Banshee

The Banshee (IPA: [ˈbæn.ʃi]), from the Irish bean sí ("woman of the sídhe" or "woman of the fairy mound") 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 Nighe ("washer-woman").

The sídhe are variously believed to be the survivals of pre-Christian Gaelic deities, spirits of nature, or the ancestors. Some Theosophists and Celtic Christians have also referred to the sídhe as "fallen angels." They are commonly referred to in English as "fairies," and the banshee can also be described as a "fairy woman."

Banshees in history, mythology and folklore

Traditionally, when a citizen of an Irish village died, a woman would sing a lament (in Irish: caoineadh, [ˈkiːnʲə] or [ˈkiːnʲuː]) at their funeral. These women singers are sometimes referred to as "keeners." Legend has it that, for five great Gaelic families: the O'Gradys, the O'Neills, the O'Briens, the O'Connors, and the Kavanaghs, the lament would be sung by a fairy woman; having foresight, she would appear before the death and keen. When several banshees appeared at once, it indicated the death of someone great or holy. The tales sometimes recounted that the woman, though called a fairy, was a ghost, often of a specific murdered woman, or a woman who died in childbirth.

Banshees are frequently described as dressed in white or grey, and often having long, fair hair which they brush with a silver comb, a detail scholar Patricia Lysaght attributes to confusion with local mermaid myths. This comb detail is also related to the centuries-old traditional romantic Irish story that, if you ever see a comb lying on the ground in Ireland, you must never pick it up, or the banshees (or mermaids - stories vary), having placed it there to lure unsuspecting humans, will spirit such gullible humans away. Other stories portray banshees as dressed in green, red or black with a grey cloak.

Banshees are common in Irish and Scottish folk stories such as those recorded by Herminie T. Kavanagh. They enjoy the same mythical status in Ireland as fairies and leprechauns.

Etymology

The term Banshee is an anglicization of the Irish bean sídhe or bean sí - "woman of the sídhe" or "woman of the fairy mound." The Scots Gaelic version of the name is Bean Nighe - "washer-woman." Both names are derived from the Old Irish ben síde, "fairy woman": bean: woman, and sidhe: the genitive case of "fairy."

Sídhe in Irish, and Sìth in Scots Gaelic, mean "peace," and the fairies or sídhe are also referred to as the Daoine Sídhe or Duine Sìth - the "people of peace." Sídhe, in its variant spellings, is used to refer to the Sídhe Mounds, as well as to the beings said to inhabit the mounds.

Banshees in popular culture

• A banshee appears in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Reaper Man, named Brother Ixolite. He has a speech impediment, so "instead of sitting on roofs and screaming when people are about to die, he just writes them a note and slips it under the door." Going Postal introduces "feral" banshees, whose predatory habits offer an explanation as to why a banshee's cry is an omen of death (i.e. the banshee is stalking its prey, most likely whoever hears the banshee's cry).
• Banshees have been featured in a number of video games, such as the MMORPGs RuneScape and Tibia, in which they are often known to attack players by singing. In the popular RTS game, WarCraft III, "banshees" belong to "the undead army" and can attack other units with "tortured blasts of sonic force"; they can also curse or possess their enemies.
• The name "Banshee" has been given to many whistling fireworks produced by various manufacturers.
• "Banshee" is the name of a mutant in the second iteration of Marvel's X-Men comics. He is able to cause damage with his "sonic scream." A modification of this scream allows him to fly, although he can not talk while doing so.
• In an episode of the television series Charmed, Alyssa Milano's character Phoebe turned into a Banshee.
• Banshees appear in the Disney children's movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959), certainly resulting in many a nightmares.
• Banshee was used as a name for a General Motors series of show cars for its PontiacDivision, the first appearing in 1966. Reportedly, the name was to be used on the Pontiac Firebird, but GM executives thought better of using a name meaning a "screaming spirit of death" on one its products.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Lysaght, Patricia (1986). The Banshee: The Irish Death Messenger. Roberts Rinehart Publishers. ISBN 1-57098-138-8. 
• Briggs, Katharine (1976). An Encyclopedia of Fairies. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-394-73467-X. 
• Wentz, WY Evans (1966, 1990). The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. Citadel. 
• Vinopal, John (1986). Ten Years of Torment. UC Santa Cruz Press. 

External links

• The Legend of the Banshee
• An Animated Tale of the Banshee
• The Banshee

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