by Linda Paul

Created on: March 30, 2008

The banshee may well be one of the most misunderstood folklore legends in existence. People can relate to fairies, nature sprites, leprechauns and elves. While these supernatual beings may be mischievous, they are not portrayed as life threatening like the banshee. According to Irish legend, when one hears the wail of the banshee, death is not far behind. Actually, the banshee is often referred to in Irish and Scottish myth as a "fairy woman." Speculation also links the banshee with the mystical race Tuatha De'Dannan, from whence the fairy folk are descended.

The word banshee is derived from the Irish bean sidhe which translates to "spirit woman." According to legend, a banshee is attached to each Milesian family, which are the families who names begin with O' Mc or Mac and are of ancient Celtic lineage.

She is said to follow the descendants of these families to wherever in the world they may choose to travel or emigrate. She is always present, much like a Guardian Angel, quietly watching over and protecting her family. It is only when a tragedy that she cannot prevent happens that her wailing begins. She appears shortly before a death occurs in "her" family wailing and screaming in rage and frustration. She is heard not only by her family, but often by other people in the area. Sometimes a banshee will sit on the outside windowsill of the soon to be deceased for two or three hours or even days until the death occurs and then she flies away into the darkness, giving rise to the belief that a banshee may manifest as a bird or a crow.

When a member her family is dying, she paces the dark hills around his or her home during the late evening or early morning. She appears in many guises. Sometimes she is seen as a tall, thin woman wearing a misty white cloak of cobwebs with silver-grey hair that floats to the ground behind her as she walks. Her face is ghostly pale and her eyes are red rimmed from centuries of crying. At other times she may be seen as a young girl with long reddish-golden hair, wearing a green kirtle and scarlet mantle decorated with gold. She may appear shrouded from head to toe in a black translucent cloak. Or, she may have long white, blond, or auburn hair, wearing the clothes of a country woman, usually white, but sometimes grey, brown or red. White, grey and brown are traditionally Irish colors of mourning, and red is associated with magic, fairies and the supernatural. Sometimes she appears to be combing her hair with a silver comb as she laments.

She

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