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Showing posts from September 12, 2010

THE BANSHEES OF IRISH FOLKLORE!

   In Irish folklore, the Banshees are known as the ancestral spirits of the Fairy world.  Their history extends way back into the dim and mysterious past.    Banshees are among the oldest Fairy folk of Ireland, associated as strongly as shamrocks and potatoes.  Banshees, also known as Bean-Sidhe, were appointed to forewarn members of Irish families of impending death.  Her prescence alone brings no harm or evil, but to hear a Banshee in the act of keening is to have witnessed the announcement of the death of a loved one.  The Banshee's wail pierces the night and its notes rise and fall like waves over the countryside.    It is said that Banshees never appear to the one who is to die but to their loved ones.  In times gone by she was seen washing human heads, limbs or bloody clothing until the water was dyed with blood.  Over the centuries this image changed.  The Banshee now paces the land, wringing her hands and crying.  Sometimes she is known as the Lady of Death or the Woma