Ep. 15 - The Headless Horseman & The Empress of Austria — Nym & Nylene's Nightmare Cottage

After recapping their trip to the World Oddities expo, the girls settle in for a double dose of history goodness.

Nym explores the curious legends in the Headless horseman mythos, and dives into the various tales of dark riders from around the world.

Then, Nylene gives us look into the chaotic life and (briefly) mysterious death of the illustrious empress of Austria, Elizabeth.

It's all Green Knights and Girlbosses today - so come on in!

The Headless Horseman by Nym

The Empress of Austria by Nylene

Listen to Episode

CSI Mayerling – How did the crown prince really die? (n.d.). Die Welt Der Habsburger.
Empress Elisabeth’s mourning mask. (2023, April 17). Burials & Beyond.
IrishMyths. (2024, September 16). Did the Dullahan, the Irish Headless Horseman, Really Inspire ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’? Irish Myths.
Janda, S. (2021, March 1). The Murder-Suicide pact that paved the way for World War I - and changed the world forever. Ranker.
Kennedy, L., & Kennedy, L. (2023, August 22). What inspired ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’? HISTORY.
Mary Vetsera’s suicide notes found in Vienna bank – The History Blog. (2015, August 1)
Monstrum | The Original Headless Horseman | Season 1 | Episode 2. (2019, April 24). PBS.
Sedivy, R. (2024). Der Tod der Kaiserin Elisabeth von Österreich und Königin von Ungarn – neu betrachtet und neu bewertet mit Rekonstruktion ihrer Autopsie. Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift, 174(13–14), 304–311.
Taylor, S. J. (2021, August 2). The science of the headless horseman. Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana’s Digital Newspaper Program.
The Dullahan: The Irish Headless Horseman | CelticMKE. (n.d.).
The Headless Horseman and related folklore. (2024, December 21).
Wiki, C. T. W. O. M. (n.d.). Dullahan. Warriors of Myth Wiki.
Wikipedia (2025, March 10). Empress Elisabeth of Austria.