Thanks to George of the Irish Heritage Newsletter for allowing me to pass this on...it reminds me of when I was a child and heard the wind howling and my father said it was the banshees. The Cry of the Banshee I have heard many people say that they have seen the other world or seen loved ones from the other world, but have they heard the Banshee cry? The word Banshee comes from the Irish word "Bean-sidhe" ban (bean), a woman, and shee ( sidhe, a fairie), ( pronounced Bann shee) . From the mythical race of the Tuatha De'Dannan, or fairy folk. But other sources say that 'Bean Sidhe' is translated as "woman of the hills." . the Banshee is seen in many forms, from a crow to a old hag, Truthfully from all accounts ( majority rules) she is seen as a woman. She is often described as a beautiful young woman with streaming auburn hair. wearing a green woolen dress with gray cloak clasped about her shoulders. She has also been seen wearing either a grey, hooded cloak or the winding sheet or grave robe of the unshriven dead. A Banshee may also appear as a washer-woman, and is often seen at rivers and waterfalls. On the battlefield she can be seen washing the clothes of a solider who will soon be lost in battle. In this guise she is known as the bean-nighe (washing woman). Though she is not always seen, her mourning call is heard, usually at night when someone is about to die. The only hint that this beautiful Banshee is a messenger of doom comes from the fact that her eyes are blood red from crying for her dead In all respects the Banshee is seen as a bearer of bad fortune or death, but in actuality she is fortelling the inevitable and paying her respects to the soon to be departed. Many have seen her as she goes wailing and clapping her hands. The keen (caoine), the funeral cry of the peasants, is said to be an imitation of her cry.. When a multiple Banshees wail together, it is for the death of someone very great. When a member of the beloved family is dying, she paces the dark hills about his house .Her sharp, cries and wails piercing the night air. Tradition and myth surrounds the function of the Banshee including the families for which she is bound, some have said that she owes allegiance to the five major irish families those being the O'Briens, O'Neills, O'Connors, O'Gradys and the Kavanaghs. Along those lines is the tradition of allegiance to all families starting with Mac, or O. Each banshee has her own mortal family, she follows, And she has been heard in America, England and other places where the Irish have settled. In shadows and unseen the Banshee attends the funeral of those families whom she is connected with, her voice blending in with the cries of the other mourners. A common myth is that if you catch her, she is obliged to tell the name of the doomed. but would you really want to? Many stories have been told about the Banshee from localized fairy tales to goulish hauntings.. An omen that sometimes accompanies the banshee is the coach-a-bower (coiste-bodhar) an immense black coach, mounted by a coffin, and drawn by headless horses driven by a Dullahan. It will go rumbling up to your door, and if you open the doors a pail of blood will be thrown in your face. In 1437, King James I of Scotland was approached by an Irish seeress or banshee who foretold his murder at the instigation of the Earl of Atholl. This is another example of a banshee but in human form. There are records of several human banshees or prophetesses who took part and were members of some of the great houses of Ireland and the courts of local Irish kings. In parts of Leinster, she is referred to as the bean chaointe (keening woman) whose wail can shatters glass. In Kerry, the keen is a soft enjoyable singing. In Tyrone the sound is like two boards struck together. And on Rathlin Island it is a screeching sound like a wail of a woman. Whether you believe in the Banshee, or the tradition which lies behind it. I just wish you all a peaceful sleep, and the crying in the night is just the wind knocking at your window pane, I promise... -- Pat Connors, currently visiting Albany NY http://www.connorsgenealogy.com