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The Banshee,
from the Irish bean
sídhe ("woman of the síde"
or "woman of the fairy mounds") is a female spirit in Irish mythology,
usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. Her Scottish
counterpart is the bean shìth (also spelled
bean-shìdh).The story of the bean-sidhe began as a fairy woman keening at the death of important personages. In later
stories, the appearance of the banshee could foretell the death. Banshees were
said to appear for particular Irish families, though which families made it onto
this list varied depending on who was telling the story.
The banshee can appear in a variety of guises. Most often she appears as an
ugly, frightening hag, but can also appear as a stunningly beautiful woman of
any age that suits her. In some tales, the figure who first appears to be a
"banshee" is later revealed to be the Irish battle goddess, the Morrígan. The hag
may also appear as a washer-woman, or bean-nighe (washing woman), and is seen washing
the blood stained clothes or armour of those who are about to die.
Although not always seen, her mourning call is heard, usually at night when
someone is about to die and usually around woods. In 1437, King
James I of Scotland was approached by an Irish seer or banshee who foretold
his murder at the instigation of the Earl of Atholl. This is an example of the
banshee in human form. There are records of several human banshees or prophets
attending the great houses of Ireland and the courts of local Irish kings. In
some parts of Leinster, she is referred to as the bean chaointe (keening
woman) whose wail can be so piercing that it shatters glass. In Kerry in the southwest of
Ireland, her keen is experienced as a "low, pleasant singing"; in Tyrone in the north, as
"the sound of two boards being struck together"; and on Rathlin Island as "a
thin, screeching sound somewhere between the wail of a woman and the moan of an
owl".
The banshee may also appear in a variety of other forms, such as that of a hooded crow,
stoat, hare and weasel -
animals associated in Ireland with witchcraft.
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