Through my research I have noticed one "legend" seems to pop up more than others. Whether called Banshees, Sirens, lady in white, etc. I called them the Ladies in white. It seems to be a phenomena throughout the world. These beings have certain things that tie them together.
Number one, they are often seen in white gowns, drapery, dresses, robes, etc. Secondly, they are often wailing, screaming, moaning. Basically making a sad noise of some sort. They also usually have a sad story or are an omen of death. The more well known legends of the siren and the banshee go hand in hand with death. As far as i know, not many people have attempted to connect lady in white stories from around the world.
I put forward that they are all types of the same ethereal being. you have stories in America of ghostly hitch hikers draped in white dresses who ask for help only to fade away. Victorian style dressed women in gowns moving about old homes. also, the stereotypical woman standing on a cliff waiting for a long lost lover may be a part of this as well.
Whenever we look at the connections it is easy to see that there could indeed be a thread there. specifically Banshees and Sirens. similar legends from nearby areas of the ancient world. Banshees in Irish folklore are seen as a wailing spirit who appears to signal the death of a family member close to the person who sees her. sirens from grrek legends were said to seduce sailors close to shore with their songs, only to have them crash and drown among the rocky shores. i surmise this may be a misinterpretation of the same being, not calling to their death, but warning them of it.
Steering the conversation to banshees, the subject of the article. One description of a banshee i found reads as such.
"It was a woman of no earthly type, with a queer-shaped, gleaming face, a mass of red hair, and eyes that would have been beautiful but for their expression, which was hellish."
An account I found from the early 1900's tells of a run in with one of these beings.
- My mother, when a young girl, was standing looking out of the window in their house at Blackrock, near Cork. She suddenly saw a white figure standing on a bridge which was easily visible from the house. The figure waved her arms towards the house, and my mother heard the bitter wailing of the Banshee. It lasted some seconds, and then the figure disappeared. Next morning my grandfather was walking as usual into the city of Cork. He accidentally fell, hit his head against the curbstone, and never recovered consciousness.-
Another account, this time from 1894, comes as an excerpt from the book True Irish ghost stories. This account from a young school boy I found really interesting.
- A few years ago a curious incident occurred in a public school in connection with the belief in the Banshee. One of the boys, happening to become ill, was at once placed in a room by himself, where he used to sit all day. On one occasion, as he was being visited by the doctor, he suddenly started up from his seat, and affirmed that he heard somebody crying. The doctor, of course, who could hear or see nothing, came to the conclusion that the illness had slightly affected his brain. However, the boy, who appeared quite sensible, still persisted that he heard someone crying, and furthermore said, “It is the Banshee, as I have heard it before.” The following morning the head-master received a telegram saying that the boy’s brother had been accidentally shot dead.-
A slightly recent story from 1940 speaks of an old man who had become ill. Noted by the neighbors nearby, large numbers of crows had begun to gather near the man's home. one evening a knock came at the door. The man opened the door only to see "an old hag" at the end of his walkway. the woman simply stood there ringing her hands together.
She wore a white dress and a low soft sobbing noise flowed from her. The woman rushed quickly toward the door, her sob became a screech. She vanished into thin air just before the man's door. Come the following morning the man was found dead. These are only a few of the stories including these phantoms.
I chose these because they are slightly more modern tales. When most people conjure up images of banshees or sirens they think of old tales written and told ages ago. Given the movement of immigrants to the US it seems we brought many legends, but some have changed or faded. Reports of Banshees on American soil are few if not non existent. this may be one legend that did not survive the trip.
The reports in the home land of the banshees and Europe have dwindled but i did find our final story having a bit of heritage as well as being modern.
- As a child I remember my Grandmother telling me that my Grandfather had taken ill in the back room of their house, she was attending him when she heard a loud banging on the front door and left my grandfather to go and answer it. She told me that as she approached the door she could hear a sobbing noise coming from outside but on opening the door there was no one on the other side. She immediately went back to my Grandfather finding him stone dead in the bed. Fast forward to November 2001, I was in my Grandmothers house. She had only been given a few days to live and my Father thought it was a good idea to come out and say my last Goodbyes.
I knew that the few days were more realistically a matter of hours at the most. As my Grandmothers breathing became more shallow, my dad said it was probably better that I sit in the front room. He called my Aunt’s boyfriend and asked him to come and pick me up. While I was waiting I heard a Knock on the door. I assumed it was my Aunt’s boyfriend. As I approached the door I could hear crying. As I touched the lock to open the door I suddenly felt a chill down my spine. There was no one there. Almost instantaneously I heard a mixture of prayers and sobbing coming from the back room. I knew she was gone. As I closed the door I saw a glimpse of what can only be described as a tall thin woman sitting crying on the neighbour’s fence. That image, will stay with me forever.
no one truly knows what these Banshees are, other than an omen of death to come. They could be crying for our souls, could be death incarnate, could be someone sent to take our spirits away. Either theory you go with, good luck to anyone who may hear their call.