"In German legends Eckhardt appears on the evening of Maundy Thursday to warn all persons to go home in order to avoid being injured by the headless bodies and two-legged horses which traverse the streets on that night. He also sometimes appears in the company of his companion Tannhauser."

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is an essential asset for any half-pretentious writer (yes, and me); I love the fact that it can reduce a frightening German myth down to its essence of an ARP/ traffic warden for the undead.