Mythologis
Banshees: The Complete Guide to the Death-Messenger of Irish Folklore

Mythical Creatures Mythology

Banshees: The Complete Guide to the Death-Messenger of Irish Folklore

The Wailing Woman and the Omen of Death

The complete guide to the banshee: the wailing fairy woman of Irish and Scottish folklore whose cry foretells a death, her origins in the older goddesses of the land, and the families she is said to follow.

150 pagesPDFEnglishMythologis Library

$14.99

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Inside this book

What you will read

  • 11 chapters, primary sources
  • Instant PDF download
  • Original ink illustrations
  • Irish and Scottish folklore
  • Designed for print quality
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  1. 01The Woman Who Weeps for the Dead
  2. 02The Bean Sidhe: Woman of the Fairy Mound
  3. 03The Cry: Keening and the Sound of the Banshee
  4. 04The Families She Follows
  5. 05The Washer at the Ford
  6. 06The Banshee and the Older Goddesses
  7. 07Seeing the Banshee: Comb, Cloak and Warning
  8. 08The Scottish and Wider Cousins
  9. 09The Banshee in the Fairy Faith of Ireland
  10. 10Banshee Stories from the Folklore Record
  11. 11The Death-Messenger in the Modern Imagination

About this book

About this Mythical Creatures mythology guide

Some Irish families are said to be followed by a woman who weeps before a death. This is the complete guide to the banshee, the death-messenger of Irish folklore, and the older goddesses behind her.

Some families in Ireland are said to have a death foretold to them. In the night, near the house, a woman is heard keening, the high, unearthly wail of grief, and within days someone in the family dies. She is the bean sidhe, the woman of the fairy mound, the banshee: not a bringer of death but its messenger, weeping for a death already decided.

This is the complete guide to the banshee. Her name and nature as a woman of the Otherworld; the families, the old Gaelic lines, she is said to attend; her cry and the tradition of keening the dead; her appearances washing bloodstained clothes at the ford, an image she shares with the war-goddess of older myth; her Scottish cousins and her place in the wider fairy faith; and the question of where so persistent a belief comes from.

The book follows the banshee from older Irish myth into living folklore, drawing on the Irish sources, the folklore collections and the keening tradition, and every chapter cites where it comes from.

Delivered as a print-quality PDF within 24 hours of purchase.

What you will discover inside

  • What the name bean sidhe means and where the banshee comes from
  • The old Gaelic families the banshee is said to follow
  • The keening cry and the tradition of wailing for the dead
  • The Washer at the Ford and her link to the war-goddess
  • The warning signs: the comb, the cloak, the woman by the stream
  • How the belief survived into modern Irish memory

Mythical Creatures mythology book at a glance

TraditionMythical Creatures mythology
Chapters11 chapters
Length150 pages
SourcesDrawn from the primary sources, cited inline
Reading levelBeginner-friendly. Every name and place is explained from scratch
FormatPrint-quality PDF
DeliveryPDF within 24 hours

Formats and editions

EditionWhat you getPrice
Instant PDFPrint-quality download, readable on any device. PDF within 24 hours.$7.99
PaperbackA paperback edition is on the way. Sign up on this page to hear when it lands on Amazon.Coming soon

About the author

Guillaume Henry, founder of Mythologis

Guillaume Henry

Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Mythologis

Guillaume Henry founded Mythologis to make the world's mythologies readable without losing what makes them strange. Every Mythologis book draws on the primary sources first, cross-references multiple translations, and avoids inventing details that aren't in the originals.

More about the author

Questions about the Mythical Creatures mythology book

When will I receive my PDF?

Within 24 hours of purchase. Your download link arrives in your inbox automatically.

Is the banshee evil or dangerous?

No, and that is a common misunderstanding the book clears up. The banshee does not cause death; she mourns it in advance. She is a messenger and a mourner, closer to a grieving fairy woman than to a monster.

Is this book based on primary sources?

Yes. It draws on the Irish mythological tradition, the folklore collections of the Irish Folklore Commission and earlier antiquarians, and the keening tradition, with references to the standard sources.

How long is the book?

Eleven chapters, around 150 pages depending on the final layout.

Will there be a paperback on Amazon?

The PDF is available immediately. A KDP paperback edition follows once the book has been validated by readers.

What formats is this book available in?

Every title is available as an instant PDF, downloaded the moment you buy it: the link appears on the confirmation page and lands in your inbox. Selected titles also have a paperback edition on Amazon. Where the paperback is not out yet, you can sign up to be notified the day it does.

What is the return policy?

The PDF is delivered instantly by Mythologis. If a download ever fails or a file looks wrong, get in touch and we will make it right. Paperbacks bought on Amazon are handled under Amazon's own returns and refund policy.

Can I order from outside the United States?

Yes. The PDF is a digital download, so it works instantly anywhere in the world, with nothing to ship. Where a paperback edition exists, it is sold across Amazon's international marketplaces, with shipping rates and delivery times depending on your country.

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