02-08-2010, 11:24 PM
Since I was a child my family always talked about the howl of the Banshee. The tales I( heard were often told at family gatherings at Saint Patrick's day. Often an aunt or uncle would relate to us the story of how the heard a Banshee shriek and the neighbors was found dead the next day.
Banshee comes from the Irish words "bean," woman, (ban) and "sidhe," fairy, (shee.) It is said that Banshees come to only those with a strong Celtic lineage. If your last name begins with Mac, Mc or O and your family originates from Ireland this could apply to you.
In Irish legend, a banshee wails around a house if someone in the house is about to die. There are particular families who are believed to have Banshees attached to them, and whose cries herald the death of a member of that family. I grew up in a strong Irish community in New York and the stories of Banshee's and their activities were heard more then too, to often.
Traditionally, when a citizen of an Irish village died, a woman would sing a lament 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, powerful of respect and station in life or reknowned. Thestories told to ne 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 would or could become a Banshee if she did not recieve a good Catholic burial.
Banshees are frequently described as dressed in white or grey clothes of the garve, and often having long tangled, 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.
These creatures as told to me by my grand mother are nothing but shadows, floating amongst our realm with no purpose but that of their master The Lord of Death. They feed on humans grief, their emotions and their own strength, without these they would cease to exist. The classic depiction of a Banshee is identical to the image of a tall, humanoid figure shrouded in a black cloak, under which no face can be seen except by the one or family of the soon to be deceased.
I have also been tod that Banshee's is a warning spirit for one to get their affairs in order that they come to a place several nights. The first night only the person who is to die hears a loan moan, the second night the family hear her wailing for an hour or more at midnight, the third night she comes and shrieks so all in he vicinity know a death will occur that night.
It is also said that the cry of the Banshee will set one to have cold sweats and a great sense of fear when heard. The sound echo's in a mysterious way. when the death is in a few days it is low when near it is loud and piercing to the ear.
Source:
http://paranormal.about.com/gi/dynamic/o...nshees.php
Banshee comes from the Irish words "bean," woman, (ban) and "sidhe," fairy, (shee.) It is said that Banshees come to only those with a strong Celtic lineage. If your last name begins with Mac, Mc or O and your family originates from Ireland this could apply to you.
In Irish legend, a banshee wails around a house if someone in the house is about to die. There are particular families who are believed to have Banshees attached to them, and whose cries herald the death of a member of that family. I grew up in a strong Irish community in New York and the stories of Banshee's and their activities were heard more then too, to often.
Traditionally, when a citizen of an Irish village died, a woman would sing a lament 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, powerful of respect and station in life or reknowned. Thestories told to ne 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 would or could become a Banshee if she did not recieve a good Catholic burial.
Banshees are frequently described as dressed in white or grey clothes of the garve, and often having long tangled, 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.
These creatures as told to me by my grand mother are nothing but shadows, floating amongst our realm with no purpose but that of their master The Lord of Death. They feed on humans grief, their emotions and their own strength, without these they would cease to exist. The classic depiction of a Banshee is identical to the image of a tall, humanoid figure shrouded in a black cloak, under which no face can be seen except by the one or family of the soon to be deceased.
I have also been tod that Banshee's is a warning spirit for one to get their affairs in order that they come to a place several nights. The first night only the person who is to die hears a loan moan, the second night the family hear her wailing for an hour or more at midnight, the third night she comes and shrieks so all in he vicinity know a death will occur that night.
It is also said that the cry of the Banshee will set one to have cold sweats and a great sense of fear when heard. The sound echo's in a mysterious way. when the death is in a few days it is low when near it is loud and piercing to the ear.
Source:
http://paranormal.about.com/gi/dynamic/o...nshees.php