According to local legend, on a moonless night a notorious highwayman set his sights on a wealthy estate just off Crebilly Road near Ballymena. Armed and on horseback, he broke into the grounds and the house, and took a small fortune in gold and valuables.
The household guards were quicker and raced ahead to the main gate, where they strung a thin wire tight across it. The robber galloped out at full speed and the wire took his head off. His body slumped to the ground while the horse carried on.
It is said that his soul never found rest. Each year, especially around Halloween, there are whispered accounts of a headless horseman or riderless horse thundering down the road, with the sound of hooves at night. The story belongs to the family of wire-across-the-road tales that appear in several parts of the British Isles.
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