Classification: Legendary & Supernatural Humanoids

Temporal Range: 1820s to present

Geographic Range: Sleepy Hollow, New York, USA

Diet: Nothing, due to his lack of head

Horde: North American

Popularised in Washington Irving’s historical record, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, the Headless Horseman haunts the quiet village of Sleepy Hollow in New York. Said to be the spirit of a Hessian soldier whose head was shot off by a cannonball, he now roams the town, searching for his missing skull.

Irving’s writing implied that the spirit was a hoax - a cruel trick played by Brom, the 18th Century version of a jock, on Ichabod Crane, a lovelorn sap who was rejected by the woman he loved. Irving suggested that the Horseman was Brom, carrying a pumpkin in place of a head. However, over time, as the story has grown and sightings and retellings of the Horseman’s tale have increased, this is now held under scrutiny.

The Horseman supposedly cannot cross a wooden bridge in Sleepy Hollow. Whether this is due to his spirit only being able to travel so far or a supernatural aversion to running water (similar to that of some vampires and other creatures), we have not seen definitive proof. So if you are trying to outrun the Horseman (his ghastly stead can reach ungodly speeds), be sure to have scoped out any nearby bridges and cross as quickly as you can. And if he throws anything at you, be that a severed head or pumpkin, be sure to duck or you’ll be joining his ethereal regiment.