🎃👻Happy Halloween 👻🎃

🎃Happy 👻Halloween 🎃 

Thanks for the views and shares, have a safe and fun night.🦇🌕🦇

Yokai, The Gotoku neko

 

Cats are often associated with superstitions especially black cats (thought to bring bad luck)  though they are just as sweet as any other cat.

Another superstition about cats is they cause fire .

For example, if you let a cat sleep near the fireplace, your house will burn down. An old belief is that the sparks from the fireplace would light the cat’s tail, and then the flaming cat would run around the house igniting everything it touched. Although Sekien does not mention it, the flames on gotoku neko’s tails might be a reference to this superstition.

This fire cat is a type of nekomata A large  yōkai cat or (monster cat) with two tails. They wear an upside-down iron  trivet on their heads like a hat and the tips of their twin tails burn like firey  torches.

This fiery feline enjoys it's time around the  fireplaces. It uses bamboo pipes to blow air on the fire and stoke the flames they also enjoy warming themselves by the  fireplace like any normal cats would.

The first literary reference to the Gotoku neko was by  Toriyama Sekien in his book Hyakki tsurezure bukuro (“An Idle Bag of One Hundred Vessels”). Its name comes from the gotoku–or trivet–that this yōkai wears like a hat. A gotoku is an iron ring with three or four legs used to hold a tea kettle or pot in a fireplace. It heats vessels while keeping them out of the ashes. Gotoku have occult connections of their own: a famous curse in Japan is known as the shrine visit at the hour of the ox , it requires wearing a gotoku upside-down on your head.

Gotoku also refers to the five virtues of Confucianism: benevolence, honesty, knowledge, integrity, and propriety. It is somewhat odd for a yōkai to be associated with virtues, but Sekien makes a joke of it by referring to a story from Tsurezure gusa (“Essays in Idleness”). 

There was once a nobleman named Shinano no Zenji Yukinaga, who was set to perform shichitoku no mai (“the dance of seven virtues”). Though, as he danced before the court, he forgot two of the virtues. As a result, he jokingly became known around the court for his dance of five virtues (gotoku). Sekien connects this wordplay to the yōkai by explaining that gotoku neko are often forgetful.

Next time you see a kitty all warm and cozy by the fireplace it may more then it seems.. 

🔥🔥🔥😼🔥🔥🔥

The NASA Gargoyle

 

..The NASA Gargoyle..

Frank Shaw - a NASA archivist at Houston's Johnson Space Center - claimed to have had a terrifying night time encounter with an ominous creature . 

 There is very little information available for this encounter, however Shaw's daughter, Desiree, would eventually reveal  details of her father's sighting  to author Nick Redfern in 2004. Desiree testified that she first realized that something was dreadfully wrong when her father returned home late one night after working at the space center. While neither Desiree, nor her mother, were particularly alarmed by Shaw's tardiness - as he often was required to work into the wee hours - they were both dismayed by his alarmingly apprehensive demeanor. The pair attempted to comfort Shaw, who was eventually able to compose himself enough to regale them with a terrifying tale of his brush with the unknown. ...

...  ........

The Interview..

April  9 2004..

Redfern interview with  Desiree Shaw, Frank’s daughter. According to Desiree, her father (who was an archivist, not an engineer), saw the gargoyle in 1986. Redfern described the encounter in his book based on Desiree’s recollections of her deceased father’s tale.

While walking to his car that night, he had seen, to his complete and utter horror; perched on a nearby building, a large man-like figure that was utterly black in color, and that seemed to have a large cape draped across its shoulders and back, with two huge wing-like appendages sticking out of the cape. Looking more bat-like than bird-like, the wings made a cracking noise as they slowly flapped in the strong howling wind. The creature . . . had clearly realized it had been seen. Not only that, Shaw gained the very distinct impression that the beast was actually relishing that it had been noticed, and was even seemingly deriving pleasure from the fact that it had struck terror into the heart of Shaw.

Thought not surprisingly NASA claims to know nothing about this sighting..

...Sorry, never heard of it, and I’ve been here 37 years (since 1986),” read the one-sentence reply from Kelly O. Humphries, Johnson Space Center News Chief....

As Frank crossed the parking lot on the way to his car when he happened to throw a glance at one of the nearby buildings. Sitting on top of the building was a monstrous creature which Shaw could only describe as resembling one of the gargoyles which adorn many churches and other buildings dating from Europe’s medieval period. Shaw quickly realised that the gargoyle was staring directly at him, and had the distinct impression that it was taking great pleasure in the terror that it had instilled in him.

After a few moments of staring at each other, the gargoyle began to slowly unfurl its large wings with a sound like dried paper; this act seemed to break the almost hypnotic state that Shaw had been in, and he ran to his car and fled the scean.

Although initially reluctant to report what he had seen to his superiors, the effect of this encounter on Shaw began to get the better of him, and he eventually told  his story to one of his supervisors. Though to his surprise, he  was informed that the gargoyle had been sighted by other employees at the Johnson facility, and was in fact believed to have been behind the brutal mutilation and exsanguination of a pair of the bases’ German Shepherd guard dogs. He was also told that a secret file had been opened on the entity, but if such a document exists it has never been made available to the public.

After making his report and moving on with his daily life,he believing this to be the end of his ordeal, So it came as a surprise when he was called  in for a Talk with "NASA security people flown in from somewhere in Arizona,” who proceeded to interrogate him intensively on his experience and make it very clear that he and his family would do well to keep the matter to themselves (see "Men in Black"). This may be the reason why this encounter has taken so long to come to public attention.

To this day, NASA have neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the creature sighted by Shaw and the other employees.

Because I could not stop for Death ...

 

Because I could not stop for Death

BY EMILY DICKINSON

Because I could not stop for Death –

He kindly stopped for me –

The Carriage held but just Ourselves –

And Immortality.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste

And I had put away

My labor and my leisure too,

For His Civility –

We passed the School, where Children strove

At Recess – in the Ring –

We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –

We passed the Setting Sun –

Or rather – He passed Us –

The Dews drew quivering and Chill –

For only Gossamer, my Gown –

My Tippet – only Tulle –

We paused before a House that seemed

A Swelling of the Ground –

The Roof was scarcely visible –

The Cornice – in the Ground –

Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet

Feels shorter than the Day

I first surmised the Horses' Heads

Were toward Eternity

Japaneses myths: The Vampire Cat

    

                         The Vampire Cat             

            The Cat of Nebeshima..  

The Prince of Hizen a distinguished member of the Nabéshima family, lingered in the garden with O Toyo, the favorite among his ladies. When the sun set they retired to the palace, but failed to notice that they were being followed by a large cat.

O Toyo went to her room and fell asleep. At midnight she awoke and gazed about her, as if suddenly aware of some dreadful presence in the apartment. At length she saw, crouching close beside her, a gigantic cat, and before she could cry out for assistance the animal sprang upon her and strangled her. The animal then made a hole under the verandah, buried the corpse, and assumed the form of the beautiful O Toyo.

The prince, who knew nothing of what had happened, continued to love the false O Toyo, unaware that in reality he was caressing a foul beast. He noticed, little by little, that his strength failed, and it was not long before he became dangerously ill. Physicians were summoned, but they could do nothing to restore the royal patient. It was observed that he suffered most during the night, and was troubled by horrible dreams. This being so, his councilors arranged that a hundred retainers should sit with their lord and keep watch while he slept.

The watch went into the sickroom, but just before ten o'clock it was overcome by a mysterious drowsiness. When all the men were asleep the false O Toyo crept into the apartment and disturbed the prince until sunrise. Night after night the retainers came to guard their master, but always they fell asleep at the same hour, and even three loyal councilors had a similar experience.

During this time the prince grew worse, and at length a priest named Ruiten was appointed to pray on his behalf. One night, while he was engaged in his supplications, he heard a strange noise proceeding from the garden. On looking out of the window he saw a young soldier washing himself. When he had finished his ablutions he stood before an image of Buddha, and prayed most ardently for the recovery of the prince.

Ruiten, delighted to find such zeal and loyalty, invited the young man to enter his house, and when he had done so inquired his name.

"I am Ito Soda," said the young man, "and serve in the infantry of Nabéshima. I have heard of my lord's sickness and long to have the honor of nursing him; but being of low rank it is not meet that I should come into his presence. I have, nevertheless, prayed to the Buddha that my lord's life may be spared. I believe that the Prince of Hizen is bewitched, and if I might remain with him I would do my utmost to find and crush the evil power that is the cause of his illness."

Ruiten was so favorably impressed with these words that he went the next day to consult with one of the councilors, and after much discussion it was arranged that Ito Soda should keep watch with the hundred retainers.

When Ito Soda entered the royal apartment he saw that his master slept in the middle of the room, and he also observed the hundred retainers sitting in the chamber quietly chatting together in the hope that they would be able to keep off approaching drowsiness. By ten o'clock all the retainers, in spite of their efforts, had fallen asleep.

Ito Soda tried to keep his eyes open, but a heaviness was gradually overcoming him, and he realized that if he wished to keep awake he must resort to extreme measures. When he had carefully spread oil-paper over the mats he stuck his dirk into his thigh. The sharp pain he experienced warded off sleep for a time, but eventually he felt his eyes closing once more. Resolved to outwit the spell which had proved too much for the retainers, he twisted the knife in his thigh, and thus increased the pain and kept his loyal watch, while blood continually dripped upon the oil-paper.

While Ito Soda watched he saw the sliding doors drawn open and a beautiful woman creep softly into the apartment. With a smile she noticed the sleeping retainers, and was about to approach the prince when she observed Ito Soda. After she had spoken curtly to him she approached the prince and inquired how he fared, but the prince was too ill to make a reply. Ito Soda watched every movement, and believed she tried to bewitch the prince, but she was always frustrated in her evil purpose by the dauntless eyes of Ito Soda, and at last she was compelled to retire.

In the morning the retainers awoke, and were filled with shame when they learnt how Ito Soda had kept his vigil. The councilors loudly praised the young soldier for his loyalty and enterprise, and he was commanded to keep watch again that night. He did so, and once more the false O Toyo entered the sickroom, and, as on the previous night, she was compelled to retreat without being able to cast her spell over the prince.

It was discovered that immediately the faithful Soda had kept guard, the prince was able to obtain peaceful slumber, and, moreover, that he began to get better, for the false O Toyo, having been frustrated on two occasions, now kept away altogether, and the guard was not troubled with mysterious drowsiness. Soda, impressed by these strange circumstances, went to one of the councilors and informed him that the so-called O Toyo was a goblin of some kind.

That night Soda planned to go to the creature's room and try to kill her, arranging that in case she should escape there should be eight retainers outside waiting to capture her and dispatch her immediately.

At the appointed hour Soda went to the creature's apartment, pretending that he bore a message from the prince.

"What is the message?" inquired the woman.

"Kindly read this letter," replied Soda, and with these words he drew his dirk and tried to kill her.

The false O Toyo seized a halberd and endeavored to strike her adversary. Blow followed blow, but at last perceiving that flight would serve her better than battle, she threw away her weapon, and in a moment the lovely maiden turned into a cat and sprang onto the roof. The eight men waiting outside in case of emergency shot at the animal, but the creature succeeded in eluding them.

The cat made all speed for the mountains, and caused trouble among the people who lived in the vicinity, but was finally killed during a hunt ordered by the Prince of Hizen.

The prince became well again, and Ito Soda received the honor and reward he so richly deserved.

Vampire family of North Carolina

 

 

                                      

🦇  Vampire family of North Carolina 🦇

 

Anywhere you go there are going to be other people relatively close by, but beyond the standard Hello
or other random greeting, what do we really know about our neighbors?

This  account takes place in the 1780's and involves a seemingly normal family, a doctor and his wife and son.



In the early Spring of 1788 Dr Alfort and his family moved to the small town of Dillsboro, North Carolina
and soon established his medical practice along with a pharmacy ran out of his home, within
a few months people in towns started showing up more and more for a variety of treatments however one
day a few of his patients that had just recently received treatment suddenly passed away without any explanation.


Some members of the community blamed the doctor and anger was building however the minister was able to claim down the town at least for the moment.


But one night the ministers wife well getting ready for bed, noticed the door to there young daughters room slightly open  after entering she saw a dark figure standing over the bed and began to scream for help, the figure then fled through the open window, sadly as the minister arrived  with his lantern they discovered the girl was dead with two large  puncture wounds in her neck.

During the next few nights the towns people claimed to see a large flying creature overhead, fear griped the small community and soon windows that where previously left open stayed shut and locked, well family's huddled together in one room for safety.

One evening an elderly couple were suddenly awoken by frantic beating on their front door only to find their grandson  frightened and screaming that a monster had attacked his parents.

A posse was soon formed and they left for the child's home, upon arriving they  discovered the bodies of not only the parents but also the two young sisters as well.

They had all died of blood lose resulting from wounds on their mutilated necks.

The town raised money for an extensive investigation of the home and surrounding area, but no culprit was found.

Over the next six months the situation had eased a bit and everyone had began to relax again as there had been no  further killings.

It seemed all was well in Dillsboro.

Until February of 1789, one night two brothers heard terrible screaming coming from their neighbors home, they armed  themselves with farm tools (pitchfork, an  ax etc) then made there way next door.

As they entered the home they saw a dark shape exit through a window leaving behind the lifeless body's of a young couple  that lived there.

Angered the brother's perused the creature on foot and it lead them straight to Doctor Alforts home.

The town angry and living in fear for months soon formed a large group and stood watch outside the home until morning when even more showed up from neighboring settlements to help.

Soon after sunrise nearly  one hundred men swarmed the home armed with anything they could use as a weapon..

The mob began searching the home, they found nicely made beds like no one had even sleep there the previous night.

Not yet satisfied they continued there search, until a trap door was discovered leading into a dark basement, still full of anger and now a bit of fear, they cautiously made their way down into the cellar.


The lanterns light revealed nothing at first besides an empty basement until the shown on three large wooden crates.

They where shocked to find Doctor Alford and his wife asleep in two of these large box's well the third remand empty and their 15 year old some was no where to be found.

The mob pulled the couple out of the box's and an angry Miss Alford began to hiss and scratch at the men.

The doctor remained quiet as he and his wife where brought outside, he refused to answer any questions well his wife continued to hiss and  shriek in anger.

The group soon decided to execute the couple and leave there bodies in the house they had build well it was burned to the ground.

With the deaths of the Alfort the mysterious killings stopped, there where a few reports of a shadowy figure moving through the town at night but these reports soon died down.

The son was never seen again.

The town went back to normal, but it just goes to show, there could be monsters right next door and you would never know until its to late..

                                                         Have  a fun and Safe Halloween 

Ulalume by Edgar Allan Poe

 

     Ulalume by Edgar Allan Poe 👻

.The skies they were ashen and sober;

      The leaves they were crispéd and sere—

      The leaves they were withering and sere;

It was night in the lonesome October

      Of my most immemorial year;

It was hard by the dim lake of Auber,

      In the misty mid region of Weir—

It was down by the dank tarn of Auber,

      In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.

Here once, through an alley Titanic,

      Of cypress, I roamed with my Soul—

      Of cypress, with Psyche, my Soul.

These were days when my heart was volcanic

      As the scoriac rivers that roll—

      As the lavas that restlessly roll

Their sulphurous currents down Yaanek

      In the ultimate climes of the pole—

That groan as they roll down Mount Yaanek

      In the realms of the boreal pole.

Our talk had been serious and sober,

      But our thoughts they were palsied and sere—

      Our memories were treacherous and sere—

For we knew not the month was October,

      And we marked not the night of the year—

      (Ah, night of all nights in the year!)

We noted not the dim lake of Auber—

      (Though once we had journeyed down here)—

We remembered not the dank tarn of Auber,

      Nor the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.

And now, as the night was senescent

      And star-dials pointed to morn—

      As the star-dials hinted of morn—

At the end of our path a liquescent

      And nebulous lustre was born,

Out of which a miraculous crescent

      Arose with a duplicate horn—

Astarte's bediamonded crescent

      Distinct with its duplicate horn.

And I said—"She is warmer than Dian:

      She rolls through an ether of sighs—

      She revels in a region of sighs:

She has seen that the tears are not dry on

      These cheeks, where the worm never dies,

And has come past the stars of the Lion

      To point us the path to the skies—

      To the Lethean peace of the skies—

Come up, in despite of the Lion,

      To shine on us with her bright eyes—

Come up through the lair of the Lion,

      With love in her luminous eyes."

But Psyche, uplifting her finger,

      Said—"Sadly this star I mistrust—

      Her pallor I strangely mistrust:—

Oh, hasten! oh, let us not linger!

      Oh, fly!—let us fly!—for we must."

In terror she spoke, letting sink her

      Wings till they trailed in the dust—

In agony sobbed, letting sink her

      Plumes till they trailed in the dust—

      Till they sorrowfully trailed in the dust.

I replied—"This is nothing but dreaming:

      Let us on by this tremulous light!

      Let us bathe in this crystalline light!

Its Sybilic splendor is beaming

      With Hope and in Beauty to-night:—

      See!—it flickers up the sky through the night!

Ah, we safely may trust to its gleaming,

      And be sure it will lead us aright—

We safely may trust to a gleaming

      That cannot but guide us aright,

      Since it flickers up to Heaven through the night."

Thus I pacified Psyche and kissed her,

      And tempted her out of her gloom—

      And conquered her scruples and gloom:

And we passed to the end of the vista,

      But were stopped by the door of a tomb—

      By the door of a legended tomb;

And I said—"What is written, sweet sister,

      On the door of this legended tomb?"

      She replied—"Ulalume—Ulalume—

      'Tis the vault of thy lost Ulalume!"

Then my heart it grew ashen and sober

      As the leaves that were crispèd and sere—

      As the leaves that were withering and sere,

And I cried—"It was surely October

      On this very night of last year

      That I journeyed—I journeyed down here—

      That I brought a dread burden down here—

      On this night of all nights in the year,

      Oh, what demon has tempted me here?

Well I know, now, this dim lake of Auber—

      This misty mid region of Weir—

Well I know, now, this dank tarn of Auber—

      In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir."

Said we, then—the two, then—"Ah, can it

      Have been that the woodlandish ghouls—

      The pitiful, the merciful ghouls—

To bar up our way and to ban it

      From the secret that lies in these wolds—

      From the thing that lies hidden in these wolds—

Had drawn up the spectre of a planet

      From the limbo of lunary souls—

This sinfully scintillant planet

      From the Hell of the planetary souls

Warai Onna, The Laughing Woman

 

 

 

 Warai onna
The Laughing Woman.


Long ago, a samurai named Higuchi Kandayū ignored the villagers’ warnings and went hunting with his retainers on Mount Tōkō on the ninth day of the month. On the trail, a beautiful woman around seventeen or eighteen years old appeared before him. She pointed a finger and laughed at him. 

As she laughed, her voice grew higher, and louder, and fiercer. Soon it seemed to Kandayū that the entire mountain was laughing at him. The trees, the rocks, the rivers, and even the wind seemed to echo her laughter. Kandayū and his retainers fled in terror, and when they finally exited the mountains, his retainers all fainted. Although he escaped successfully, Kandayū was haunted by that laughter, which echoed in his ears until he died.





The  Warai onna or Laughing Woman is a Yokai that resides in the mountains of the island of Shikoku.

The legend of the Warai onna come's from the folklore of Kōchi Prefecture. 

 

They only appear in the mountains on certain days: the first, ninth, and seventeenth days of every month. Because of this, locals will warn others to stay out of the mountains on those days.

As far as appearances, she looks just like any other average young women in her late teens or very early twenty's.

Her laughter can be heard late into the night by travelers who find themselves in the mountains after sunset.


Those that dare to tread into her mountains take thire chances and hope for the best. Those unfortunate enough to meet a warai onna run thr rist of
permanent madness or even death.

She will smile and laugh at a person when they meet. 

However her laughter is infectious, and often causes those who see her to laugh along too.

 Though, even after she leaves, the people who laughed along with her will continue to do so, to the point of sever laughter leaving them rolling on the ground laughing until
they are out of breath and unable to even stand. These is followed by  a sever  fever which, after a few days, will kill the victims.


Even those who somehow resist laughing along with her are not safe. Just hearing her laughter is enough to induce psychosis.  

 

They begin to hear a mocking laughter. Those who survive an encounter are still doomed to hear her laughter everywhere for the rest of their lives.



There is a male equivalent to the warai onna , called the warai otoko. They behave exactly the same way as warai onna.

A kerakera onna (“cackling woman”) has almost the exact same features as warai onna, except she only appears in red light districts not the  mountains.

A Dream By Edgar Allan Poe

 

A Dream

BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

In visions of the dark night

I have dreamed of joy departed—

But a waking dream of life and light

Hath left me broken-hearted.

Ah! what is not a dream by day

To him whose eyes are cast

On things around him with a ray

Turned back upon the past?

That holy dream—that holy dream,

While all the world were chiding,

Hath cheered me as a lovely beam

A lonely spirit guiding.

What though that light, thro' storm and night,

So trembled from afar—

What could there be more purely bright

In Truth's day-star?

The Headless Horseman.

 

 

 The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow..

 

( From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by name of Sleepy Hollow ... A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere....Washington Irving....

There are many versions of this apparition, In some he is a coachmen of the dead other's a dark Fay/Fairy.

 

But probably the most well known version is the one from  Washington Irving's story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" printed in 1820  featuring  a character known as the Headless Horseman believed to be a Hessian soldier who was decapitated by a cannonball in battle. Hessians were German soldiers who served as auxiliaries to the British Army during the American Revolutionary War.  The term is an American synecdoche for all Germans who fought on the British side, since 65% came from the German states of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Hanau.

 

 Sleepy Hollow legend ..

The story is set in 1790 in the countryside around the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town (historical Tarrytown, New York), in a secluded glen known as Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow is renowned for its ghosts and the haunting atmosphere that pervades the imaginations of its inhabitants and visitors. Some residents say this town was bewitched during the early days of the Dutch settlement, while others claim that the mysterious atmosphere was caused by an old Native American chief, the "wizard of his tribe ... before the country was discovered by Master Hendrik Hudson." Residents of the town are seemingly subjected to various supernatural and mysterious occurrences. They are subjected to trance-like visions and frequented by strange sights, music, and voices "in the air." The inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow are fascinated by the "local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions" on account of the mysterious occurrences and haunting atmosphere. The most infamous specter in the Hollow is the Headless Horseman, the "commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air," (an attribute also of the Devil, according to Ephesians 2:2). He is supposedly the restless ghost of a Hessian trooper whose head had been shot off by a stray cannonball during "some nameless battle" of the Revolution, and who "rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head".

The "Legend" relates the tale of Ichabod Crane, a lean, lanky and extremely superstitious schoolmaster from Connecticut. Throughout his stay at Sleepy Hollow, Crane is able to make himself both "useful and agreeable" to the families that he lodges with. He occasionally assists with light farm work, helping to make hay, mending fences, caring for numerous farm animals, and cutting firewood. Besides his more dominant role as the schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane also assists the various mothers of the town by helping to take care of their young children, taking on a more "gentle and ingratiating" role. Crane is also quite popular among the women of the town for his education and his talent for "carrying the whole budget of local gossip," which makes him a welcomed sight within female circles. As a firm believer in witchcraft and the like, Crane has an unequaled "appetite for the marvelous," which is only increased by his stay in "the spell-bound region" of Sleepy Hollow. A source of "fearful pleasure" for Crane is to visit the Old Dutch wives and listen to their "marvelous tales of ghosts and goblins," haunted locations, and the tales of the Headless Horseman, or the "Galloping Hessian of the Hollow, as they sometimes called him."

Throughout the story, Ichabod Crane competes with Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, the town rowdy and local hero, for the hand of 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter and sole child of wealthy farmer Baltus Van Tassel. Ichabod Crane, an outsider, sees marriage to Katrina as a means of procuring Van Tassel's extravagant wealth. Brom, unable to force Ichabod into a physical showdown to settle things, plays a series of pranks on the superstitious schoolmaster. The tension among the three continues for some time, and is soon brought to a head. On a placid autumn night, the ambitious Crane attends a harvest party at the Van Tassels' homestead. He dances, partakes in the feast, and listens to ghostly legends told by Brom and the locals, but his true aim is to propose to Katrina after the guests leave. His intentions, however, are ill-fated, as he fails to secure Katrina's hand.

Following his rejected suit, Ichabod rides home on his temperamental plough horse named Gunpowder, "heavy-hearted and crestfallen" through the woods between Van Tassel's farmstead and the farmhouse in Sleepy Hollow where he is quartered at the time. As he passes several purportedly haunted spots, his active imagination is engorged by the ghost stories told at Baltus' harvest party. After nervously passing a lightning-stricken tulip tree purportedly haunted by the ghost of British spy Major André, Ichabod encounters a cloaked rider at an intersection in a menacing swamp. Unsettled by his fellow traveler's eerie size and silence, the teacher is horrified to discover that his companion's head is not on his shoulders, but on his saddle. In a frenzied race to the bridge adjacent to the Old Dutch Burying Ground, where the Hessian is said to "vanish, according to rule, in a flash of fire and brimstone" before crossing it, Ichabod rides for his life, desperately goading Gunpowder down the Hollow. However, while Crane and Gunpowder are able to cross the bridge ahead of the ghoul, Ichabod turns back in horror to see the monster rear his horse and hurl his severed head directly at him with a fierce motion. The schoolmaster attempts to dodge, but is too late; the missile strikes his head and sends him tumbling headlong into the dust from his horse. 

 

 

The next morning, Gunpowder is found eating the grass at his master's gate, but Ichabod has mysteriously disappeared from the area, leaving Katrina to later marry Brom Bones, who was said "to look exceedingly knowing whenever the story of Ichabod was related". Indeed, the only relics of the schoolmaster's flight are his discarded hat, Gunpowder's trampled saddle, and a mysterious shattered pumpkin. Although the true nature of both the Headless Horseman and Ichabod's disappearance that night are left open to interpretation, the story implies that the Horseman was really Brom (an extremely agile rider) in disguise, using a Jack-o'-lantern as a false head, and suggests that Crane survived the fall from Gunpowder and immediately fled Sleepy Hollow in horror of both the legends and having to deal with his landlord, never to return but to prosper elsewhere, or was killed by Brom (which may be unlikely, since Brom was said to have "more mischief than ill-will in his composition"). Irving's narrator concludes the story, however, by stating that the old Dutch wives continue to promote the belief that Ichabod was "spirited away by supernatural means", and a legend develops around his disappearance and sightings of his melancholy spirit.

 

 

 

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Germany

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 In Germany, headless-horseman stories come mostly from the Rhineland. Rather than using decapitation, the headless horsemen killed their victims simply by touching them. They were revenants who had to wander the earth until they had atoned for their sins, sometimes by doing a good deed for a stranger, but instead of showing their gratitude by shaking hands, the stranger and the horseman held a tree branch between them and the branch would wither and die rather than the stranger.

 Irving traveled in Germany in 1821 and had become familiar with Dutch and German folklore.

In particular the last of the "Legenden von Rübezahl" ('Legends of Rübezahl') from Johann Karl August Musäus's literary retellings of German folktales (Volksmärchen der Deutschen, 1783) is said to have inspired The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

 

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Ireland 

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The dullahan or dulachán  is a headless, dark fay, usually riding a horse and carrying his head under his arm.

He wields a whip made from a human's spine. When the dullahan stops riding, a death occurs. The dullahan calls out a name, at which point the named person immediately dies. All doors open for the dullahan, no lock will stop him.

 In another version, he is the headless driver of a black carriage, the Cóiste Bodhar.

 A similar figure, the gan ceann ("without a head"), can be frightened away by wearing a gold object or putting one in his path.

Dullahan post 

http://theparanormal411.blogspot.com/2019/09/fairy-myths-dullahan.html?m=1

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Scotland

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The most prominent Scots tale of the headless horseman concerns a man named Ewen decapitated in a clan battle at Glen Cainnir on the Isle of Mull. The battle denied him any chance to be a chieftain, and both he and his horse are headless in accounts of his haunting of the area.

 Among the Highland Scottish diaspora in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, seeing the image or hearing the sound of a horse or headless rider is traditionally regarded as an omen of an imminent death within the family.