Mal Ediction

B a n s h e e : the anglicized form of the Gaelic,Bean Sidhe . Bean (pronounced ban) means woman,and Sidhe (shee) means faery that live in thehills. So Banshee is a female hill faery. She isusually described as a single being, althoughthere are many of them. Each of them traditionallyguards one family. The manifestation of thebanshee has been a foreshadowing of a death. Thebanshee warns of impending death by screaming andwailing. The sound she makes is always deeplysorrowful, from high pitched screeching toheart-rending crying. The Banshee will wailpiteously in frustration and rage. She has appeared in many different forms, butmostly she has been described as a beautiful youngwoman with long flowing red hair which covers herface, wearing a black cloak or a green dress or awhite hooded gown or even she can appeartransparent in the size of a living person. Hereyes very often are a fiery red from so muchweeping.She combs her hair as she wails outsidethe family home of the person who is about to die.The person who is about to pass away never hearsor sees the banshee, and once the death takesplace, the crying cease and the eerie apparitionimmediately vanishes. Though she is not visible,the banshee will also attend the funeral of thedead family member, her keening blending with thecries of the other mourners. The banshee has mistakenly been accused of causingthe deaths of those she mourns, but that is simplynot so. She merely weeps and warns of theimpending death, for somehow she knows ahead oftime what is going to happen.The Banshee istraditionally a very kind woman, as poet andhistorian W. B. Yeats commented, "You will with the banshee chat, and will find hergood at heart." Perhaps her appearance and wailing before a deathare efforts to protect her family from a deaththat she cannot prevent.
"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome." (Isaac Asimov)
"[...]And because she hath made her self the servant of each, therefore is she become the mistress of all.[..]" (12th Aethyr)