Anybody any stories about banshees

Quinn126

Was just thinking today about how i once couldn't sleep one night cause i heard a horrific scream right outside my window, at the time I was a child and 100% presumed it was a banshee. Except no one died. Which i think makes a banshee story kind of plausible, anyone have any stories about them?

Ziycon

Quinn126 wrote: »

Was just thinking today about how i once couldn't sleep one night cause i heard a horrific scream right outside my window, at the time I was a child and 100% presumed it was a banshee. Except no one died. Which i think makes a banshee story kind of plausible, anyone have any stories about them?

Sounds like a fox, the crying of a fox has been described as a wailing women or young child.

There is a lot more to the origins of the banshee, I'd recommend you look into the origins as it's interesting and does take a bit of the myth out of the whole story.

DeirdDeird

As said above foxes can sound like crying babies, also cats in heat are particularly terrifying at night time! And then we have the barn owl, it's name as gaeilge is scréachóg reilige” - ‘screecher of the cemetery’ and has been linked to the origins of the banshee folklore. Then again I'd be pretty shaken hearing any banshee-like screams at night too!!

rpmcmurphy

I have a story about a banshee and it's an absolute howl truth be told.

JJayoo

Yup foxes can sound absolutely crazy

pork99

I’ve known two people who claimed to have seen one. They did not know one another and they both described the same thing.

Day Lewin

According to Yeats, banshees don't just wail for any old death.

The ancient noble families of Ireland had their own banshees - who would only keen when the death of the Head of the family was imminent, or members of that immediate family.

"Fairy and folk tales of Ireland" was the book he wrote about these matters, it is mainly a collection of material gathered by even earlier collectors from oral accounts and published sources.
Some really creepy stories in it.

Peregrinus

Banshees, according to the lore, run in families. If your family has a banshee, you will know.

Keening (caoineadh) was a mourning custom in Ireland which survived into modern times. Keening was the preserve of women, and in any community there were particular women who would lead the keening, sometimes on a professional basis (i.e. they were paid for this service). The more important a person was, the more keeners would be assembled to take part in mourning their deaths.

Right. So far, so completely natural. But bolt onto this the supernatural idea of second sight, and you have the notion of a keener who is aware of a death that has occurred at a distance, or that is about to occur. Important and ancient families are naturally the object of particular attention and respect from the fairy world, and therefore one or more fairy women (bean sí) will attend to keen for impending deaths in the family.

TomSweeney

pork99 wrote: »

I’ve known two people who claimed to have seen one. They did not know one another and they both described the same thing.

Like out of the Darby O Gill film ?

Dempo1

Some have been appearing on the Late debate (RTE) recently & Saturday with Katie Hannon, or at least they sound like Banshees , screeching, hyperventilating , incoherent mumbling etc etc

maccored

Peregrinus wrote: »

Banshees, according to the lore, run in families. If your family has a banshee, you will know.

Keening (caoineadh) was a mourning custom in Ireland which survived into modern times. Keening was the preserve of women, and in any community there were particular women who would lead the keening, sometimes on a professional basis (i.e. they were paid for this service). The more important a person was, the more keeners would be assembled to take part in mourning their deaths.

Right. So far, so completely natural. But bolt onto this the supernatural idea of second sight, and you have the notion of a keener who is aware of a death that has occurred at a distance, or that is about to occur. Important and ancient families are naturally the object of particular attention and respect from the fairy world, and therefore one or more fairy women (bean sí) will attend to keen for impending deaths in the family.

banshee stories pre exist names. The idea of banshees following important families comes directly from keeners who were hired to keen at the funerals of rich people. it then became a thing for those who viewed themselves as important to claim the banshee keened for their family deaths

maccored

Quinn126 wrote: »

Was just thinking today about how i once couldn't sleep one night cause i heard a horrific scream right outside my window, at the time I was a child and 100% presumed it was a banshee. Except no one died. Which i think makes a banshee story kind of plausible, anyone have any stories about them?

theres a book on them - well more than one but this one is recent and Irish

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Banshee-Cormac-Strain-ebook/dp/B00E0WV36Y

Peregrinus

maccored wrote: »

banshee stories pre exist names. The idea of banshees following important families comes directly from keeners who were hired to keen at the funerals of rich people. it then became a thing for those who viewed themselves as important to claim the banshee keened for their family deaths

The Irish were early adopters of surnames; we had surnames before most other European cultures did.

But, yeah, the banshee tradition is probably older than that. It predates family names.

But it doesn't predate families. There were families before there were family names, and there were important families, and less important families, and families that no-one cared about. So the notion of banshees attending important families could easily predate the development of inheritable family names.

(Whether it genuinely does predate the adoption of family names, I can't say. But there's no fundamental reason why it couldn't).

maccored

Peregrinus wrote: »

The Irish were early adopters of surnames; we had surnames before most other European cultures did.

But, yeah, the banshee tradition is probably older than that. It predates family names.

But it doesn't predate families. There were families before there were family names, and there were important families, and less important families, and families that no-one cared about. So the notion of banshees attending important families could easily predate the development of inheritable family names.

(Whether it genuinely does predate the adoption of family names, I can't say. But there's no fundamental reason why it couldn't).

banshee stories go back to the 8th century. family surnames didnt come about until the 11th century. Families were clans and septs, which were groupings or people not necessarily related - so though they mightnt have had surnames and not be called families, they also werent necessarily related to each other which kinda ruins the whole idea of banshees following bloodlines.

Wailers and keeners did exist though, which suggest either the banshee idea comes from those, or that the idea that banshee follows important families is an extension of hiring people to pretend they care you died - ie based in ego.

NIMAN

Why not just make up your own stories?
That's all other people are doing.

Surely you've heard a cat crying at night too?

Peregrinus

Not to pick nits, but nobody said anything about bloodlines, any more than they did about surnames. If you have a concept of family at all - and we know that Gaelic society had elaborate and detailed concepts of family, with nuanced language for kinship groups defined by different degrees of relationship - then whether it's bloodline-based or not it is possible to have a concept of banshees tied to family. And with the adoption of surnames then that would give rise to a banshee-surname connection.

But, yeah, we don't know whether they did have such a concept. The whole family banshee thing could have arisen at or some time after the time surnames were adopted, or it could be a modern development.

But so what? Folklore is in constant evolution. A notion that if any aspect of banshee folklore wasn't around in the 8th century it is therefore in some way inauthentic wouldn't really make sense.

obi604

heard something years ago and it freaked me out.

if you look in to a mirror at midnight on Halloween with 2 candles in front of you, banshee is supposed to come appear

Peregrinus

Peregrinus wrote: »

and therefore one or more fairy women (bean sí) will attend to keen for impending deaths in the family.

Ahhhh.

Peregrinus

Peregrinus wrote: »

and therefore one or more fairy women (bean sí) will attend to keen for impending deaths in the family.

Ahhhh.

obi604 wrote: »

if you look in to a mirror at midnight on Halloween with 2 candles in front of you, banshee is supposed to come

Bit like an otherworldie vibrator?

wibago

So I am writing up a little something about banshees and was wondering if someone could help me with something. Now I am not claiming to believe in these nor am I denying that they exist but I know people out there have claimed to have seen a banshee or heard a banshee and I was just wondering if you guys could describe to me what you saw/heard. I have a story told to me by my boss in work which is quite interesting and never heard of the banshee legend like this before. I also have another story which seems cliche. I will share it (on this post) but would like to see another two or three people's stories beforehand. I am wondering if I should have them PM'd to me in case anyone tries to make stuff up from other's stories but we'll see how it goes here.

maccored

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117327103#Comment_117327103

you are assuming people make up stories. unless you have your research that can prove everyone who claims to have a banshee story made it up?

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120818496#Comment_120818496

You saying they are real then?

maccored

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120823849#Comment_120823849

i'm saying how would you know if they are or not if you haven't put any research in? Ive talked to quite a few people who genuinely believe they had a banshee experience. Personally I have no idea - I don't know. I think the whole thing (ghosts/paranormal/ufos/spirits etc) is a lot more complicated than we can imagine but we don't have knowledge or way of researching to find out at present. you cant catch a banshee and put it in a lab. multiverses were laughed at until the many worlds interpretation in quantum physics came about. Scepticism is a much better place to be than cynicism. Im sure if you had been around in Democritus' day and he told you his idea about atoms you would have laughed at him.

NIMAN

Yes but we have very advanced science and instruments nowadays, and still there is no real evidence of any such paranormal entity or experience.

But I appreciate we still live in an age where people believe mediums can talk to dead people, or in horoscopes or in pictures falling off walls or feathers appearing in the ground in front of them as evidence.

maccored

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120824079#Comment_120824079

science has always been advanced, but it also is always learning. I appreciate that your view of the paranormal may be limited to mediums, horoscopes, pictures falling off walls and feathers appearing - but that's your problem, not mine. You are probably one of those who would have reckoned we knew everything to know if you were around in the 1850s. To take a word from Douglas Adams, thats 'SEP' to me.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120827196#Comment_120827196

What view of the paranormal do you have belief in?

DarkJager21

https://youtu.be/X764d7yCQFs

Banshees

maccored

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120827425#Comment_120827425

outside of things Ive experienced myself, I dont know about the paranormal. Im not afraid of those words 'do not know'. I don't have to pretend I know it all. Sceptical basically. As Ive said before on this forum, how can we tell if videos and audio etc are real unless we record them ourselves and know for sure they haven't been faked? If one IS faked, does that mean they all are? Logically, no it doesnt but its healthy to doubt. Sceptical. Not sure. Not certain. The subject needs more research but its not an easy thing to do at present.

“A skeptic is a doubter. A cynic is a disbeliever.”

dav45

People will always doubt until they experience it themselves.

Henry James

I read a story once about a woman who heard the banshee in London I think it was. Something happened afterward, somebody died maybe I can't remember. But the weird part was the woman was deaf from birth. Her name was given as Elizabeth Mckeown and I think she was said to be Irish. That's years ago. Someone showed it to me in some astrology type magazine