Banshee

 

 

ORIGIN

From Irish and Scottish Mythology (Celtic mythology). Also found in German, French, Welsh, American and Norse folklore.

 

FIRST SIGHTED/RECORDED

Accounts go as far back as 1380 in a publication by Seean mac Craith called "Cathreim Thoirdhealbhaigh (Triumphs of Torlough)". They can also be found in Norman literature at that time.

 

APPEARANCE

Wears white/grey clothing or loose robes, in the style of a dress. Long fair hair (generally white or grey). She can have a slight haggard appearance of an old woman or sometimes appears as a young girl. Her eyes are red from all of the crying that she does. Sometimes depicted as having long black teeth and long breasts. Sometimes she is depicted as an evil fairy with vampire like characteristics. Often seen dressed in green, red or black with a grey cloak.

 

GENDER

Female

 

ALSO KNOWN AS

Bean-sidhe (Gaelic), Bean Si (Irish for "Woman of the Sidhe" or "Woman of the Fairy mounds") Bean Shith (Scottish) Nean-shidh (Scottish) & Bean Nighe ("little washer by the ford"). Name can also vary depending on the region. "Washer woman" (German) & "Dames blanches" (France). Hag of the Mist (Welsh folklore).

 

REPELLED BY

Nothing can really repel it as they are omens rather than manifested spirits. There are tales however of people being able to capture them and control them as their own. This is hard to believe though.

 

SPECIAL POWERS/SKILLS

It is said that if you come between her and the water then she is required to grant you 3 wishes in the exchange of 3 questions answered truthfully. She has the ability to shape shift (usually into hares, stoats or hooded crows, animals that are associated with witchcraft in Ireland). In Wales and Cornwall, if a passer-by sees a washerwoman, they must avoid being seen by her. If she sees them, they must help her wring out the sheets. If they twist them the same way as her, their arm will be pulled out its socket, get pulled into the sheets and die instantly. If they twist in the opposite direction however, she is required to grant them 3 wishes.

 

HISTORY/ABOUT

She is typically perceived as an omen of death (or a messenger). She is attached to the noble families of Ireland, appearing when one of them are about to die, foretelling their death so to speak. She does this by either keening (a piercing, wailing cry) or by washing their blood stained clothes (this one occurs more in Scottish mythology). Even if you don’t see her, you will hear her. When several appear at once it is said that someone great or holy is about to die. She is thought to be the spirit of an undead woman who then attaches herself to a family. In some legends she is either the spirit of a murdered woman or a woman who has died of a broken heart. They are often seen brushing their hair with a silver comb; this has led to them being confused with Mermaids.

 

CAN BE FOUND

Usually near lonely spots such as pools and streams. Also in any other secluded spots. They also hang around natural forms such as trees, rivers and stones. In Waterford, Monaghan and Carlow, there are wedge shaped rocks known as "Banshee’s chairs".

 

TALES

In one centuries old Irish legend, it is said that if you find her comb on the floor, you must NEVER pick it up otherwise they will lure you away forever. In 1437, King James I of Scotland was approached by an Irish seer, who was later revealed as a banshee, who foretold his murder at the instigation of the Earl of Atholl. There are many other tales of banshees attending the great houses and courts of the Irish kings. There have been tales found in America from the late 18^{th century.}

 

ANY SIGHTINGS?

Apparently she has been haunting the Tar River in Edgecombe County, North Carolina (in this instance, she has been reported as more of a ghoul rather than a messenger). Some alleged sightings have been reported as recently as 1948. In Leinster, she is referred to as the bean chaointe (keening woman). Her wail is reported as being so piercing that it can shatter glass. In Kerry, they have reported hearing a low, pleasant singing at the time of someone’s death. Apparently, in the Badlands of South Dakota, a banshee is said to wail upon a hill near Watch Dog Butte. Traditionally, they only cried for 5 great Celtic families (O’Gradys, O’Neills, O’Briens, O’Connors and the Kavanaghs). In the middle of the 19th century, Reverend Charles Bunworth of County Cork became deathly ill. A servant knew he was going to die as he heard the wail a couple of days before he actually died.

 

SIMILAR CREATURES

Cailleach, La Llorona, Rusalka