Banshee-what is her story?
The ‘beane-sidhe’, or as we know her, banshee. The very mention of the name strings to mind a hag with long white hair, a menacing stare and a scream that cuts into your soul’s core, denominating death. Some say she was bestowed as a guardian spirit by God himself to Irish families, but because her fairy soul was so different, she could not be seen by those she protected until times of death, where she could sound her cry in sadness for the family’s grief. Others say she is linked to the Morrigan, an ancient Irish deity of war, death, the afterlife and magic, who can appear in the form of a black raven or crow. Low and behold the banshee also can take the form of a black bird. She is also said to take on the form of a dog, or even a moth.
The banshee has also been described as a tall beautiful woman with flowing red hair. Other times she is said to take on the form of a stately matron, other times as an old hag with long white silvery hair and flesh that hangs around a bony exterior. Another encounter described the banshee appearing as a bundle in white sheets, seemingly a baby left abandoned in the middle of a field. In looking down on the child, the image of an old hang stared back up, wailing her cry!
The banshee has been linked to Ireland and Irish families, particularly with the surnames beginning with ‘O’ and ‘Mac’ in their surnames. However there have been many without ‘O’ and ‘Mac’ surnames who have heard and witnessed the wail of the banshee to determine hearing of a death. Perhaps intermingling of marriage and some Irish roots down the line has led the banshee to be heard in Australia, America and even Sweden. On the other hand, she has been heard by a German family who moved to Ireland for a year. Apparently, if Ireland becomes part of you, it does not have to be a blood tie to hear the cry of the banshee...
Friend or foe? Some fear the banshee. A young girl went to open the blinds to witness the source of the banshee’s wails only to be yanked back and the curtains firmly readjusted shut by her grandmother, warning her young granddaughter that the banshee never wants to be seen. Some have got a foreboding in witnessing her presence. Another story tells of a lady in Carrickfergus who used to go for many night time walks due to insomnia. This lady had the ‘second sight’ and often saw the banshee, just standing by a spot she passed regularly on these walks. She never said hello, just nodded and walked on. When this woman took ill and could not continue her walks, the banshee was often seen standing outside the woman’s house by her granddaughter. She never wailed, or made eye contact. She just seemed to be keeping presence around a familiar friend, a form of support perhaps. The woman eventually died, but the banshee did not cry. Many Irish families with a banshee feel protected by her presence, or have grown fond of her as another part of their family. Others have a reverent fear of her. It is a mixed jar of feelings when it comes to the banshee!
To top it all off, she even has a sister. The Leanan Sidhe seduces young men and if you refuse her love, you become her slave and food source. She slowly sucks the life force out of her victims until they die, and she lives on for eternity. Otherwise known as a psychic vampire. In comparison to that, the banshee only forewarns of death and has never been known to cause any actual harm to people.
Another variety is the ghostly washer woman in Scotland who forewarns death by washing the clothes of the predicted to be dead people in rivers of blood. She is known as Bean nighe.
Some reckon the banshee has last been seen since 1942, but she has both been seen and heard up until more recent years. I have a feeling the banshee’s wail will be carried in the wind for a long time to come...
Until next time, sleep tight!
Banshee: modern encounters with the banshee by Cormac Strain and Barry Fitzgerald
Psychic Phenomena in Ireland by Sheila St. Clair
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/byathameandstang/2017/03/the-banshee/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p_M9lC9Dd4
By W.H. Brooke - https://archive.org/details/fairylegendstrad00crokrich, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5700663
