The Celtic Banshee Folklore | Ep. 125

Have you ever heard a forlorn wailing or earth-shattering shriek in the distance? Or perhaps caught a glimpse of a ghostly woman crying?

If so, you may have experienced a banshee. Banshees are Celtic Folklore and depict a woman who is a harbinger of misfortunate, often death, in the family. But, are banshees believable? Listen now!

Celtic Folklore: The Banshee

Have you ever heard a distant cry that no one else could hear?

Can a fairy tell when death is coming?

What would you do if you heard a female spirit crying in the distance?

What’s up, Bizarros?! This week we dive into some Irish Mythology and learn about the Banshee.

What is a banshee?

Also known as the bean si (ban-sea), “woman of the fairy mounds,” who is known for her kenning of lamenting wails. They scream in the night. They are an omen of death in the family of the person that heard her cry.

These fairies come from Irish Celtic folklore.

According to the mythology of the banshee, they have the ability to turn into mist, and they may sound like a bird flapping its wings.

The History Of Banshees

In medieval times a tradition started in Ireland. Women would come to the gravesides of the recently deceased.

These women would be called keeners, and they would sing sad songs called caoineadh (Queen-ya) or a lament.

The best Kenners would attend large funerals for nobles.

This is how some women made their living. They would be paid in alcohol. This caused these women to be cast out of most cities in their old age because they were seen as sinners.

In their prime, these women were called bean si or fairy women because their voices were so magical, and fae could sing better than humans.

About The Banshee

A banshee can appear is in several ways.

1. A beautiful woman wearing a grey cloak

2. A pale woman in a white dress with long red hair

3. A woman with a long silver dress and silver hair

4. A woman without a head, naked from the waist up, carrying a bowl of blood

5. An elderly woman with a green dress, frightening red eyes, and long white hair

6. An old woman with a veil covering her face dressed all in black with long grey hair

Banshee were said to have combs that they would sometimes be seen brushing their hair with. Because of this, it became a superstition that if a person saw a comb on the ground, they shouldn’t pick it because they would be whisked into the fairy world.

Banshee can come in sizes ranging from 3 to 8 feet tall. Their appearance can come preceded by a crow, a screaming cat, or howling dogs.

Depending on where you are in Ireland the cry of the banshee can be different. By the way of Tyrone it’s said she sounds like boards smashing together; in Leinster, she sounds like glass breaking, and in Merry, she has a low pleasant voice.

Her cry changes in length and volume, but no matter, it can be heard from far away, and it always means imminent death.

Two poems about the banshee

Francis Duggan Tuesday, October 14, 2008

As the moon at midnight moves through the starry sky, Out there in the bog land the Banshee’s shrill cry, The one seldom heard and that human eyes cannot see Some say the ghost of one who died in agony. ‘Tis said the cry of the banshee is a brief loud shrill screech That into the depths of the soul seem to reach And those who have heard it will never forget That loud ear piercing scream ’til the day of their death. To those who have heard it, fear of the night it does bring The cry of the banshee is a terrifying thing, The most terrifying scream that they ever did hear A cry that instills in those who hear it fear. The cry of the banshee is a blood-curdling cry It pierces the silence of the midnight sky, And those who have heard it never leave us in doubt That at midnight from their homes they never more venture out.

Sam Hain Mar 2015 Dinner Date

A banshee once went on a date,

A dinner. It wasn’t so great:

She started to cry

Right across from the guy,

Who then choked and fell dead on his plate.

Personal Encounters With Banshee

“In 1801 (from the Mystery universe)

True Irish Ghost Stories supposedly occurred back in the early 1900s, when a member of a family in Cork told of how her esteemed family had been plagued by a banshee. She says of these incidents:

“My mother, when a young girl, was standing looking out of the window in their house at Blackrock, near Cork. She suddenly saw a white figure standing on a bridge which was easily visible from the house. The figure waved her arms towards the house, and my mother heard the bitter wailing of the Banshee. It lasted some seconds, and then the figure disappeared. The next morning my grandfather was walking as usual into the city of Cork. He accidentally fell, hit his head against the curbstone, and never recovered consciousness.”

The account comes from 1894 and concerns the odd experience of a boy at a boarding school. It is written:

“A few years ago, a curious incident occurred in a public school in connection with the belief in the Banshee. One of the boys, happening to become ill, was at once placed in a room by himself, where he used to sit all day. On one occasion, as he was being visited by the doctor, he suddenly started up from his seat and affirmed that he heard somebody crying. The doctor, of course, who could hear or see nothing, came to the conclusion that the illness had slightly affected his brain. However, the boy, who appeared quite sensible, still persisted that he heard someone crying and furthermore said, “It is the Banshee, as I have heard it before.” The following morning the headmaster received a telegram saying that the boy’s brother had been accidentally shot dead.”

From the 1940s

along a dark cemetery road called Old Howard Street in the town of Fulton Place. It was here that an elderly man was suddenly bedridden by some mysterious debilitating disease, after which scores of squawking crows began to congregate around the home for reasons no one could fathom. One evening when the man had visitors over to see him in what seemed to be his last hours, there was apparently a knock at the door, and when one of the visitors opened the door, she saw “an old hag-like woman with long white hair and a long white dress, who was wringing her hands and sobbing,” only to turn to come rushing at the house with an ear-splitting scream before vanishing into thin air. According to the story, the old man died just a few hours later.

“As a child, I remember my Grandmother telling me that my Grandfather had taken ill in the back room of their house; she was attending him when she heard a loud banging on the front door and left my grandfather to go and answer it. She told me that as she approached the door, she could hear a sobbing noise coming from outside, but on opening the door, there was no one on the other side. She immediately went back to my Grandfather, finding him stone dead in the bed. Fast forward to November 2001, I was in my Grandmothers house. She had only been given a few days to live, and my Father thought it was a good idea to come out and say my last Goodbyes.

Rather, unfortunately, she was going through a slow, painful death. I remember going to her bedroom and feeling very cold I knew that the few days were more realistically a matter of hours at the most. As my Grandmother’s breathing became more shallow, my dad said it was probably better that I sit in the front room. He called my Aunt’s boyfriend and asked him to come and pick me up. While I was waiting, I heard a Knock on the door. I assumed it was my Aunt’s boyfriend. As I approached the door, I could hear crying. As I touched the lock to open the door, I suddenly felt a chill down my spine. There was no one there. Almost instantaneously, I heard a mixture of prayers and sobbing coming from the back room. I knew she was gone. As I closed the door, I saw a glimpse of what can only be described as a tall thin woman sitting crying on the neighbor’s wall. The experience has stayed with me forever.”

Reddit Banshee

“One witness on Reddit claims that his family moved to New York City back in the 1950s from Ireland, and he says that they were mostly strictly Catholic but that they would often speak of the banshee of their homeland. At darker times, they would claim that not only was the banshee real, but that one had long stalked their family for generations. It apparently did not stay in Ireland when they had moved because the witness had a rather unnerving experience one evening in New York, of which he says:

I was standing next to my bedroom window. We lived in an apartment that was on the 5th floor. The window faced out into an alleyway. It was dusk when the crying started. First, it sounded like a newborn or a cat crying. Now I knew my neighbors and did not know of anyone that had a newborn, but it was an alleyway, so I thought it was probably a cat. But the crying changed into a young child crying or sobbing, and it was the saddest cry I have ever heard. I tried to lift up my window to call out to the person crying. I thought it was Tommy Kavanaugh next door. I yelled out because I could not see anything because there was no light, and it was dark by now. There was no answer, just crying. I yelled out, “Tommy, is that you? Are you ok? Do you need help?” No answer, just more crying.

The sobbing changed again to a woman’s sobs. Again, heartbreak-sounding sobs come from an unknown source. My mom came into my room, and the crying stopped. I said to my mom, Don’t you hear that crying? It sounds like someone is really hurt?” She said,”I don’t hear anything.” She was in the living room. The apartment was not that big. She should have heard the crying. She looked at me very funny and shook her head. When she left the room, the crying started. This was not crying. That was from someone being physically hurt. This was a crying that someone has just told them the worst news possible, and her heart was broken. That’s the only way I can describe it. The crying stopped, and I went about my business. Three days later, at 5:30 in the morning, my father’s sister called to tell him their sister Kathleen died. She had leukemia. “

Reddit TodayTomorrow8895

I think I saw a Banshee, who’s warning me my boyfriend will pass soon.

So the other night, I was sitting on my porch smoking a cigarette, as I usually do late at night. I was home alone, my boyfriend was at work at the time, and I just hear really loud screaming. I look behind me, and I see what looks like a woman just walking down the street, screaming at the top of her lungs, and she looked right at me. My initial thought was maybe it was just some weirdo or someone under the influence of something. But after more thought, I realized that the scream didn’t really sound human. It sounded like something I’d never heard before. After that, I thought maybe it was a skinwalker, but my mother informed me that, chances are, it was a Banshee.

For some backstory on why I think maybe she’s warning me of my boyfriend’s passing, is because a couple of nights before the potential banshee sighting, me and my mom had very similar dreams. In my dream, my boyfriend had passed, and I was trying to figure out how to cope with his passing. In my mom’s dream, I was giving birth to a child and kept saying, “I need to take care of the baby; I promised their father I would,” hinting at the idea that the father was dead.

I don’t know what I saw, but I’m hoping for maybe some insight on Banshees and just help me figure out what I saw. I saw online that Irish families can have their own Banshee, and I’m 3rd gen American from an Irish family if that has any relevance.

Blackcat1206 1 yr. ago

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My Gran was from Ireland; she told me and my cousins’ scary bedtime stories about the Banshee.

She once told us that when she was 13, she was running an errand for her Mum with her sister Mary.

They had to go through a wooded area to get to the next small town, which was their destination,

There was a small stream where the kids used to fish and play; they were approaching the stream, and from a little distance, Mary said to Gran, “What’s that, Annie?’

They both stopped and looked; beside the stream, with her back to them, was a figure of a woman with long dark hair. She wore a light-colored dress, and her feet were bare.

They were silent, so they could hear soft, gentle weeping.

Without waiting another minute, my Gran said she and Mary turned and ran the other way as fast as they could.

When they got home, they told their Dada about their adventure

(Their Mum weren’t too happy that they returned without completing the errand)

Their Dada said it was probably the Banshee.

Their Mum just rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath.

The next day a younger child that the family knew was found face down in the stream in the same place as they saw the woman.

It is said that the banshee shows up just before a tragedy or death.

Years later, I did some research, and it said that the Banshee can also be known as a bringer of bad tidings, not just of death.

Are Banshees A Predictor Of Death?

What do you think, Bizarros?

Is this Irish Folklore legend a sign of impending death?

What would you do if you were wandering the Irish countryside and heard the cries of a disembodied spirit?

Let us know what you guys think in the comments!