Since it's Saint Patrick's day I thought I'd put a bit of Irish folklore up, and the Banshee is a fairly popular creature from their mythology.
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Known by a variety of names, the lore surrounding Banshees is mixed. Some say they are faeries, while others say they are women who sinned. Still other accounts list them as women who died during childbirth, and are cursed to wander the earth, washing the blood from the clothes or bodies of the dead until the day their own lives would have naturally come to an end.
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Rarely seen, they are most widely recounted as being messengers of death-- though this was not always a bad thing. Some tales recount them as caring, singing songs of mourning and comfort to their own families when a loved one was close to death.
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The most infamous tales, however, paint them in a much less benevolent light. Described as either beautiful young women, or haggard and old, they were often described as being dressed in white, with long silver or grey hair, and eyes that were red and bloodshot from crying.
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They would come at night and lurk outside houses where death was near, crying and unleashing the blood-curdling wails they've become renowned for.
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Few ever reported seeing Banshees in these tales, but those that did sometimes would observe them running a comb through their long hair as they weeped. Those who claimed to have seen Banshee's were often said to be found dead not long after. Some claimed that finding an out of place and unfamiliar comb was a sign a Banshee had visited you and death would soon follow.
As strange as it might seem, some now believe that the cry of the Banshee may, in fact, have been real... but not caused by a spirit or one of the Fae folk. Rather, they suspect it may have been the cry of a female fox, which can be a rather chilling sound to hear in the dead of night
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https://youtu.be/tYYHrG6UC4U
@celticrose it entirely could be. Considering the stories vary so widely, and extend to other cultures (Scottish in particular), and how superstitious the Irish tend to be, I've no doubt they mistook many sounds for that of a Banshee.
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Case in point, the wind through this cottage (please don't watch all 7 hours of the video unless you really love wind, it's just meant to be an example of wind in Ireland):
https://youtu.be/X832ZTWQYLk
@releasethekraken there are some pretty fascinating creatures/stories out there, though I don't think I'd want to commit to a daily dose. Still I probably will post some more as the mood takes me :)
Artist: leedawnillustration
https://www.etsy.com/il-en/listing/647358284/denizens-the-banshees-comb-large-print
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Known by a variety of names, the lore surrounding Banshees is mixed. Some say they are faeries, while others say they are women who sinned. Still other accounts list them as women who died during childbirth, and are cursed to wander the earth, washing the blood from the clothes or bodies of the dead until the day their own lives would have naturally come to an end.
'
Rarely seen, they are most widely recounted as being messengers of death-- though this was not always a bad thing. Some tales recount them as caring, singing songs of mourning and comfort to their own families when a loved one was close to death.
'
'
They would come at night and lurk outside houses where death was near, crying and unleashing the blood-curdling wails they've become renowned for.
'
Few ever reported seeing Banshees in these tales, but those that did sometimes would observe them running a comb through their long hair as they weeped. Those who claimed to have seen Banshee's were often said to be found dead not long after. Some claimed that finding an out of place and unfamiliar comb was a sign a Banshee had visited you and death would soon follow.
'
https://youtu.be/tYYHrG6UC4U
'
Case in point, the wind through this cottage (please don't watch all 7 hours of the video unless you really love wind, it's just meant to be an example of wind in Ireland):
https://youtu.be/X832ZTWQYLk