The Banshee: The Irish Death Messenger

by Patricia Lysaght

The banshee, the female supernatural death-messenger, is the legendary herald of death in Ireland. Through analysis of folklore sources, a comprehensive picture of the banshee emerges, and the functions of the belief in this remarkable creature of the folk imagination are examined. Many issues associated with attitudes toward life and death are expressed through the banshee tradition, and changes in such attitudes down through the ages are also revealed in changing beliefs about the banshee's presence and activity. This book unravels that network of beliefs, drawing on a large body of oral and written sources, including literary accounts from the Old Irish period to the present, as well as folklore accounts collected over the past sixty years. Recent fieldwork brings the study up-to-date, showing that in many instances belief in the banshee is alive today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Folklore, Ireland, Mythology, School, History, Supernatural

433 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Koyote · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this doing research when it was first out in hardcover. Re-read it in 2004 as part of an ongoing inquiry into the exchange between folk tales and literary fairy tales.

[Narelle Mccoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent resource which covers tradition as well as the changing attitudes towards the banshee's presence. Comprehensive coverage of oral and written sources, folk stories, early writings and recent fieldwork. A must for anyone interested in folklore.

[James Konkol · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although thorough in its analysis of the data, the book lacks in the qualities of good, compelling writing. A too positivistic approach was taken regarding the folk subject, failing to tell a cohesive story through the data.

[Geof Sage · Rating 2 out of 5]

an entirely too large number of maps

[Padraic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically a romp through the Irish Folklore Commission's binders of oral histories done in the 1930's and 1940's - if it dealt with a banshee, it's in here.

A stray reference in the notes made me realize banshee stories migrated into the coal valleys of Pennsylvania, and survived into the mid-20th century.

In our house growing up in the 1960s, my mother would still refer to anyone towelling off wet hair as "looking like a banshee."

We are civilized about one inch deep.