Dullahan

Dullahan is a cursed headless man eternally in search for its lost head. It appears sometimes as a skeleton, and other times as a ghostly armored Knight. Its origin is from Irish legends of a beheaded knight that was killed by Gawain the Green Knight.

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 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (translated as Dhuron), it gained the ability to, after a significant amount of time passes, raise its sword in the air and have it charged by lightning, making it more dangerous if you choose to ignore it for a while. Concept art for a skeletal Dullahan boss was provided on the web site for Castlevania: Order of Shadows, though the boss did not make it into the final version of the game.

This enemy first appeared as a boss in Castlevania: 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 Castlevania: Dracula X and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.

In Castlevania: 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.

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 Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Castlevania: The Arcade, and Pachislot Akumajo Dracula II. There are a few differences between all four of these Dullahans, however. Lament of Innocence's Dullahan had a normal silver sword, and its shield was decorated with a face. In Curse of Darkness, the 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's version of Dullahan looks much like Lament's, 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: Circle of the Moon
See Dead Warrior

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: 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 shockwaves. 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.

Soul Data
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