Headless FALN Rider

*This page is about the urban legend itself. For the figurine depiction of the rider, see Figurine Set Headless FALN Rider.*

The **Headless FALN Rider** is an urban legend of a decapitated man riding an animal, who travels through Revachol wearing a FALN tracksuit.

## Legend

### Motives and origins

The rider's motives are a matter of dispute: the popular version is that he is looking for his cap, which he lost in the process of his decapitation. However, the more logical alternative would be that he is looking for his head. There are many theories as to who the rider was before he died: a vengeful undercover cop beheaded by a violent gang, a professional jockey decapitated by a clothesline after veering off course, or, as Idiot Doom Spiral posits, a man who hung himself so hard his head came off, and just so happened to land on a passing horse - a theory that Inland Empire sees as the most plausible.

There is also some debate on what animal he rides: Idiot Doom Spiral believes it to be a horse, Kim Kitsuragi has heard a version with a headless pig, while some depictions use a bull. The strangest of all versions is the Headless FALN Rider riding on the back of another headless man.

### Sightings

The first purported sighting was in the summer of '44, when seventeen-year-old Martinaise harbour worker Gertrude Hert was walking home along the canal as she heard hooves clacking behind her. She turned to see a headless man on a horse dressed in a tracksuit. Although she lived to tell the tale, according to legend, she had to endure years of psychotherapy before she was able to look at horses or tracksuits again.

In the autumn of '46, Ulla Deponte and Eva Delgado, two girls who happened to be dating at the time (though some confuse the two for feminists, which was never confirmed), were fishing at the water lock when a downpour of rain came. As they started to gather their things to leave, Ulla turned and spotted the rider on the horizon. The two girls ran, but Eva slipped on a rock and disappeared into the haze. Her body was never recovered.

In police investigations of Eva's death, Ulla was the prime suspect after it was revealed that the girls were involved in a love triangle, with the third party being a small-time businessman. It was believed that Ulla shoved Eva into the canal after an argument, then invented the rider sighting as a cover story. However, she committed suicide by gunshot before she could be taken into custody.

Nevertheless, the Headless FALN Rider is still rumored to stalk Martinaise in the present day. Many believe he appears at the canal when the clock strikes midnight. If you attempt this in-game, a conversation orb will appear, leading to an exchange with Kim, who refuses to indulge in such unrealistic myths, even if you insist on waiting a few minutes longer for the rider to appear. He never does, causing Kim to finally dismiss the notion from your head.

## Depictions

The popularity of the urban legend led to the creation of a plastic figurine depicting the Headless FALN Rider on a bull. It is part of a set that also includes his infamous cap.

## References

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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "The tale I'm about to tell you is an urban legend particular to Martinaise." He lifts the bottle to his lips and takes a long, luxuriant sip. "That said, I first heard it from a former bicycle courier in Couron..."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "There are many variations on the basic story, and the details often conflict. What everyone agrees on is that nobody knows the exact nature or identity of... the phenomenon."
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> ROSEMARY – "Are you telling the story of the Headless--"
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Shut the fuck up, Rosemary!"
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – He clears his throat: "Summer of '44. Seventeen-year-old Gertrude Het is walking home from a late shift at the harbour. It's almost midnight. She stops for a cigarette near the canal..."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Our heroine finds herself enjoying the peace and quiet the canal provides..." He looks up to the skies as if searching for peace himself...
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "What she doesn't know is that her peace is about to be shattered. From behind her comes the clattering of hooves. Startled, she turns around, and what does she see?"
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> YOU – "I don't know, what?"
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "A headless man, wearing a FALN tracksuit, riding a horse. That's right. It's the \*Headless FALN Rider\*. "
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Rumoured to be searching for his legendary FALN cap that went missing when he lost his head."
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> YOU – "That's super spooky."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Yes. According to legend, young Gertrude Het had to endure years of psychotherapy before she was able to look at a horse or tracksuit again... And she's one of the \*lucky ones\*." He takes a sip from his bottle.
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Gertrude Het may have been the first to witness the \*Headless FALN Rider\*, but she wasn't the last, oh no..."
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> BIRD'S NEST ROY – "Oh, that's the Headless FALN Rider."
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> YOU – "\*Who\*?"
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> BIRD'S NEST ROY – "The Headless FALN Rider. It's an urban legend -- about a man who rides the streets of Revachol sporting a FALN tracksuit. As you can see, he's missing his head." He points at the decapitated figurine.
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> BIRD'S NEST ROY – "Fifty cents. Bargain-priced! I'll throw in the tiny cap too -- I think he's looking for it, or something. That part of the story has many interpretations."
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> LOGIC – He lost his cap when he lost his head. Perhaps he's looking for the \*head\*?
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> YOU – "Who was the Headless Rider before he died?"
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Well, Tequila, that's part of the legend -- no one knows for sure. There are a couple of possibilities, though..."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Some say he was an undercover cop who blew his cover and got beheaded by the vicious gang he had infiltrated -- Now he rides, searching for his lost FALN cap, plotting revenge."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Others claim he was a professional jockey who veered off-course during a steeple chase, ended up in somebody's back yard, and got decapitated by an exceptionally taut clothes line..."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Personally, I think he was just some guy who hanged himself from a really tall tree and the fall was so violent that his head came clean off..."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Coincidentally, at that exact moment, a horse happened to pass under him and his beheaded corpse mounted it, where it remains to this day... But then, no one really knows."
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> INLAND EMPIRE – For some reason this \*does\* strike you as the most plausible theory of them all.
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> YOU – "Wait, I thought that the Headless FALN Rider rode a bull?"
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> KIM KITSURAGI – "I thought that he rode a headless pig?" The lieutenant says with a little smirk.
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Well, there are many versions of this story, the most peculiar of which has the Headless FALN Rider riding on the back of another headless man."
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> ROSEMARY – "Tell 'em about the two feminists by the locks!"
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Fuck, Rosemary, they were dating -- no one said they were feminists. Everyone always misremembering this stuff..."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Right. \*Ahem\*. Early autumn of '46. Ulla Deponte and Eva Delgado are fishing near the water lock long after the sun has set..."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Right. \*Ahem\*. Early autumn of '46. Ulla Deponte and Eva Delgado are fishing near the water lock long after the sun has set..."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "The women are caught in the downpour. They act quickly. Eva gathers the rods whilst Ulla turns around to reach for the tackle box..."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "When she sees something! Her shriek is so violent that the residents of the nearby apartment building believe lightning has struck..."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "But there is no lightning. Only a heavy downpour and the silhouette of the \*Headless FALN Rider\* looming on the horizon!"
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "Ulla makes a run for the shore, but Eva slips on a wet rock and disappears into the cold, cold canal with nary a sound..."
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – The man falls ominously silent for a moment. "Her body is never recovered." He looks you straight in the eye.
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> YOU – "What did the case file say?" (Ask Kim.)
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> KIM KITSURAGI – "Naturally, Ulla Deponte became the prime suspect in the disappearance of Eva Delgado. Deponte maintained that it was the so-called 'Headless FALN Rider' and that she ran, fearing for her life..." He adjusts his glasses.
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> KIM KITSURAGI – "During the investigation it became apparent that there was a love triangle, the third party being some small-time businessman -- I don't remember the exact details. The leading theory was that an argument broke out on the jetty and Deponte pushed Delgado into the canal, then cooked up this stupid cover story."
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> YOU – "Was she arrested?"
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> KIM KITSURAGI – "No. She committed suicide before she could be taken into custody. They found her in the bathroom with a rifle, her face slowly peeling off the ceiling..."
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> KIM KITSURAGI – "Not a pretty scene."
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> YOU – "Okay. Whatever became of the Headless FALN Rider?" (Conclude.)
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> IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL – "No one knows. Some say he stalks Martinaise to this day, and can be seen near the canal when the clock strikes midnight." He makes a spooky gesture with his free hand.
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