In Irish tradition, a Banshee is a feminine apparition that typically cries out, wails, shrieks, or keens to announce the passing of a family member. Her name refers to the mythologically significant tumuli or mounds that dot the Irish landscape, known in Old Irish as síde. Her eyes are often red from constant crying and she occasionally has long, flowing hair and puts on a grey robe over a green outfit. According to a firsthand testimony by Ann, Lady Fanshawe (an English memoirist and cookery author), a Banshee may be clad in white, have red hair and a horrible complexion. The banshee will occasionally manifest as a charming singing virgin from a deceased family who has been assigned the task by unseen forces to warn her mortal kin of impending tragedy. She may also be seen at night as a cloaked woman huddled behind the woods, sobbing hard while hiding her face from view or floating past in the moonlight. When heard in the quiet of the night, this wail of the spirit, which is more somber than any other sound on earth, portends the death of a family member. Interestingly the keening woman (bean chaointe), who sobs an Irish lament, is a traditional component of grieving in Ireland and some areas of Scotland. The finest keeners would be in high demand, and this woman may occasionally be a professional. An Irish banshee or fairy woman is said to have sung such a lament. Even if the relative had passed away far away and the news had not yet arrived, she would sing it when they died or were going to die. In those circumstances, her wailing would be the first notification of the death for the family. Death can also be predicted by the banshee. She will scream or wail to warn people away from potentially dangerous situations, which is how a banshee got the nickname -- wailing woman -- in the first place. The simultaneous appearance of numerous banshees portends the passing of a great or saintly figure. The stories occasionally claimed that the woman, despite being referred to as a fairy, was actually a ghost, frequently of a particular deceased woman or a mother who died giving birth. [Information and Image Credit : Banshee, Wikipedia] [Image: Bunworth Banshee, Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, by Thomas Crofton Croker, 1825] [The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)][Original Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Banshee.jpg ] #Mythology
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