| Banshee is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic word | | | | comb you should not pick it up as it may be a |
| bean si (meaning woman of the side or woman of | | | | lure used to spirit humans away. The sound of |
| the fairy mounds), it is a female ancestral spirit | | | | the banshee, a peculiarly mournful sound like the |
| who forewarns members of certain families about | | | | wind possessing a human tone terrifies people, |
| impending death. According to legend, the banshee | | | | there have been many instances where |
| will wail around the house the night before | | | | everybody in a house was in great health though |
| somebody inside is about to die. There are only | | | | once the wail was heard somebody would be |
| certain families that are believed to have a | | | | drowned, or killed suddenly within a week. There |
| banshee attached to them - O’Grady, | | | | are some locations in Ireland where it is said that |
| O’Brien, O’Connor, O’Donnell, | | | | the banshee resides and does not leave. One of |
| O’Neill and Kavanagh, although intermarriage | | | | these is Dunluce Castle on the north Co. Antrim |
| has extended this select list. She generally appears | | | | coast, which was the great home of the ruling |
| in two different guises, either as a beautiful young | | | | O’Donnell clan before they were forced to |
| woman with long, fair hair or as a hideous hag. | | | | the four corners of the world during the |
| They dress in a white or grey cloak and brush | | | | tumultuous Flight of the Earls. According to legend, |
| their long hair with a silver comb, there is an | | | | the banshee remains to lament the scattered clan. |
| existing superstition in Ireland that if you see a | | | | |