Banshee "Wailing Woman"

The Bunworth Banshee

I'll start with what I find to be one of the more interesting tales, the idea of Banshees. Banshees are featured in Irish and Scottish mythology mainly, but the idea of these creatures may be found in varying other cultures. In these tales, they are found to screech before someone nearby dies, most likely a family member. Banshees are typically described or "seen" as old women, often times young, in a dark cloak. It is said that banshees attached themselves to certain Irish families ancestries such as the O'Neills, O'Briens, O'Conors, Kavanagh's and the O'Grady's.

King James 1 of Scotland is an excellent example of how this lore has come about. According to some myths, legends, in 1437 he was supposedly approached by a banshee who foretold his death. It is said that not too long after the alleged sighting, King James found himself trapped inside of a sewer tunnel where he was fatally injured. This occurred during the investigation of the Earl of Atholl.

As to superstitions based on this myth, even today in the 20th century many people in Ireland will consider finding a comb on the ground bad luck or even a sign of a banshee lurking nearby, though that belief has been slightly discarded over the years. Sightings have been reported over the years but it's very infrequent. According to the legend, if a banshee is seen by anyone, it will disappear in a cloud of smoke or mist with the only evidence of the banshee ever being there is the sound of flapping wings.

While this is an ever so changing myth, there are many ideas and beliefs from the past that still hold true even today. This myth is one of the more, intriguing myths to me. I hope that this information was even slightly interesting to you all! Have a great day! Bye bye!