord and Laud to the Devil!” Eventually, his enemies gained enough clout to have him arrested and beheaded for subverting Protestantism and alienating the King from his subjects.
Before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Laud was the Chancellor of Oxford University and his gruesome end is associated with a haunting at the library of St. John’s College. At night, it is said, a phantom figure can be seen walking the building, carrying a candle in his hand as he kicks his own severed head along the floor. This last detail suggests he has developed a playful side in death – after all, most decapitated ghosts carry their heads beneath their arms.
The Dullahan of Irish legend is a fairy – but a long way from the pretty little winged-creatures that usually come to mind. A headless horseman who travels the land carrying his grinning head in one hand and a whip made from a human spine in the other, the dullahan is an omen of death. Should he stop as he rides the countryside, it is a sign someone will shuffle off this mortal coil. In some versions of the tale, the dullahan’s horse is also headless and according to some legends, he drives a coach containing a coffin, skulls and lit candles. In addition to being an omen of death, the dullahan presents a direct physical threat because anyone who sees him is at risk of being lashed by the supernatural creature’s whip or having a basin of blood thrown at them. However, he is terrified of gold and will disappear if one throws a gold coin at his feet. No one knows the origins of the dullahan, but it is believed he is a twisted form of the ancient Celtic god Crom Dubh (“Dark Crooked One”), demonized following Ireland’s conversion to Catholicism.
The Drummer Boy of Edinburgh Castle. Rumor has it that a mysterious drumming noise is sometimes heard within the walls of Edinburgh Castle and the source of the sound is said to be a phantom drummer boy. According to the story, the wraith is seen whenever the castle is under threat, first appearing in 1650 during the attack by Oliver Cromwell. Those who have been unlucky enough to actually see this apparition are shocked when they discover the boy has no head. Phantom drummer boys are a recurring motif in ghostly legends around the world and one such spirit haunts Shiloh Battlefield in Tennessee. However, the headless nature of the drummer of Edinburgh Castle makes him unusual – and downright eerie.
Vinegar Tom. During his persecution of English witches in the 17th century, the infamous Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins claimed to have come across familiar spirits with such curious names as “Griezel Greedigutt,” “Pecke in the Crowne” and “Sacke and Sugar.” Most of these creatures resembled ordinary animals, but the alleged witch Elizabeth Clarke confessed to possessing a very strange familiar she called Vinegar Tom, which she fed with her own blood. Clarke was an old, one-legged widow who lived in Manningtree, Essex, and according to Hopkins, Vinegar Tom initially appeared in the form of a greyhound with the head of an ox, but when challenged, it shapeshifted into a headless four-year-old child. Hopkins claimed the transformed familiar then ran around in a circle six times before fleeing the house.
The Headless Woman Pub.* The town of Duddon in Cheshire is home to a pub called The Headless Woman (above) and there is bound to be a fascinating story behind a name like this. Sure enough, the pub is reputed to be haunted by the headless ghost of Grace Trigg, a woman who was tortured and beheaded by Cromwell’s soldiers during the English civil war. Researchers have had trouble verifying the tale, but those who have seen the ghastly apparition of the headless woman have no doubts concerning the validity of the story.
Actually, this isn’t the only pub bearing the image of a headless woman: Others with such signs are called The Quiet Woman or The Silent Woman. Skeptics argue this is nothing more than a chauvinistic joke, the idea being that the only quiet woman is a woman who has lost her head. The Quiet Woman Pub in Earl Sterndale, Derbyshire, is so named because a landlord grew so tired of his wife – who talked so much she had gained the nickname “Chattering Charteris” – that he snapped and cut off her head.
Sources: Fiona Staples; ListVersel;The Chester Chronicle; and ItMustBeIrish.
*The Headless Woman was demolished last year to make room for council housing.
See “The Headless Horseman and the Death Coach”: whatliesbeyond.boards.net/thread/edit/301
