The Origins of The Headless Horseman - (Exploring the Stories Behind the Legend)

Today we take a look at the Headless Horseman and the many possible origin stories of the legend from all around the world.
If you have enjoyed this video, please leave a like as it helps a lot.
►PREORDER OUR NOVEL HERE►www.amazon.com...
►SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE VIDEOS! ►►► goo.gl/j5qJPy
►CHECK OUT THE CHANNEL MERCH! ►► goo.gl/mcdDhJ
FOR MORE VIDEOS CHECK OUT MY PLAYLISTS!
►COMPLETE PLAYLIST! ►► ►goo.gl/PNtLZT
►GREEK MYTHOLOGY PLAYLIST! ►►►goo.gl/mkT3Qk
►NORSE MYTHOLOGY PLAYLIST! ►►►goo.gl/cj4MUs
For those wanting to support the channel - / mythologyexplained
Music by
CO.AG Music - The sky is on fire
/ @co.agmusic
• The sky is on fire - ...
If any of your artwork has been used in a video of mine please don't hesitate to contact me and the appropriate credit can be given.
#HeadlessHorseman #SleepyHollow

[@ThePa1riot]

I’ve always loved the Headless Horseman story because the Sleepy Hollow version of him is a rare enough example of genuine American folklore and myth. (Something that a country only a few hundred years old and founded well after the enlightenment, doesn’t have a vast wealth of.)

[@HRH-vc6jj]

Love anything related to the headless horseman, so interesting and scary, would listen to these kind of stories for hours on end. Thanks for posting!❤️

[@powdermik]

Google my friend he has a dvd and cd”s he is on KZbin as well Johnathan Kruk is his name

[@jerrycoffey6506]

Yes The Headless Horseman is one of my favorite all time ghost stories. Especially seeing that the most famous one in the little town of Sleepy Hollow that there's actually supposed to be at least some truth to.

[@hectorsoy]

the Headless Horseman has always been my favourite scary story, it just seems so real! As a child this tale would scary the daylights out of me. The legend of sleepy hollow would raise the hairs on my neck! I think it still does! Haha!

[@pigtrain1]

Totally agree!!

[@jonathanwells223]

“...With a hip, hip and a clippity clop. He’s out looking for a - top to chop. Now don’t try to figure out a plan, you can’t reason with a - headless man...”

[@michaeljauch1142]

Bing Crosby: "Man I'm getting outta here."

[@bradyryan5105]

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of my favorite stories

[@DRINKIWHISKY]

1:14 That horse has seen some shit

[@jacopoarmini7889]

in medieval Italy there was the legend of the "wild hunt", that has little to do with its norse version: a wild hunt is the spectral byproduct of an affair ended in tragedy, the unfaithful woman would forever be hunted by her lover on horseback and a pack of hunting dogs. The two would go on chasing each other until Judgement Day, the whole thing is a metaphor, as the woman is chased by the man as punishment for her alluring him, while the man would never stop riding his horse (which is very painful) as he could not restrain his impulses. They could only stop to tell the living not to betray their spouse and end up killing each other out of jealousy.

[@chriscalvin5083]

Looking forward to the Arthurian mythology

[@henryviera7825]

Bet

[@silverbackwrites]

In South Africa, I grew up with the Arthurian version, but often heard the Brothers Grimm version as well (begging God to let him stay on earth, becoming a protector of sorts). Its interesting to see how the Arthurian version sort of came along with all the British influences down here, as for the Grimm version, I think it made its way into our folklore through the Dutch settlers (who were actually a mix of Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Irish and a whole bunch of other things). Sometimes I even hear a mishmash of the legend - interesting to see cultural influences at work, especially when it comes to folklore and mythology.

[@aidandevine5228]

The Headless Horseman is my favorite Halloween monster.

[@bradyryan5105]

Not really a monster. Just a ghost 👻

[@starstruck6162]

Mine too.

[@Red4Eyed2Jedi0]

There once was a hero named Ragnar The Red Who came riding into town from ole Rorikstead

[@LonelyPandora]

And the braggart did swagger and brandish his blade, As he told of bold battles and gold he had made.

[@thehackingburger3002]

Then quite did go Ragnar the Red When he met the shield maiden Matilda who said

[@opdude6907]

"Oh you talk and you lie, and drink all our mead" Now I think it's high time you lie down and bleed"

[@alexandersmith7061]

This comment thread is weird...

[@odmesker5771]

And the braggart named Ragnar was boastful no moooooree...

[@bobbycollings6964]

I've heard many stories of Headless Horseman, but this is the vary first time I heard about them being good guys

[@heidibevan1916]

I do find this legend an interesting one, fantastic vid by the way 🤣😂💜

[@raykoshorek683]

The Headless Horseman is one of my favorite Dark Folk Lore characters. Don't you agree with me?

[@exoticles]

yea i agree

[@Dian-kb2hg]

Depends......

[@MISSDONCHAWISH]

Yes!

[@MRO1970]

I agree big time!

[@Ayooo-bh9ph]

Part of the reason why I watch this video is the fact that your voice is so calm and relaxing lol😭😭😂 I could listen to you talk all day❤️❤️

[@falconemoto6943]

“Shattering the silence, with his otherworldly cries” such a great and terrifying line.

[@adampayne2088]

I never thought there were so many other stories about the headless horseman. I thought there was only one, but this takes the story to a whole new level. Excellent job

[@leetatum5306]

Outstanding video, I can't say enough about how great your channel is keep up the brilliant work.!!

[@makeupboss9812]

I love the Folklore surrounding this story. I have long been fascinated with it .

[@docbrown7916]

Always enjoy these !

[@dagon2643]

Great video as always and just wanted to say i absoluetly loved tour Dagon video it got me into reading H.P.Lovecraft and he is quickly becoming one of my favorites would love to see you do more readings of his works keep it up

[@isaiahstafford9727]

The chinese deity xing Tian is a headless warrior too, though he doesn't ride a horse.

[@datenshisekai]

isnt there another chinese being too that DOES ride a horse and collects the souls of dead people who havent had a proper burial yet? if i recall correctly that being was a dangerous spirit kind of being riding a horse, not sure if it also was headless though ^^;

[@AishaVonFossen]

Funny that you say the real reason behind the Headless Horseman sometimes having his head be depicted as a pumpkin. Since I grew up with the Disney cartoon "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad," and then years later as a teenager reading Irving's short story (now my favorite ghost story ever), I thought the pumpkin substitute for the Horseman in action was because Disney wanted to sanitize the Horseman's image for kids. LOL That and substituting the pumpkin made sense visually for the cartoon since in both the cartoon and the short story, what people found the next morning after Ichabod went missing was his hat next to a shattered pumpkin. Which is funny, because when Ichabod was chased by the Horseman in the dark, the pumpkin looked like a human head to Ichabod. Funny that the simple reason it's sometimes a pumpkin is because the day the Horseman allegedly died was just a few days away from Halloween anyway. XD

[@Annabel_Lee1809]

You deserve far more subs than what you have, keep up the fantastic work! I love listening to your videos while sketching :D

[@carloslasso4370]

I am from Ecuador, and in my country, we too have a legend of a headless horseman, but this one is rather funny. At the beginning of the 20th century in the city of Riobamba, there was the legend of a headless horseman that roamed the city on Saturday’s nights. Everybody was truly afraid thinking he was some kind of demon of specter. One night a group of friend decided to do something about the horseman. They stayed up till late and placed a rope at each side of the street, and when they heard the sound of the horse approaching, they tensed it. The headless horseman fell from his horse and they removed the cape he had over his head. And the funny thing is that the headless horseman was just Dr. Pedrosa, the priest of San Luis, a nearby town. Every Saturday night he would get on his horse to go and be with his lover, a young attractive widow.

[@michaeldiaz9999]

I love your channel, man. I discovered it by accident and I immediately got hooked. I am a huge fan of old myths and folklore, and so is my sister, who I recommended this channel to as well. Do keep up the good work.

[@arneidos]

In my country, there is a different version of the legend, since Costa Rica was a very catholic country in 1700's, instead of being a horseman, he is a priest that was decapitated by pirates in the cathedral of the city of Cartago, because of that profanity the cathedral was cursed to never be a holly place again and an earthquake turned it to ruins, in fact whenever it was rebuilt it fell down again due to an earthquake, hence, it remains as ruins up to the present day, about the priest, it is said that he is seem during the nigths of mist and full moon, looking for the souls of people who are in sin againts the 10 commandments or commited blasphemy.

[@CallTheDocter]

Ik im a bit late But That’s so interesting thanks for sharing

[@Avant402]

Great video! Always liked the headless horseman!! Didn’t know there were so many different version. One reason why I like videos like this.

[@DMAN_GAMR]

I love the story of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow for 2 reasons. 1. Its a really awesome story! 2. Many countries have very rich folklore, but America really doesn't. It's nice to see we have a really cool folkloric figure!

[@bradyryan5105]

Interestingly, the legend of sleepy hollow was actually America's 1st published ghost story

[@robertyoung1317]

Love love love the content brother!! Me and the kids love to sit down when your notifications pop up and learn more interesting facts about myths of the past.

[@makeupboss3568]

I found this interesting and it really grabbed my attention. This is a time in American History, that I often wish I could go back and experience. It was my favorite time in our history to learn about.

[@woody72691]

And to think there's a roller coaster based around this legend.

[@Skele_Rat]

There's the Headless Mule in Brazil's folklore. It is the ghost of a woman that has been cursed by God for her sins (if I recall correctly she fell in love with a priest) and condemned to turn into a fire-spewing headless mule, galloping through the countryside from Thursday's sundown to Friday's sunrise.

[@roypruysvdhoeven1855]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTERSTING STORIES ABOUT THE HEADLESS HORSEMEN..

[@Bughunt89]

One of my favorite mythological figures aside from werewolves and Thor

[@damotoneko1500]

This was very interesting and educational. I like it! Added points for not having a robot voice.

[@nicholasmorsovillo2752]

Until I came across this video I didn't know there was a lot of different legends of the Headless Horseman I was only familiar with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Ichabod Crane and his fateful encounter with the Horseman in the woods and the first time I ever heard of the story of the Headless Horseman was in the animated movie Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

[@greyworld6242]

Can you do a video on Morgan la Fey? Christofer Walken is still best headless horseman to me. Lol In the sleepy hollow movie and tv show isn’t the horsemen also depicted as a villain?

[@jakubgrzybek6181]

More like a hell's minion. A victim of devil's trickery.

[@hg1651]

My favorite story and my favorite fairy tale.

[@781rcac]

people say that a guy riding a horse while trick or treating was decapitated by a string that he could not see and was setup by a killer.

[@triviavesta6899]

The Adventures of Ichabod Crane and Mr Toad use to be Halloween staples of TV, during the 70s and 80s.

[@theaj7866]

I really love your videos! Looking forward to the athurian legends :) And also “Hans Jagenteufel“ could be translated to “Hans, the devils hunter“, “Hans, the hunting devil“ but also “Hans, who hunts the devil“ which I found to be quiet fitting :)

[@The-kr9rb]

the latter of those sounds a bit more heroic than the others

[@princesskaylafaulkner]

I don't think I've heard that story by the Brothers Grimm. I also can't believe I never linked the Green Knight to the Headless Horseman. I love how different cultures share similar tales in folklore.

[@caseypilarczyk9312]

My favorite movie

[@sopassuwops4108]

wow...this is what my grandmas stories when i was little.intresting and great. thx for posting this

[@PWEIcom]

One of the most vivid and dark dreams I've had, is of the headless horseman. I'd never even contemplated or thought about it but in the dream, stark skies Indeed. Dull black sky, I was stood near the river I heard a galloping in the distance getting louder, it _caned_ past me. Oh my god! The hunting horn! I've heard that in another dream!

[@0570965]

Thank you.

[@BrofessorHEMann]

The Dullahan is an Irish legend you should add to this....He fits the last drawing you used in the video.

[@diegos7337]

This stories always awsome! I am always wating to watch your next video!

[@naomibousson]

I'm from Belgium and in Flanders (mostly in rural areas around Antwerp, Aalst and Malines) we have a legend about a headless horseman-type entity: We call it "de bloedkoets" (the blood carriage). It's a black carriage pulled by black horses and the man riding it is headless. He rides around the country side at night looking for children and teenagers. When he finds you he either uses violence to abduct you or he tries to trick you into getting in the carriage by yourself. When you open the door of the carriage, the blood of his previous victims gushes out. That's why people call it the the blood carriage. The story is obviously created to scare young people into staying home after dark, but I've yet to hear a mythical origin story for this entity's existence.

[@ntothe8070]

Not mythological explanation of it's existence. But there is a goetia demon called Prince Seere who is very similar to the headless horseman. It is said that he is a very friendly and helpful demon, his favorite colors are green/blue, he is a night demon, and he shows up with his horse and is said to show up in two ways, as a beautiful man with long hair on a horse or a as a beautiful headless man on a horse

[@billd3356]

Your narration is perfect, as is the music, and thank you for pronouncing the German names correctly. Where do you find the illustrations for these? Well done sir!

[@ki-pattao9030]

Looks the Horseman is just going straight a Head.

[@guntherthequizmaster9515]

The horseman was a Hessian mercenary, sent to these shores by German princes to keep Americans under the yoke of England, but unlike his compatriots who came for money, the Horseman came for the love of carnage. When battle was joined, there you'd find him. - Baltus van Tassel, Sleepy Hollow (1999)

[@sharon-hermit]

Next Cerberus, The Headless Horseman is my FAVORITE.

[@frostedflakes4879]

Just got my mythic legions figure and dam this video hits different

[@matthewwatkins4938]

They say he's tired of his flaming top He's got a yen to make a swap! So he rides one night each year To find a head in the hollow here!

[@chrisd2051]

New Yorker here, fun fact Sleepy Hallow seceded from Tarrytown around the 1970s to capitalize on the Headless Horseman myth.

[@georgebradberry7619]

The headless horseman does sound scary.😨🕷️👹

[@jacklovell3181]

Now this is a ledgend you really shouldn't loose your head over

[@eamsee657]

The artwork that appears at 1:17 is one of the few accurate depictions of the Old Dutch Reformed Church and cemetery that I have come across in Headless Horseman art. Well done to the artist.

[@coolnvigilantoutreach9418]

I grew up 25 minutes away from Sleepy Hollow. Around there, it was more a story of trickery.

[@mathieuleader8601]

its amazing to see commonalities between myths worldwide

[@rodneymorrison6037]

I saw him when I was coming home from NJ

[@TheHeadlessMario]

The Headless horseman was born in 1749 and died in 1776

[@Dat_Boy_Dale_Gribble]

Imagine if all the Headless Horsemen were apart of the same order. Like a morally upright biker gang.

[@johannapersaud3821]

I adore mythology and fiction this video is certainly a treat for mythology fans Happy Halloween 2019

[@deviprasan8747]

There is a story about a Sikh warrior Baba Deep Singh Ji who fought without a head in Amritsar Punjab, India in 18th century.

[@wcapewell3089]

I love the headless horseman from the sleepy hollow tv show. One of the four horseman of the apocalypse, being death, and still sticking to the original washington irving story. Being a Hessian/ German Mercenary for the british.

[@Dragon66898]

The first story of the Headless Horseman I heard painted him as a lost soul who’s head and body where buried separately and he couldn’t move on until he was whole again. The second one I heard paints him in a similar but much more negative light with him losing his head and him trying to replace it with one and he would take it from anyone he could find. Safe to say I prefer the one where his is simply trying to be whole again and move on.

[@Fido-vm9zi]

This is an interesting tale. I think many of our human tales carry truth.

[@Len24342]

even though there’s so many stories of him they still kind of and the same without a head that’s why it’s so interesting

[@tarabonee8855]

Loved it! Also,I would love to see a video on dryads....what Ive read about them is fascinating

[@elleryparsons5766]

Very interesting

[@traceursebas]

I read somewhere that Irving’s story was just made up by him, inspired by stories of headless horseman from many parts in the world. There was legend of a headless horseman in Sleepy Hollow before Irving’s story. True?

[@jackchase5727]

I love this channel!

[@blvckzip]

I would never understand why this figure haunted me in my dreams for YEARS. No correlation whatsoever.

[@sydneymorris9919]

Love your videos!

[@katydid5088]

"Hassenteufel" directly translated, means "hateful devil" in German. With a name like that you know the guy will not have a very good future.

[@cayreet5992]

It could be "Hasenteufel", in which case it would mean 'rabbit devil'.

[@Heavyarmskai2000]

Holy shit! The Hackelburg could be the origin for the Ghost Rider mythos.

[@cjuimimi3246]

Do one on the four horsemen

[@timelordvictorious5508]

The fox Sleepy Hollow show made me really like these stories!

[@chrisricketts8059]

Looking forward to a Morgan Le Fay video!

[@mihrimahsultana1263]

I also finished your book I loved it

[@jonathanosorio8489]

Can you do more Aztec or Mayan mythology , please.

[@Ps4fan30]

I've read legend of sleepy hollow.... it's scary yet awesome at the same time

[@wickedjay13]

Think you could possibly do an article about 'Cry Baby Bridges' sometime? It's been said that Ohio has the most Cry Baby Bridge stories in the world.

[@RoninRen]

nobody judge that I like the idea of a Headless Horseman paired with La Calavera Catrina for a couple's costume,

[@TOMNICE]

There was a reference of the green knight in an episode of adventure time

[@genequist3859]

That was a poem by Jack Prengus Hi, I'm Dr. Steve Brule Do you have a head? What the heck you gonna do if you don't HAVE a dang head? Let's check it out.

[@jacobjoyner8605]

Personally, I like The Sleepy Hollow iteration the best.

[@willlyon7129]

Are you planning to do videos on the Arthurian Legends?

[@MythologyFictionExplained]

Hopefully yeah.

[@teaspells9994]

I just came from there lol it was cool

[@Gjaku]

make a video about SAMSON he is a biblical figure and very interesting

[@clarasallstrom925]

I ❤️ headless horseman

[@cayreet5992]

To be more precise, the Hessian soldiers were sold to the British to fight in their war. They never made that choice themselves.

[@eerie9902]

Please oh please I'm begging you to do a video explaining Eros and his brother's origins

[@fishcheeks9693]

Me watching the green knight remembering ive heard that tittle before sending me to this video

[@leonardopetrillo6531]

The Headless Hessian. Interesting.

[@Greggee100]

remember never CROSS/NAIL in Bridge GMP

[@naamikaL]

R.I.P headless, horse man no October and Halloween, no headless (I was about to buy the item)

[@brendaarchambault7014]

Love the Headless horesman stories. Was there ever a town called Sleepy Hallow?

[@GP.Records]

Not during the Revolutionary era.

[@brendaarchambault7014]

@@GP.Records ok. If not during the revolution area; were there at any point a town called Sleep Hallow?

[@A_Random_Prussian]

@@brendaarchambault7014 No after the release of the book "the legend of sleepy hollow" the town it took place in changed it's name to sleepy hollow