Legends of Belariath

Banshees

The banshee , from ban (bean), a woman, and shee ( sidhe, a fairy), is an attendant fairy that follows the old families and wails before a death. Folklore said the voice of the Banshee was sometimes a terrifying shriek or ghastly wail or a soft, comforting voice addressed to those whom the Goddess loved 'a welcome rather than a warning' of the coming passage into the unknown realm of death. Although "bean-si" implies an Otherworld or fairy being, the banshee is a solitary creature without male counterpart who never partakes in communal human or fairy social enterprise. Speculation also links the banshee with the mystical race Tuatha De'Dannan, from whence the fairy folk are descended.

Other legends hold the Banshee to be the undead spirits of evil or banished elven women. They hate the living and suffer spiritual agony in their presence, and thus seek to harm any living creature they encounter. A banshee appears as a floating, luminescent version of her former self, with wild an unkempt hair, claw-like hands, and tattered clothing. Most banshees are old and withered in appearance, although a few have retained vestiges of their former beauty, and a banshee's face is filled with pain, anguish, and hatred. Banshees live in desolate countryside or ancient ruins, and wander the region surrounding it by night. A banshee's lair is often surrounded by the bones of animals slain by the spirit's deadly keen. Banshees hoard wealth, finery, and other treasures that they valued in life. Banshees understand Common, Qualinesti elven, Silvanesti elven, and one other humanoid language. Although they rarely seek to communicate with living beings, the cry of a distant banshee is nearly impossible to distinguish from that of an elven woman in pain.

Whatever her origins, the banshee chiefly appears in one of three guises: a young woman, a stately matron or a raddled old hag, who appears in the vicinity of the birthplace of the soon to be deceased. When seen, she is wearing the clothes of a country woman, usually white, but sometimes grey, brown or red. The former hues represent the colors of mourning while red is associated with magic, fairies and the supernatural. In some accounts she is seen combing her hair as she laments. She is heard more often than seen, wailing as she approaches the abode in the late evening or early morning, sometimes perching on the window sill two to three hours or even days before a death. As she moves off into the darkness witnesses describe a fluttering sound, such as the sound made by birds flying at night. Hence, the mistaken belief that banshees manifest as birds such as the crow. Banshees also wail around natural forms such as trees, rivers, and stones. There are also stories of the Banshee, being called the 'Washer Woman', this is due to the fact, that a Banshee is sometimes seen, washing the 'blood' of a soon to be fallen victim, from clothing.

One Account of a Banshee

It had been late autumn, and the crops were being picked for the early winter storage. Zekias, who had at times come under the threat of an over active imagination, sat upon the porch of his cottage, smoking from his pipe. The days work, had left him sore and tired. His Family, consisting of a wife and four children, were already turning down their beds, giving anxiousness to a good night's sleep. The Moon's light, gave way from the towering forest of pine, lighting his tiny cottage in a brilliant bask of glow. Zekias, thought he had been out on the porch better than an hour, when in the distance he heard the soft wailing of what he first thought was a child. Grumbling, thinking that one of the neighboring farmers had 'accidentally' left one of their little kin, in the forest, Zekias got up, snuffing out his pipe and walked head long into the darkness that loomed ahead.

The further that he walked, the more ghastly the wailing became. He soon found that not a child would make such a sound, then out of the corner of his eye, he saw her. Standing within the trees, within several feet of a rock wall, the form of an Old Haggered Woman, stood… Calling out, he asked what was wrong, then all sounds went silent. Upon stepping closer, he called out once more to the woman. Then suddenly, she turned to face him. Loosing his bladder, was the first thing to happen. The shrill wailing began again, giving a face to what was before him. The Old Woman's hair, knotted and unkempt, with dark beading eyes that would seem to pierce through even the toughest of wood. She came full throttle at him, her arms wavering in the air, giving effect to the awful sound that she produced. He knew instantly, what she was … A Banshee, a Fairy Messenger of Death, only he had never given stock to the Old Tales that his grandmere had spoken when he was but a wee child. And even now, as he looked down the barreling eyes of the Banshee as she came at him, he almost didn’t believe.

Quickly, he maneuvered backwards, running as swift as his legs would take him, his own cries being vanquished by the sounds of the Banshee that still followed upon his heels. Within site of his cottage, he noticed the faint red glow from within, was growing brighter with each stretch of his legs. The cottage, was ablaze! He tried in vain, to put out the flames that licked and breathed havoc, and inside he could hear the shouts and pleadings of his trapped family. There was no way he could save them. The Banshee had Wailed…