gan ceann

"Without a head." A headless fairy in Irish tradition, also called dullahan. It appears as headless body carrying a swollen, greenish head with large eyes under one arm, and rides a black horse. One reputedly stood in a Sligo street on dark nights till lately. The gan ceann fears gold, and it is said that it would have traveled to America if a gold pin had not been dropped in its path.

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References

Sources

  • MacKillop, James. (2004). Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.
  • Yeats, W.B. (ed.). (1888). Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry. London: W. Scott, p. 81.