Banshees are Irish spirit women who predict and lament the death of a family member, usually by emitting a mournful wail. These spirits will release a chilling and ear-piercing lament when a family member is in mortal danger or has already died. Non-family members are often unable to hear or see the banshee.
Banshees are usually assigned to one family and will act as that family’s harbinger of death for generations, possibly forever. The family tends to be of noble descent, and their heritage is generally 100 percent Gaelic Irish. The ghostly women are mainly associated with families with the suffix O’ or Mac/Mc.
However, some prominent families of Anglo-Saxon descent have also acquired a banshee, especially if the family has a history of music or singing, which supposedly brings them closer to the spirit or other world. The creatures are overwhelmingly associated with Ireland, but stories have featured similar screeching women predicting death in Scotland and Wales.
In some legends, a banshee returns to the family’s ancestral land to emit its mournful wail and will return there no matter where in the world the loved one dies. However, other stories tell of the banshee following the family around the world. Many Irish immigrants to North America have reported that the banshee followed them to the new world.
It is important to note that banshees do not bring death; they simply foretell it, and they are not evil or dangerous in any way.
The banshee can be a beautiful women or a withered hag
Descriptions of Banshee’s can be quite varied and seem to depend on the family. She often appears as a beautiful young woman with long flowing white hair; she is dressed in white flowing garments, and can even be heard singing sweetly. However, other banshees resemble a hideous old hag covered in a black shawl and screeching in a horrific manner. The latter incarnation resembles stereotypes about witches.
The banshee is usually thought to be the ghost of a family member who passed away many generations ago. The woman in question likely had something bad happen to her in life, which caused her to turn into a banshee in death. You will never see or hear a group of banshees as they are purely solo apparitions.
Banshees are spotted at night, usually with a veil over their faces. They are often crouched by a tree or drifting in the air through the moonlight as they emit their mournful wail.
Some accounts dispute that banshees are ghosts, claiming they are fairies. The origin of the word “banshee” is also a little disputed. It comes from the Irish phrase bean sidhe, which some texts claim means Spirit of Death, but it is most commonly translated as Woman of the Fairy Mound or sometimes Woman of the Other World. Other names include Hag of the Mist, Hag of the Black Head, and the Washerwoman. This confusion over the name adds to the difficulty in classifying the banshee.
The legend is believed to have started around the 8th century, but the first known written reference to a banshee came in the 14th century in a historical account authored by Seán mac Ruaidhrí Mac Craith called Cathreim Thoirdhealbhaigh or Triumphs of Torlough. The book documented the wars between an Irish family and a rival English one that claimed control over an area in southwest Ireland.
Sightings and tales of banshees
One of the most famous banshees is associated with the Reverend Charles Bunworth from County Cork. Bunworth was respected by the rich and beloved by the poor in his community, where people regularly sought his help on all issues. He was also a respected musician and an expert on the harp.
However, Bunworth’s health was deteriorating, so his daughter sent a herdsman called Kavanagh to a nearby town to retrieve some medicine. When he returned that evening with the medicine, he was in an emotional state and burst into tears as he claimed the master would soon be “going from us.” Miss Bunworth told him to stop being ridiculous and accused him of being drunk because her father had started to improve.
Kavanagh then described his encounter with a banshee,
“I came through the glen of Ballybeg, she was along with me keening, and screeching and clapping her hands, by my side every step of the way, with her long white hair falling about her shoulders, and I could hear her repeat the master’s name every now and then, as plain as ever I heard it. When I came to the old abbey, she parted from me there, and turned into the pigeon-field next the berrin ground, and folding her cloak about her, down she sat under the tree that was struck by the lightning, and began keening so bitterly, that it went through one’s heart to hear it.”
Over the coming days, other members of the household and the local community reported hearing wailing and seeing a ghostly female figure flying through the air. Soon, Bunworth deteriorated again and passed away.
In one old legend from the 19th century, a branch of the O’Gradys had settled in Canada, and a couple of generations had already passed. One evening, the family heard a strange cry, a mournful lamentation from outside their home. It was described as a wail of “deepest sorrow and agony” that floated through the air. The O’Gradys investigated the area around their home but could find no sign of any person or animal that could have been making such a dreadful sound.
The following day, the father and the eldest son went fishing. When they failed to return for dinner, the alarm was raised, and others went down to the shore to look for the two men. Unfortunately, at exactly the same time the banshee had wailed the previous night, a group of men suddenly appeared at the house carrying the bodies of the two O’Grady men. Their boat had reportedly capsized within sight of the shore in a freak accident.
A more modern tale was told in 2021 by Bridie Morgan from her rural house near Corofin, County Clare. A close friend of the family passed away from cancer, and on the first anniversary of her death, at about 1 a.m., the Morgan family heard a mournful wail outside their home, which seemed to drift toward the field behind their house. They heard the same wail every year on the same day at the same time for the following three years. Morgan said she told the local priest about the wailing, and he then said a mass, which finally caused the phenomenon to stop.
Does the banshee come from an ancient Irish funeral custom?
There are a number of non-supernatural theories for the origin of the banshee legend. One states that it may have come from the practice of keening. This was a funeral ritual performed in Ireland and some parts of Scotland up until the 18th century, which involved having a woman sing a lament for the deceased. These women were paid professionals who would perform their wail-like lament for families who could afford the service, which may explain why banshees became associated with wealthy families. These keening women would travel the countryside and often had a ragged, disheveled look, which may go some way to explaining the banshee’s appearance.
An example of keen that would be recited or sung at a funeral is shown below. According to Thomas Crofton Croker, writing in the 19th century, the keen was created and recited by the mother of a young man named Ryan, who had passed away. It is notable because it mentions a banshee.
Maidens, sing no more in gladness
To your merry spinning-wheels;
Join the keener’s voice of sadness-
Feel for what a mother feels!See the space within my dwelling, ‘Tis the cold, blank space of death; ‘Twas the Banshee’s voice came swelling, Slowly o’er the midnight heath.
Keeners, let your song not falter-
He was as the hawthorn fair.-
Lowly at the Virgin’s altarWill his mother kneel in prayer.
Prayer is good to calm the spirit,
When the keen is sweetly sung.—
Death, though mortal flesh inherit,
Why should age lament the young?—‘Twas the Banshee’s lonely wailing:-
Well I knew the voice of death
On the night-wind slowly sailing
O’er the bleak and gloomy heath.
Other theories claim the banshee may simply be an animal. The nighttime screeches of foxes and pine martens have often been blamed for fooling people into thinking they heard a banshee’s wail. The barn owl is also a suspect because of its hoot and distinctive white appearance, and silent flight, which can catch people by surprise.
References
BBC News.com, “NI Wildlife charity in bid to protect ‘banshee’ barn owl,” accessed November 1, 2024.
Brent, Harry. “Exploring Irish Mythology: The Banshee” in The Irish Post. Accessed October 26, 2024.
Crofton Croker, Thomas. “Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland,” Pub.: J. Murray (1826). Accessed November 2, 2024.
Paraschaki, Liana. “The Banshee” in FolkloreScotland.com. Accessed October 26, 2024.
Morgan, Bridie. “Bridie’s story of the Banshee (an Irish folklore fairy spirit) in west Ireland,” for Celtic Atlantic Tales. Accessed November 2, 2024.
Ruxton, Dean. “Ireland’s banshee: A delusion of peasants or a spirit with a mournful wail? in the Irish Times. Accessed November 1, 2024.
Wilde, Lady. “Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland,” Volume 1, Pub.: Ticknor and Company, (1887). Accessed October 26, 2024.