Banshee

Speaker: Mary Murphy

The banshee (or banchee) (/ˈbænʃiː/ ban-shee), from Irish: bean sí bʲæn ˈʃiː is a female spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the underworld.

In legend, a banshee is a fairy woman who begins to wail if someone is about to die. In Scottish Gaelic mythology, she is known as the bean sìth or bean nighe and is seen washing the bloodstained clothes or armour of those who are about to die. Alleged sightings of banshees have been reported as recently as 1948. Similar beings are also found in Welsh, Norse and American folklore. Source: Wikipedia.

Hear more about banshees in Ireland from our tour of Sliabh Ban mountain down in County Roscommon as told by Merrily Harper from our Samhain lore playlist: https://audioboom.com/playlists/4634161-samhain-lore

#Samhain #Halloween #Otherworld #Supernatural #Banshee

For a really good article on the Banshee, see Leo Bowes's great piece from Moville Inishowen's website: - http://www.movilleinishowen.com/history/mythology/legendofthe_banshee.htm

Image of Banshee (c) www.arthurquinn.ie

© 2021-2022 Racontour Productions. This clip forms part of the Celtic Calendar audio archive from Racontour Productions. Feel free to share if enjoyed, but with a credit or a social media tag to Racontour Productions please.
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