SNIPPETS FROM WORK
THE MONSTER COMPENDIUM
PART THE FIRST
________
A PRODIGIOUS BESTIARY
from the INTEREST of MODERN SCHOLARS,
GATHERED from DIVERSE AUTHORITIES, MODERN, and MEDIEVAL,
with VARYING DEGREES of RELIABILITY
________
DULLAHAN
_______________
The Irish DULLAHAN, a headless fairy also known as Far Dorocha ("dark man"), Crom Dubh Durahan, or Gan Ceann, rides through the night on a black, snorting steed with a detached head that shoot sparks from its nostrils. In the rider's arms, or sometimes in his pocket, he holds his own head, which is vaguely the consistency of mouldy cheese. Sometimes he holds it as a beacon to light his way. He begins his ride around midnight, using a human spine for a whip, and calls out the name of a person as he rides. When he stops, that person dies. People can avoid the consequences of witnessing his ride -- being doused with blood or blinded in one eye -- by carrying a small pin or coin made of gold, which he somehow finds absolutely terrifying.
PART THE FIRST
________
A PRODIGIOUS BESTIARY
from the INTEREST of MODERN SCHOLARS,
GATHERED from DIVERSE AUTHORITIES, MODERN, and MEDIEVAL,
with VARYING DEGREES of RELIABILITY
________
DULLAHAN
_______________
The Irish DULLAHAN, a headless fairy also known as Far Dorocha ("dark man"), Crom Dubh Durahan, or Gan Ceann, rides through the night on a black, snorting steed with a detached head that shoot sparks from its nostrils. In the rider's arms, or sometimes in his pocket, he holds his own head, which is vaguely the consistency of mouldy cheese. Sometimes he holds it as a beacon to light his way. He begins his ride around midnight, using a human spine for a whip, and calls out the name of a person as he rides. When he stops, that person dies. People can avoid the consequences of witnessing his ride -- being doused with blood or blinded in one eye -- by carrying a small pin or coin made of gold, which he somehow finds absolutely terrifying.