Banshee

A **banshee** (/ˈbænʃiː/ *BAN-shee*; Modern Irish: *bean sí, baintsí*, from Old Irish: *ben síde, baintsíde,* pronounced [bʲen ˈʃiːðʲe, banˈtiːðe], "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish mythology, who, with its high-pitched, horrifying scream foretells the arrival of Death. When the banshee screams, Mortimer is close-by, and a person will die shortly afterwards. When the banshee screams, it will at once sound distant and close by. It is piercing, clear and sharp as a blade, surging through flesh and bone and straight to one's soul, and sounds like a dreadful creature screaming with a terrible bloodthirstiness.

## Background

The banshee is a female spirit in Irish mythology, usually considered a heralder of the death of a family member by crying, shrieking or "keening" - a term from Irish and Scots Gaelic which has become synomous with a "lament for the dead" (*keening* from Irish and Scots Gaelic *caoineadh*, "to cry, to weep". Her name is associated with the mythologically important tumuli or "mounds" dotting the countryside of Ireland, which are called síde (singular *síd*) in Old Irish.

Der er forskellige beskrivelser af bansheen. Nogen gange har hun langt, flagrende hår og bærer en dækkende, grå kappe oven over en grøn kjole, og hendes øjne er røde fra at have grædt ustandseligt. Hun kan også være klædt i hvidt med rødt hår og en gyselig hudfarve, ifølge førstehåndsvidnet Ann, Lady Fanshawe i hendes *Memoirs*. Lady Wilde i *Ancient Legends of Ireland* giver en anden beskrivelse:

> The size of the banshee is another physical feature that differs between regional accounts. Though some accounts of her standing unnaturally tall are recorded, the majority of tales that describe her height state the banshee's stature as short, anywhere between one foot and four feet. Her exceptional shortness often goes alongside the description of her as an old woman, though it may also be intended to emphasize her state as a fairy creature.
>
>

Nogle gange tager bansheen form som en sød, syngende jomfru fra en familie, der døde ung, og som af usynlige kræfter er blevet givet opgaven at varsle forstående undergang til hendes dødelige slægt. Eller hun kan ses om natten som en indhyllet kvinde, der er krybet sammen under træerne, mens hun med et tilsløret ansigt klager, eller hun ses flyvende forbi i måneskin, mens hun græder bittert. Og lyden af denne ånd er mere sørgefuld end alle andre lyde på jorden, og varsler om et familiemedlems visse død, hver gang lyden høres i nattens stilhed.

## Trivia

* The banshee is the first of two omens of the arrival of Death mentioned in *The Great Devil War*, the other one being the sight of the horse of Death, the Hel horse.

## Referencer

2. ↑ Briggs, Katharine (1976). *An Encyclopedia of Fairies*. Pantheon Books. pp. 14–16. Template:ISBN.
3. ↑ Fanshawe, Herbert Charles (1907). *The Memoirs of Ann, Lady Fanshawe*. London: John Lane. p. 58.
4. ↑ Chaplin, Kathleen. "The Death Knock." *New England Review*, vol. 34, no. 1, 2013, p. 135+. *Literature Resource Center*
5. ↑ Wilde, Jane (1887). *Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland* (Vol. 1). Boston: Ticknor and Co. pp. 259–60.