Dullaghan

Ballindollaghan in the parish of Baslick, Roscommon, must be a horrible place to live in, if the dullaghan that gave it the name ever shows himself now to the inhabitants. Every one knows that a ghost without a head is [horrible].

His head is doubtless, as is usual with dullaghans, under his arm, but where are the heads of the four horses?

They heard the sound of hooves – big beasts, galloping fast. As the three highwaymen slowly struggled to sit up, one turned and screamed. Coming towards them out of the night were two huge, fierce, fire-breathing black dullaghans, ...

The Pooka, who appeared in the shape of a horse, and whom Shakespeare has adapted as “Puck,” was a goblin who combined “horseplay” with viciousness. The dullaghan was a churchyard demon whose head was of a movable kind, ...