Who are the banshees. Banshees - interesting facts. Evil spirits or simple messengers

In the legends, the banshee is described in different ways, only a characteristic sign of her presence is preserved - a mournful cry. If a person heard the sobs of this spirit - to be in the family of the deceased. There is a version that allegedly this spirit leads to suicide and preys on the sick, but most researchers believe that this creature is the guardian of ancient families.

Banshee - who is it?

The banshee is a creature from the legends of the Irish, described as a lady appearing near the house of a man who is about to die. Her presence is indicated by characteristic sobs. This name in translation means "a woman from the Sids" - a different world, although in some lands of Ireland this spirit is called differently: boshent, bayb and bau. Several versions are put forward about the essence of the banshee:

1. Fairy. Such a description is found in the literature of Ireland in the 19th century.
2. Ghost. The spirit of a mourner who, during her lifetime, performed her duties poorly.
3. The patroness of the family.
4. A washerwoman who is always washing the bloody clothes of the dead.
5. Demon from the afterlife.

The descriptions of the banshee in the legends are different, the only common feature is screaming and crying, from which, supposedly, glass can even burst. This spirit is found in the image:

• a beautiful woman with long, golden curls, in a light cloak or dress;
• an old woman with gray or purple hair, dressed in a gray cloak or shroud;
• hare, weasel or crow.

Banshee is a legend

The history of the banshee tells: the tribes of the goddess Danu were called her ancestors. When she lost in the battle of the gods, these people settled in the hills, they began to be called sids. And some decided to find a dwelling at the top and began to nail to the houses of ancient families. There are several legends about daredevils who were able to stay alive after such a meeting:

1. A man in the dark saw a banshee in the form of an old woman and decided to mock the beggar woman. In retaliation, she left a mark of her fingers on his hand.
2. The Irishman caught the washerwoman at work and ordered him to wash his shirt, for which she almost strangled the impudent man with her collar.
3. The poor farmer met the banshee late in the evening and took the comb from her. Then she came for the selected and ordered to return.

Banshee abilities

Banshee is a mystical creature with unusual abilities:

1. Scream. Heard only by those to whom the banshee came to, this scream is so terrible that the person's ears and nose begin to bleed. According to one of the legends, the banshee is a spirit that leads to suicide, the victim begins to beat his head against the wall to stop the agonizing scream, and breaks his head. Other legends mention that the moaning is supposedly reminiscent of the howl of a dog or a wolf and the cry of a child at the same time, and testify to the imminent death of family members.
2. The ability to hide. Spirits have the gift of being invisible, thanks to black clothes or fog.
3. Invulnerability. Only knives or bullets made of gold can destroy a banshee, with a spell it is really only possible to stop the spirit for a while.
4. The ability to fly and hover above the ground.
5. The ability to move things.

How did the banshee die?

There are 2 legends about how the banshee looked before death:

1. A young Banshee girl from a noble family who ventured into a secret magical passage and lost her mind. After that, she mutilated her face with a knife and asked the sky to curse her own soul. Higher powers complied with her request and turned her into an eternal dead, a spirit that announces death by crying.
2. A little girl left in the woods by her parents to die. The baby turned into a spirit crying for her family. In retaliation, she destroyed the souls of not only her relatives, but also her fellow villagers. And then she began to wander around the world.

How to summon a banshee?

The rituals of how to summon a banshee have not been preserved, since it is believed that this spirit is not subject to any forces and appears on its own, of its own choice and desire. The only sound that, according to the legends of the Irish, this creature can attract is the music of the funeral rites of this country. Residents believe that it came from the voice of this ghost. No one would like to call such a spirit, since a meeting with him portends death to a living person.

Banshee Facts

The image of this spirit has recently been often used by directors and authors, the film "The Curse of the Banshee" has gained great popularity. Although the whole truth about the banshee is still not known, history has preserved several cases where eyewitnesses confirmed contact with this spirit:

1. Memoirs dating back to the 17th century. While visiting Lady Honor O'Brien, Lady Fenshave saw at the window at night a lady in white, who was saying something in a low voice. Then the stranger disappeared, and in the morning the guest learned about the death of the owner of the house.
2. In 1979, the Englishwoman Irene heard a terrible howl in the bedroom at night. And in the morning she was informed of the death of her mother.
3. American businessman James O'Barry, originally from Ireland, heard the banshee cry twice. The first time, as a boy, when his grandfather died. Secondly - as a young man, when he served in the army, then his father passed away.
4. The Irishman O'Neill heard the cry of this spirit when his sister died. Later, when his mother passed away, he again distinguished the same howl and even managed to record the sound on a tape recorder.

Irish folklore is rich in amazing and interesting images. One of the brightest can be called the banshee with confidence. Who are banshees and why do they appear? How do people meet with these creatures? Read on!

Banshee: the meaning of the word and its origin

In order to understand the meaning of this word, you should look into the dictionary. It came from the English banshee, which, in turn, is the closest relative of the Irish bean sidhe, which can be translated as "a woman from the other world."

Different names for the same character

An interesting fact is that in different parts of Ireland the banshees have different names. Of course, the most common is bean sidhe. But, along with the generally accepted designation, there are also local names. For example, in such counties as Tipperary, Mayo and Limerick, it is customary to call this character bean chaointe - "weeping woman". By the way, sometimes in Tipperary (and at the same time in the counties of Leish and Kilkenny) a banshee is called a boshent. The inhabitants of the southeastern part of the country call the banshees badhdh. This definition of a banshee means a woman who is terrible, aggressive and very dangerous. It is worth noting that the Irish called the goddesses of war with the same word in the Middle Ages. In the south of Counties Wicklow and Kildare, Carlow and Wexford, the name bow is common. But in Waterford, banshees are called bibe.

Origin of the image

So what is a banshee? This is a character of Irish folklore that appears near the house of a man whose days are numbered. About this, in fact, the woman messenger notifies the person himself and his relatives. She does this with the help of groans, sobs and screams. Most likely, the researchers say, the myth of the banshee arose on the basis of an old tradition: once a woman had to be present at the funeral, singing a special funeral song. At the same time, the woman sobbed loudly and lamented. Another version says: the concept of a banshee is inextricably linked with the legend of the ghost of a murdered woman. According to the third version, this is the mother who died during childbirth.

This hero of Irish folklore has no direct analogues in the culture and beliefs of other peoples. Researchers suggest that the roots of this image go back to Celtic mythology. Patricia Lysaft, a professor at the University of Dublin, has devoted more than 20 years to studying the image of the banshee. In her works, she notes that the Irish themselves practically do not think about the origin of this character, they simply take it for granted. However, Patricia managed to systematize the data about him.

1. Fairies are one of the opinions about who the banshees are, common in the literature of the 19th-20th centuries. Today, this identification has lost its relevance. The fact is that fairies are social creatures. They live in groups, and their way of life is similar to that of people. Banshees are lonely creatures, and all their connection with people is only a warning about death.
2. Ghosts - the opinion is much more common. Some Irish say that the banshee is the ghost of a weeping woman. There is a belief that if a mourner did not fulfill her duties during her lifetime, then after death she will certainly become a messenger spirit.
3. The patroness of the family is the main version. According to her, the banshee is the progenitor of the family, a kind of patron spirit. Only truly Irish families can boast of having such a spirit.

Appearance

Now that you know who the banshees are, let's talk about what they look like. The appearance of these loud-voiced creatures causes serious controversy even today. Someone says that the banshee is a beautiful girl in a long light cloak. On her head is a hood. Someone likes the version according to which the spirit appears in the form of a wrinkled decrepit old woman. The only thing that there is no doubt about is the hair - it is commonly believed that it is very long and light, perhaps gray. It is very rare to find a description with dark or red hair, in colored clothes. According to the descriptions, the banshee's cloak is very long. Shoes are rarely mentioned in the legends, it is believed that the spirit appears before people barefoot.

Irish legends

To date, there are three main stories associated with the Banshee. According to the first, a man accidentally meets a ghost at night, takes him for an ordinary woman and tries to offend her. The creature repels the man, while leaving a trace of fingers and palms on his body.

The second plot of Irish legends says - a man meets a banshee for washing. He laughs at her and offers to wash his shirt too. There are two main versions of the further development of events: the spirit can indeed wash the shirt, quietly removing it from the man, or it can simply strangle the person laughing at her with the collar of his own clothes. The third legend tells of a traveler who returns home and accidentally encounters a banshee combing her hair. Having obtained the bone crest of the spirit, the traveler returns home, but soon the hostess comes for her thing, threatens and demands to return it.

Evil spirits or mere messengers?

Contrary to popular belief, researchers of Irish legends assure: banshees are not evil ghosts, but only heralds of approaching death. Usually, the howls of the spirit are heard only by those who are waiting for death. But there are also cases when terrible screams are heard by other people. In this case, a great person or the most respected relative must die.

Image in culture

The meaning of the banshee and its image are often used in world culture. So Ray Bradbury wrote the story "Banshee". The same creature was also mentioned in the novels of Clifford Simak. With the cry of this spirit, Charles de Lint compared the cry of the heroine of his book Taste the Moonlight. Strange creatures appeared on the big screen as well. In 1970, a film was released called "Cry of the Banshee." In 2006, another film was shot with this creation - "Music of Death". Another film appeared in 2008 and was released in our country under the name "Night Watch".

Computer games

The character of Irish folklore also appears in computer games:

• ghostly creatures fly and stun everyone with their scream in the game World of Warcraft;
• the banshee is one of the most powerful war machines in the BattleTech universe;
• in the world of GTA, banshees are the fastest cars;
• banshees are also familiar to those who have ever played the game "Cursed Lands" - here they call ghosts in long black robes;
• the banshee also appears in the game Mortal Kombat - here it is Sindel.

Banshee names

Banshees are called by different names in different parts of Ireland. The generally accepted and ubiquitous name is irl. bean sí , consisting of bean- a woman, and si- Shi, which together translates as "a woman from the Sids", from the other world. Along with the generally accepted designation, in many areas of the island there are also local names for the banshee, and in some areas of the island, until relatively recently, only the local name was used.

So, in the counties of Limerick, Tipperary and Mayo, the name irl is common. an bean chaointe, which literally means a weeping woman, a mourner. In the southeastern part of Ireland, the name banshee is derived from the Irish word badhbh(badb), denoting an aggressive, scary and dangerous woman. In the Middle Ages in Ireland badhbh often called goddesses of war. In the counties of Leeish, Kilkenny and Tipperary, the name is common boshenta(boshent), derived from badhbh chaointe. Banshees are called in Waterford bibe- babe. In Carlow, Wexford, and also in the south of Counties Kildare and Wicklow, the name is common bow- bau.

The origin of the image of the banshee

Banshees, according to Irish folklore experts, have no direct analogues in the beliefs of other peoples. However, in Breton folklore there is something similar to the banshee - the herald of death Anku, also similar characters are found in Welsh mythology. This suggests that the image of the banshee goes back to ancient Celtic mythology. Patricia Lysaft, professor at the University of Dublin, who has devoted more than 20 years to studying the image of the banshee in folklore, notes that the bearers of traditions practically do not think about the origin of the banshee, but take it for granted. However, she managed to formulate the following ideas about the origin of the banshee:

It is widely believed that the banshee is something like a fairy ( fairy), such an explanation is found in some literary works of the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, in real folk tales about the banshee, such an identification is very rare. In Irish folk tradition, fairies are social creatures, live in communities and lead a life similar to that of a human. Whereas the banshee who announces the death is a lonely being and all her relations with human beings are determined by her connection with death.

Ghost

The following versions are more widespread: the banshee is nothing more than the ghost (spirit) of a weeping woman, since mourning and sobbing is one of her characteristic features. Some Irish believe that if the mourner did not perform her duties properly, then even after death she continues to mourn the dying.

The patroness of the family

One of the central aspects of legends and legends about the banshee is the idea that the banshee is the patron spirit of the family that she notifies of death, that is, there is a hereditary connection between them, it can also be the progenitor of the family.

According to legend, not all Irish people have banshees. In oral and literary sources, families in which the banshee announces death are designated as families with "O" and "Mac", that is, it is believed that the banshee accompanies true Irish families. However, the list of surnames of such families is much wider, as it also includes families descended from the Vikings and Anglo-Normans, that is, families who settled in Ireland before the 17th century.

Banshee Form

As for the description of the appearance of the banshee, then the opinions are diametrically opposed. One thing remains unchanged - the female image. There is a certain romantic image of the banshee, mainly in the stories of children, that this is a young beautiful woman with long blond or golden hair in a long white cloak with a hood. The banshee is also described as a little old woman, but again with long hair, white or gray. In general, long hair is as much a hallmark of a banshee as her scream. Less common is the description of black or dark banshee hair, as well as dark or colored clothes, since it is quite obvious that in twilight or darkness, the time when the banshee appears, it is easier to see her in a white cloak and with white, often gray hair, which also confirms the legend of the old banshee. As for the headdress, it is rarely mentioned, as it would be out of place in view of the long flowing hair. Since the banshee's cloak mostly reaches to the heels, shoes are also rarely mentioned. Some bearers of the tradition believe that she walks barefoot.

Banshees in legends

Found legends about the meetings of people and banshees are very diverse in presentation, but united by a single motive: a meeting with the otherworldly is dangerous. Among all the legends, three plots stand out clearly:

• A man met a banshee at night, mistook her for an ordinary woman, tried to offend her. The Banshee pushes him away and leaves an indestructible mark of his hand or fingers on his body as punishment.
• The man who met the banshee at the laundry laughed at her and told her to wash his shirt too. As a result, a banshee can both discreetly take off his shirt and really wash it, or strangle a man with his own collar.
• The traveler returning home meets a banshee combing her hair with a bone comb. He gets the comb and takes it home, but then the banshee comes for his thing and threatens to return it. In the end, she gets a comb, while demonstrating that everything could well have ended much worse.

Banshees in culture

Literature

• Ray Bradbury wrote the story "Banshee" (English) Russian , according to which one of the episodes of the television cycle "Ray Bradbury Theater" was filmed in the year (English) Russian .
• Mentioned in the science fiction novels The Goblin Sanctuary and The Mascot Brotherhood by Clifford Simak.
• In Charles de Lint's Taste the Moonlight, the heroine Jamie Pack's crying is compared to that of a banshee.
• The image of the banshee also appeared in comics (Banshee from Marvel Comics).

Cinematography and animation

• In 1970, the film "Banshee's Cry" was filmed, where the banshee was a monster called by the leader of the witches to destroy the family of the witch pursuer she hated.
• In 2006, the film "Banshee. Music of death.
• The 2008 film "Banshee!!!" (dir. Colin Taze). In Russia, it was also shown under the names "Night Guard" and "The Carrier of Death"
• Howl of the Banshee is a 2011 American horror film.
• In the film Avatar (2009), winged dragon-like creatures used by the local Na'vi people for flying are called banshees or ikrans.
• In the animated series Extreme Ghostbusters, one of the ghosts that the main characters saved the world from was a banshee.
• In the television series Charmed, Phoebe is attacked by a banshee. Under the influence of her scream, Phoebe becomes a banshee herself, but the recognition of her former lover Cole makes her human again.

Computer games

• In the world of Warcraft, banshees are represented as ghostly creatures that can fly and stun enemies with sound waves.
• In the BattleTech universe, the name Banshee is one of the most powerful fighting machines.
• In Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun Banshee is an aircraft based on alien technology and equipped with powerful plasma weapons.
• In the games Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories, Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, one of the fastest representatives of the car park is called the Banshee.
• In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Eldar race has "Howling Banshees" units, female close combat units that deal extra damage with sonic attacks.
• In the game Disciples II - one of the units, a vivid image of the ghost of a crying and groaning girl.
• In the game Cursed Lands, there are very powerful enemies called banshees, which look like ghosts in black robes.
• In the game Fable II, the banshee, as a weeping woman who spawns evil creatures with the souls of children, is found in the Ghost Marshes. It is a very strong opponent.
• In Mass Effect, the Banshees are asari monster-turned Reapers who have a rare genetic disorder called the Ardat Yakshi.
• In the Dungeons and Dragons series, Banshee's Cry is one of the most powerful offensive spells, instantly killing all enemies.
• In the game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the Terran race has a unit - the Banshee helicopter, which has the ability to become invisible.
• In Heroes of Might and Magic V, Cry of the Banshee is a Necromancer racial skill that lowers the morale and luck of enemy armies. Banshee is also one of the Necromancer heroes, if the player plays as this hero, the Banshee Cry skill will be doubled.
• In Game

Banshee this is a woeful harbinger, which, with its chilling howls, warns people of an imminent death.

Harbingers of Death in Celtic Mythology

Banshee or banshee is a resident of Ireland and is firmly rooted in Celtic folklore. Her name literally translates to "woman from the hills". According to some legends, she is a beautiful fairy, in other legends the banshee is represented as a ghost that roams the earth, trying to find peace, and some purely Irish families believe that this is the spirit of their ancestor, who protects and warns the family about the imminent death of one of family members.

Although banshees are often mistaken for a fairy, fairies prefer to live in society, while banshees are lonely creatures, which makes them more like spirits and.

A banshee can take on many forms, be it animals, mist, or trees. But most often she appears before people in the form of a beautiful girl, or a wrinkled and decrepit old woman. To children, this creature is described as a beautiful golden-haired woman who wears a white dress and a silver cloak. She is pale and her eyes are red with sobs. It happens that she appears before the traveler in the form of a gray-haired old woman, also dressed in white.

There are more frightening descriptions of this ghost. In some legends, the banshee is described as an old woman with tangled black hair, terrible and sharp teeth, and one nostril. They are dressed in a green dress or shroud. Foreshadowing the imminent death of a person, they wander among the trees or fly near his house.

Contrary to misconceptions, banshees are not evil spirits, but only messengers. Their howls can only be heard by the person who is destined for a quick death. But, if this person is truly great, then the warnings of the banshee will be heard by others.

Although these creatures do not pose a direct threat to people, encounters with them, as with any otherworldly force, can be very dangerous. There are tales of men who tried to offend a banshee by mistaking her for an ordinary woman. As punishment, the banshee left marks in the form of her hand on their bodies, pushing them away from her. Such marks remain with people until the end of their days, indicating the crime they committed.

There is a legend about how a certain Irishman met a banshee by the river and, laughing, offered her to wash his shirt. If the banshee is in a good mood, she can indeed unobtrusively take off your clothes and wash them, but you need to beware if the banshee is annoyed. Instead of washing a shirt, she can also strangle the one who asks with it.

Another story tells that a man stole a comb from a banshee, with which she combed her long hair, and took it home. The Banshee found it and threatened to get the crest back.

However, by nature, banshees are not prone to vengeance. They are always ready to demonstrate to the guilty that everything could have ended much worse, thereby preventing them from making new mistakes.

Banshee in the modern world

Currently, banshees often began to appear on the pages of books, comics, films and computer games, but they are not presented there as caring spirits whose task is to warn a person, but as evil creatures whose goal is to kill.

An incredible monster is represented by a banshee in the 1970 film "Cry of the Banshee", which was called by an evil witch to destroy a hated family of witch fighters.

In 2006, she appeared in the film "Banshee. Music of Death", and in 2011 the American horror film "Howl of the Banshee" was filmed.

She has also appeared in the pages of Marvel's Silver Banshee, cartoons such as Ghostbusters, and the TV series Supernatural. In all stories, she is a representative of evil.

Is this you inside? ©

According to legend, a banshee glides through the forests of Ireland in the dead of night, wailing and wailing...

/ Masa has wanted to for a long time and finally took up the legends again. Somewhere I already have a set of material on the Headless Horseman and the Wild Hunt. The turn has come Banshee- what kind of creature it is, where it came from, what it is and what it is capable of. As far as possible, I collected and shoveled as much information as possible.
Murmurmur:3/

Ireland is very rich in myths and legends about fairies, ghosts, leprechauns and other strange creatures. But none of these creatures arouses in us such awe and fear as the banshee, as soon as this word flies from someone's lips. We immediately imagine a supernatural howl coming from the side of the forest, where the banshee herself hides under the cover of dark night.

"Banshee is a woman who, according to legend, is near the house of a man doomed to death and with her characteristic groans and sobs announces that the hour of his death is about to strike!"

The Banshee has many names and nicknames - Banshee, Bensi, Bansia, bean shi ("heavenly women"), fairy, Lady Death, Angel of Death, White Lady of Sorrow, air nymph, air spirit.
Whatever you call it, it's all the same creature. A banshee is an incorporeal creature, a ghost, in other words.

The bad reputation of the banshee did not immediately receive. Initially, if we turn to Irish mythology, banshees are fairies into which the gods from the Tribes of the goddess Danu turned after the sons of Mil, the ancestors of the Irish, appeared on the territory of modern Ireland. These gods and goddesses were forced to go deep into the earth and live under the hills in the thickets, hide among the swamps in enchanted forests, and among the clouds in magical skies.

Then it was believed that banshees can take on any form - clouds, shadows, bushes, girls, etc.

Every respectable Irish family must, of course, enjoy the patronage of a woman from behind the Hill (or from under the Hill, which is, in essence, the same thing). Because if the family of this patronage is deprived - then what is it, in fact, decent?
This is where the belief came from that banshees are protected only by ancient families, whose roots go deep into the history of modern Ireland. (but more on that later)

Banshees followed many things: the birth of babies and the upbringing of young men, the hearth and the fact that the horse did not catch fire and the spear did not break. She is either a wise mother or an older sister. If an Irishman dies, the women of his family gather to mourn him. Among them are banshees. In the last moments she appears in mourning white robes to comb the dying man's hair with her silver comb and water her face with tears, and then steps aside and sings the funeral service with other women.
She scratches me with a silver comb

And sheds tears.

(English folk ballad "Alison Gross")

This silver comb, with which she combed the hair of a dying man, is often mentioned in legends and stories about her, although the real meaning of this comb has long been forgotten.

She has many faces. To some she is seen as an ugly old woman with a mane of gray hair, to others as a beautiful young girl with white skin. In some cases, she, as they say, can appear in the form of a laundress on the banks of a river or lake. Only the clothes she washes are usually bloodied.
The myth of bloody clothes and washing them in a lake or river added a lot of bad reputation to the Banshee. Although initially this idea most likely came from the famous Irish myth of Cuchulainn. So, the ominous Morrigan met the famous hero Cuchulain before the last battle - she washed his bloody armor in the stream and sang kaoinead. Cuchulain understood that this battle was his last, and so it was. But Morrigan was a goddess, not a banshee.

Sometimes she is seen as a beautiful fairy with long blond hair, which she combs with a special silver comb. According to superstition, finding and lifting such a comb is a great misfortune, since the banshee leaves this thing in certain places in order to lure unsuspecting people and lead them to death. (and here is the comb)

The enchanted forest of the Arthurian legend was inhabited by charming fairies. One of them, the Hard-hearted Lady, the temptress sorceress, described by the poet J. Keats, was a banshee who lured mortal knights-errant, instilling in them reckless passion, and then left them, deprived of the will to live, to roam the hills "in gloomy loneliness and without meaning".

But the most characteristic and well-known feature of the banshee, in whatever form it is, is its crying. The banshee cries in a language that no one understands: her screams merge the cries of wild geese, the sobs of an abandoned child and the howl of a wolf. The voice of a banshee is similar at the same time to the howl of a dog and the plaintive cries of birds. The howl of the banshee is full of sorrow, there is a melancholic echo of the wind in it, but there is also something of a human voice. Howling and crying can be clearly heard at a great distance.
Sir Walter Scott, the author of Demonology and Sorcery, believed that the banshee was not so much a creature with a shape, but an ominous mortal howl that filled the nights of Ireland and the highlands of Scotland with horror.

Her terrible, frightening cry warns human beings of imminent inevitable death... Hearing her sad voice is a sign that someone will soon find themselves on the other side of life.

It is also often said that the banshee is very shy to show himself in the eyes of mortals. The slightest sound - and she is instantly lost from sight, disappearing like fog.

It is believed that the myth of the banshee came from the widespread tradition in Ireland to mourn their dead: women cried during the funeral, so for many in the village this cry, spreading through the air, was the first signal that someone had died. These people who weep at funerals were known as "mourners" and their services were highly valued. It was from this tradition of honoring the dead that the legend of the Banshee was born.
Traditionally, if a person dies, it is customary to mourn him - at his funeral, women mourners do it. Many large Gallic clans have a female faerie associated with them. When a family member dies, she appears to mourn him. The stories describe that a banshee appears when a family member dies away from home, or the cry of a banshee may be the first indication of death. However, most often in legends they are met by a person who does not yet know that one of his relatives has died.

When these Irish oral traditions were first translated into English, there was a difference in the interpretation of the image of the banshee between the original version and the translated version. So, the funeral lamentation for the deceased turned into a howl and groaning, foreshadowing death. In these stories, the howl of a banshee foreshadowed the imminent death of a family member, and the one who saw the banshee was soon to die himself.

If the Irish nevertheless retained a good memory of the banshee, then the Scots (they called the mourners bean nigh or bean shith) came to the conclusion that the mourner comes directly from the world of the dead in order to prophesy death to someone who would still live and live. At the same time, again, the washing of bloody clothes or Mythical creatures - Banshisavana (“bean nigh” means “washing woman”) are often mentioned, which makes Morrigan's intrigues suspect ... From a beautiful girl, bean shith gradually turns into a monster: they will discover her webbing between her fingers, then fangs, then sagging breasts. Of course, such a “beauty” does not suit white anymore; Scottish mourners wear green. Some dispute the bean nigh's afterlife, saying that it is "only" akin to a hag monster (hag).

There is another hypothesis: they say, the banshee is an elf, a fairy, and maybe a human woman who died in childbirth as a result of some fantastic neglect on the part of her husband. This, on the one hand, explains the shrillness of her voice, and on the other, her actions; it is believed that the banshee is a hundred times more willing to cause death to men than women. In this case, she will calm down if she personally ends her ex-husband; and if he manages to die a natural death - that's all, she will chase men forever.

According to the third version, this is a sorceress (or, again, an elf), whose grave was ruined and put in its place ... here opinions differ - whether it is a tavern, or a brothel in general. The banshee cannot fly up to the tavern and arrange a concert for its regulars at the request of the banshee, and the premises should be razed to the ground alive.

Whichever version you accept, it follows from it that the usual, so to speak, physical elimination of the banshee will be short-lived (if at all). In a maximum of a year, and most likely - on the next full moon, the spirit will again flutter out of the ground, and it will not seem to anyone. At the same time, even for a couple of days, only a true saint can put her to rest, who quite by chance happened to be close to the victim of a banshee - or, perhaps, a sorcerer, but in the latter case, the recipes are carefully guarded.

“... The night air cut through a low howl, turning into a piercing squeal. Rod's eyes snapped open. Siren? In this culture? The sound came from the left, he looked up - and there he saw a castle on top of a hill. And there, at the base of the tower, something was burning and screeching, like a "black crow", mourning the death of several patrol cars. The patrons rushed out of the inn in disorder and crowded into the yard, staring and pointing their fingers.

It's a banshee!

No, everything will be fine. Hasn't he appeared three times already? And the queen is still alive! ... "(K. Stasheff" The Wizard involuntarily ").

When several banshees gather together, it portends the death of one of the great people.
This is interesting: in one version of the story about Macbeth, instead of three witches, three banshees appear - they do not address Macbeth directly, but simply mourn first the Cawdor tan, then the Scottish king, and then Macbeth himself. It is quite logical: for such noble people, one bean shi, of course, is not enough. They did not predict Banquo to become the "ancestor of kings", because this character was already invented by Shakespeare - wanting to create a "great ancestor" of King James I, who reigned at that time.

There is a story about how a certain woman saw a banshee in her window. She sat outside, on a stone ledge; she had red hair that seemed on fire against the white dress and deathly pale skin. She hummed something monotonously, and then suddenly disappeared as if melted into thin air. The next morning it turned out that the woman's brother had died that night.

There is also such a story: a certain farmer met a banshee at the bridge. He saw an old woman sitting on the railing, said hello, and only then noticed that the old woman had very long hair, red, with a purple tint. The old woman sat drooping, as if saddened by something. When she turned to face the farmer, everything inside him froze: his skin was pale, like that of a corpse, his face was spotted like a turkey egg ... The old woman straightened up to her full height, and it turned out that she was three times taller than the tallest man. The farmer mentally said goodbye to life, but the old woman stepped off the bridge into the water and disappeared. The next morning, the farmer learned that the old neighbor, the last in an ancient family, had died at night.

Since there are a lot of disputes about the very essence of the banshee, one can turn to another theory of the appearance of these creatures.

Some Irish believe that the souls of the dead do not leave the earth, but are here, bound to this world. They either enjoy the happiness that they have received for a life well lived, or (if they have lived all their lives in sins and succumbed to passions) they are punished for the years they have lived. Spirits who pay with eternal suffering are usually tied to a certain place - they are forced to pay for their sins in those places near which these sins or crimes were committed.
Banshees are spirits that are tied to the earth. It is said that they only care about ancient families. It is believed that banshees watch over the family (with both good and bad intentions), looking after it until the very last descendant dies and is buried (although it is rumored that banshees, for example, do not follow the family in other edges, if she decides to move away).
Regarding their connection with a particular family, there are two options: either these creatures had during their lifetime very close and strong ties with the family, that the desire to observe and be with them did not disappear even after death, or even during their lifetime they had reasons to hate this family.
This gives us two completely different types of banshees.

Capernia (Friendly Banshee)

The friendly banshee is not the hideous and ugly creature we usually imagine. banshees are very rarely seen, but from time to time they remind of themselves. They are said to look like young, beautiful girls, with pale faces, black or golden hair, and flowing white robes.
The singing of such banshees is full of sadness and melancholy. The songs are filled with love and care for those they love. For them, singing is a warning.
It is believed that the singing of a banshee foreshadows the death of one of the family members within a few days. Screams and singing are most often heard at night. In addition, most often they are heard by those to whom the warning is addressed.

At the other end of the spectrum are banshees that are much more familiar and recognizable to us.

Evil banshees during their lifetime had reasons to hate the family, which is why even after death they are terrible visions to those family members for whom they felt anger or hatred. She looks terrible, warped, with distorted features and hatred literally oozing from every line on her face. The screams and howls of the evil banshee are enough to make your blood run cold. Imagine the scariest witch from the scariest horror movie you've ever watched. Now make her even scarier and uglier, making terrible screams and howls on a dark night.
Rather than warn of the impending death of a family member, evil banshees scream and howl as a sort of snide, snarky, and hateful celebration when a family member finally meets his end. It can be, of course, a warning, but a very scary and frightening warning.

No one knows where the Banshee has such prophetic abilities, but there are a number of theories about this. Some believe that each member of the family has a certain silent servant, an observer who watches over them and then sends information directly to the banshees. But such an idea is not very common, and belief in the Banshee is gradually disappearing.
At one time, belief in the Banshee was very strong. If someone did not believe in this prophetic creature, people considered such an attitude as real blasphemy.
In Ireland, it is believed that those people who have musical talent (who can sing or play a musical instrument) are guarded and guarded by spirits; The Spirit of Life, personifying prophecy, grants, as they say, such people the gift of clairvoyance, while the other - the Spirit of Fate - reveals the secrets of misfortune and death, and the name of this terrible messenger is precisely the banshee.

An old Irish poem tells of the appearance of a banshee in the morning:
"Hast thou heard the Banshee at morn,
Passing by the silent lake
Or walking the fields by the orchard?
Alas! that I do not rather behold
White garlands in the hall of my fathers."

Although the banshee is said to have been heard at noon, the creature is very rarely seen or heard in daylight. Usually this creature chooses the night to visit mortals:
"The Banshee mournful wails
In the midst of the silent, lonely, lonely night,
Plaining, she sings the song of death"

Found legends about the meetings of people and banshees are very diverse in presentation, but united by a single motive: a meeting with the otherworldly is dangerous. Among all the legends, three plots clearly stand out: - A man met a banshee at night, mistook her for an ordinary woman, tried to pester her and inadvertently offended her. Banshee repels him from resentment and, as a punishment, leaves an indestructible mark of his palm or fingers on his body. - The man who met the banshee at the laundry laughed at her and told her to wash his shirt too. As a result, a banshee can both discreetly take off his shirt and really wash it, or strangle a man with his own collar. - The traveler returning home meets a banshee combing her hair with a silver comb. He gets the comb and takes it home, but then the banshee comes for his thing and threatens to return it. In the end, she gets a comb, while demonstrating that everything could well have ended much worse.

It is believed that the banshee follows only the ancient Irish families - the descendants of the noble Gaelic race - families whose surnames contain Mack or O:
By Mac and O
You'll always know
True Irishmen they say".
But if they lack
the O and Mac,
No Irishmen are they."

A large room that hangs right over the wild waves of the Atlantic Ocean in the old ruined castle of Dunluce, which sits on a cliff above the green waters of the Anstrim coast, is said to be the home of the O'Donnell family banshees.
Here, on winter nights, through the dilapidated remains of roof tiles, through the roar of gigantic storms that come from the far north, one can hear the strange cry of a banshee lamenting over the sad fate of a great house, over the bitter loss and fall of an ancient family of Gali leaders.
On the shore of Loch Ness, near the castle of Edenduff-Carrick, there is a heap of stones, similar to a chain of small rocks - the ruined walls of the O'Neill castle still stand above the dark surface of the water, where once being proud of the realization of their power, power and property, lived one of the most powerful Gali leaders, the great O'Neill.
Here, since time immemorial, when many misfortunes threatened a member of one of the most ancient and great families, the cry of the banshees of the O'Neill family echoed throughout the forest of Coil Ultach and over the gray waters of Lough Neagh, rushed along the walls of the old castle, echoing from the high vaults, weeping over the graves of the great O'Neills.
Maewyn was the name of the banshees of the O'Neil family. She has been seen and heard many times, and the form she usually assumes is that of an old woman with long white hair falling over her thin shoulders.

One of the strangest Banshee stories began in Dublin at 2:30 am on August 6, 1801, when Lord Rossmore, commander-in-chief of the British forces stationed in Ireland, died at his home.
The day before, he attended a reception at the Deputy King in Dublin Castle. To the people he met there (including Sir Jon and Lady Berrington), he seemed perfectly healthy. He remained at the reception almost until midnight. Before leaving, he invited the Berringtons to his party, which he is hosting at his Mt. Kennedy home. In truth, for a man of his origin and position, it can be said that he spent the most ordinary evening - one that does not seem to have even a hint of strangeness or unusualness.
About two o'clock in the morning Ser Ion Berrington woke up and heard what was described as "plaintive sounds coming from outside, from the lawn under the window." He would never forget the cry of a banshee. Lady Berrington also heard the sound, as did their maid. Finally, at 2:30 am, Berrington heard a voice calling, “Rossmore! Rossmore! Rossmore! Then there was silence. The next day the Beringtons learned that Lord Rossmore had died. His servant heard a strange sound coming from his room and, rushing there, found him dead. He died at 2:30.
"Lord Rossmore was dying the very moment I heard his name pronounced," Sir Ion later wrote.
It was his most frightening and scary experience in his life.
Although it was not a secret for the Irish, they knew that at that moment Ion heard the cry of a banshee.

In modern computer games, the image of the banshee has acquired an extremely negative connotation; in general, the banshees are characterized there as rather ugly ghostly entities that have a number of skills that (according to mythology) were generally unusual for them, in particular, the ability to bring death only by keening. The original purpose of the banshee is not to bring death to the hearer, but to ascertain the imminent death of a member of the family (clan) of the hearer.

Over time, many noble and noble Irish families and surnames disappeared - some of them died out, someone moved to other lands - and the Banshees became only a myth, an ordinary superstition.
If you ever happen to be on the Emerald Isle, and you find yourself at night under a dark starry sky - listen. You may hear a haunting song or a frightening howl from a banshee. But be careful - only death is hidden in her songs.