Dullahan

Dullahan is a cursed headless man eternally in search for his lost head. It appears sometimes as a skeleton, and other times as a ghostly armored knight. He's based on the Dullahan/Gan Ceann of Irish myth: a headless horse rider who served as the inspiration for the as well.

Dullahan first appeared as a rapier wielding headless skeleton in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (called the Headless Hunter). This form was used again in Super Castlevania IV, where its skull (or an unsuitable one), is carried in one arm. In Symphony of the Night (translated as Dhuron), it gained the ability to, after a significant amount of time, raise his sword in the air and have it charged by lightning, making it more dangerous. Concept art for a skeletal Dullahan boss was provided on the web site for Order of Shadows, though the boss did not make it into the final version of the game.

General information
Dullahan's appearance changed with the games. He's sometimes seen riding a horse or wielding a shield.

In Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, it appears as a regular armor without a head, armed with a sword and a shield with a face on it that breaths fire. This sword and shield armored version returned as a boss (though now decorated with some furs and a red coat) in the subsequent Curse of Darkness, Castlevania: The Arcade and Pachislot Akumajō Dracula II.

There are a few differences between all four of these Dullahans, however. Dullahan in Lament of Innocence had a normal silver sword and his shield was decorated with a face. In Curse of Darkness, Dullahan's sword and shield are glowing and purple, and as stated before, he wears furs and a red coat, and he is much more agile. The Arcade version of Dullahan looks much like Lament of Innocence, but lacks a shield. Pachislot II's Dullahan looks like the Dullahan from Curse of Darkness, but with no shield, a different sword, and a horse.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
This enemy first appeared as a boss in Rondo of Blood, where it is shown as a ghostly knight wearing heavy armor with no helmet and armed with a giant lance. Its zombie-like head floated about the room. This style boss returned in Dracula X and Portrait of Ruin.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Dhuron is encountered in the Long Library. It's a purple headless humanoid wielding a rapier. Once in a while, he will cast a lightning to his sword. His sword will be shining and its power is doubled (15 ATT to 30 ATT).

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

 * See also Dead Warrior.

In Circle of the Moon, it is seen riding half of an undead horse, reminiscent of the Headless Horseman. He swings a sword around in the air while riding back and forth.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Dullahan is a Headless Knight who has his head floating around him and if the Body and Head connect dodge his moves until the head disconnects from the body then kill him. Dullahan is the first boss you must kill to continue. Damage can only be done to his body, whilst attacking his head will have no effect.

Castlevania: The Arcade
External Videos:

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Dullahan is fought in a large square room in the Infinite Corridor, the walls of which are covered in alcoves containing heads in glass boxes.

The enemy himself a large suit of armor, with a fur lined neck and red cape. He wields a glowing purple sword, and a glowing purple shield. Both armaments are covered in ghostly purple human faces and the sword emits a trail of what seems to be souls.

He will attack using sword slash combos and shield rushes. He will occasionally leap into the air and slam his sword into the ground, emitting several shock waves. It can be stolen from when he is in the air, and just after he hits the ground. He also has two charged up attacks. One where he will hold his sword outwards above his head with both hands, where it will emit a blue glow from the tip, and slam it into the ground, surrounding himself in a damaging blue aura. He will also charge his sword pointing straight above his head, where several blue rings with appear around the sword. He will swing it down and fire a laser out of the tip. Dullahan will spin around to cover the whole room with the laser.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair
Dullahan looks like he did in Portrait of Ruin. He is not a boss, but an advanced enemy. Instead of his body being vulnerable and head invincible, it is the opposite; his head being the only weak spot, and his armor invulnerable.

Trivia

 * In some titles from the Castlevania series, the Dullahan-type enemies bear an uncanny resemblance to an enemy which appeared in the game  (Sega, 1988). In the first level of said game, the player would meet a stronger version of the enemies known as "Past Zombies". Starting with the release of Dracula's Curse, a similar enemy was introduced into the series, which was known at that time as the "Headless Hunter". The similarities go as far as portraying him holding his skull in one hand while attacking with the other, although in the Castlevania games he was given a rapier. His clothing, however, is almost identical, which consists of an old and ripped purple robe.
 * In Celtic mythology, the Dullahan was a type of Unseelie (Dark) fairy/psychopomp. True to the myth, both Dullahans notably carry their heads in their hands.

ARC undefined