Some Irish folklore for you The Phoenixian Book of Creatures Banshee Female attendant fairies to certain old families of Ireland, when they howl in the night it means death for one of the family members. Before a death in the family, one will go wailing and clapping her hands, if the death is of a great or holy person a whole chorus of Banshees will wail. Sometimes a Coach-a-tower, a large black coach mounted by a coffin and pulled by headless horses, will accompany a Banshee. If you open your door to the Coach-a-tower a basin of blood will be thrown in your face. The Banshee is also a type of wraith, the apparition of a living or once living person that appears as a portent of death. The apparition will be of a person who was strongly attached to the family whether in a positive or a negative way. It could be someone who suffered violence at the hands of the family or it could be a family member who died, an ancestor. If the Banshee loves the person about to die, the song will be a soft chant that welcomes the dying to the afterlife and comforts the survivors. If the Banshee was an enemy of the person about to die the cry will be like ...the scream of a fiend, howling with demonic delight over the coming death agony of another of his foes (Spence 63). Almost always female in appearance, usually old and thin with long scraggly hair and white robes, but sometimes she is young with long flaxen hair. Oftentimes only the person she sings for can see her, others will only hear a sound resembling the melancholy moaning of the wind. The cry may be stronger near a body of water. A Banshee will only wail for the descendants of ancient Irish nobility, even if the modern day descendants now live in poverty and/or outside of Ireland. So if you come from peasants and you hear the call you can rest assured that its not for you. Associated with the Bodach Glas or avenging Gray Spectre. Also known as Bean Sidhe, white woman, and Shee Frogh or house-fairy. See Also: Creatures by Type » Fairies, Harbingers References Knowels, James (ed.). The Twentieth Century. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1897. OHanlon, John. Irish Folk Lore. Glasgow: Cameron & Ferguson, 1870. Spence, Lewis. An Encyclopaedia of Occultism. New York: Dodd, Mead, & Company, 1920. ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Books of Mythical Beasts & Beings An online collection of highly recommended books with wonderful artwork and information on fabulous creatures in legend and lore. About | Comments & Suggestions | Home Encyclopedia Chimerica - The Phoenixian Book of Creatures™ © Copyright 2005 - 2010 Liza Phoenix. All rights reserved. Copyright Information - Disclaimer - Bibliography Home
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 03:04:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015