E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries (http://www.archive.org/details/americana) Note: Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive/American Libraries. See http://www.archive.org/details/banshee_00odon THE BANSHEE by ELLIOT O'DONNELL Author of "Haunted Places in England," "The Irish Abroad," "Twenty Years Experiences As a Ghost Hunter," Etc., Etc. London and Edinburgh Sands & Company CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. THE DEFINITION AND ORIGIN OF BANSHEES 9 II. SOME HISTORICAL BANSHEES 20 III. THE MALEVOLENT BANSHEE 35 IV. THE BANSHEE ABROAD 51 V. CASES OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY 62 VI. DUAL AND TRIPLE BANSHEE HAUNTINGS 80 VII. A SIMILAR CASE FROM SPAIN 98 VIII. THE BANSHEE ON THE BATTLE-FIELD 124 IX. THE BANSHEE AT SEA 136 X. ALLEGED COUNTERPARTS OF THE BANSHEE 149 XI. THE BANSHEE IN POETRY AND PROSE 176 XII. THE BANSHEE IN SCOTLAND 196 XIII. MY OWN EXPERIENCES WITH THE BANSHEE 232 ADDENDA 247 THE BANSHEE CHAPTER I THE DEFINITION AND ORIGIN OF BANSHEES In a country, such as Ireland, that is characterised by an arrestive and wildly beautiful scenery, it is not at all surprising to find something in the nature of a ghost harmonising with the general atmosphere and surroundings, and that something, apparently so natural to Ireland, is the Banshee. The name Banshee seems to be a contraction of the Irish Bean Sidhe, which is interpreted by some writers on the subject "A Woman of the Faire Race," whilst by various other writers it is said to signify "The Lady of Death," "The Woman of Sorrow," "The Spirit of the Air," and "The Woman of the Barrow." It is strictly a family ghost, and most authorities agree that it only haunts families of very ancient Irish lineage. Mr McAnnaly, for instance, remarks (in the chapter on Banshees in his "Irish Wonders"): "The Banshee attends only the old families, and though their descendants, through misfortune, may be brought down from high estate to ranks of peasant farmers, she never leaves nor forgets them till the last member has been gathered to his fathers in the churchyard."