SinceSkyrim’s launch in 2011, players have spent years exploring the game and uncovering its every mystery. Like every game inThe Elder Scrolls, some of the best parts of the game aren’t a part of the main storyline but, rather, are the small moments and side quests to be found across the Province the game is set in.Skyrimis filled with quests like these in dungeons or even just on the road between holds. And, asSkyrimis filled with the undead thanks to necromancy or the will of the living persisting beyond the grave, sometimes the Dragonborn encounters mysteries from the dead.
One of thesemysteries is of the Headless Horseman, a harmless ghostthat randomly appears in Whiterun hold between 10 pm and 4 am. Players can spot the ghost riding on horseback on Whiterun’s roads. While the Horseman occasionally stops and allows itself to be examined, it largely ignores the Dragonborn and prioritizes its destination. Curious players have followed it to the ancient Nord grave site of Hamvir’s Rest, where the ghost can actually be spotted during the day. The ghost disappears after a while and is replaced by leveled draugr and skeletons.
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Following the Headless Horseman Across Skyrim
Hamvir’s Rest only gives small clues as to the identity of the Headless Horseman. One of the coffins, sealed in an iron and stone cage, has a lone skull and helmet sitting next to it, potentially being the resting place of the Headless Horseman’s body. Despite these clues, there’s nothing at the site that gives any indication of the identity of the ghost.
The Headless Horseman and Hamvir’s Rest are Easter eggsfor players to look out for while exploring the wilds of Skyrim at night. They have their roots in real-world legends and stories from the American short storyThe Legend of Sleepy Hollowto European fairy tales and myths. Examples of headless riders abound in Europe, such as the Irish tale of a ghost called the dullahan, a headless fae creature who rides a horse across the land and causes death when it stops, often near graveyards like the Headless Horseman inSkyrim.
Elsewhere in Europe, there is the Wild Hunt, a chase led by a mythological figure consisting of ghosts or supernatural hunters.Seeing the Wild Hunt was considered bad luck across most of Northern Europeand was said to bring death upon the witness. The Headless Horseman inSkyrimdoesn’t bring death, unlike its real-world mythological counterparts, but following it does lead to the draugr and hostile skeletons at the Hamvir’s Rest.
The Identity of Skyrim’s Headless Horseman
There has been debate in theSkyrimplayer community about the identity of the Headless Horseman in life, which has been so far unconfirmed thanks to its generic armor and lack of a gravestone. One fan theory is that the Headless Horseman was actuallyRagnar the Red, a popular tavern songthat bards sing on request.
According to the song,Ragnar rode to Whiterun from Rorikstead, a town in Whiterun hold, and met his end by beheading. As the Headless Horseman was clearly a warrior of some kind, haunts Whiterun, rides a horse, and is missing its head, its profile matches that of Ragnar the Red in several key ways. The case of who the Headless Horseman was in life is unlikely to be confirmed by Bethesda, though as some things are better kept as mysteries.
Skyrimis currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
