Banshee

Irish (Gaelic)

Ireland

Spirit (Fae)

Territorial

AffinitiesDeath, Wailing, Family Lineage

Lore

Banshee is a Spirit (Fae) of the Irish otherworld: a household wraith more felt than seen. Smell: a metallic tang of old peat and cold iron, as if the hearth remembers rain. Sound: a thin, keening wail that threads through walls and fields, sudden and hollow like wind through bone. Temperature: the air takes on a damp, edge-chill that makes breath fog and skin prickle—an absence of warmth that announces presence.

Origin: Irish (Gaelic) • Ireland

Classification: Spirit (Fae)

Field Notes

Observations

A distant, high-pitched keening at dusk or near an ancestral home—often heard without an obvious source.

Encounter Advice

behavior: Tied to particular families or places; appears chiefly at thresholds and beside ancestral hearths to herald impending death. Largely incorporeal and observational, she lingers, keens, and then fades—rarely violent but profoundly unsettling.
interaction: Do not mock or attempt to chase. Offer quiet respect: keep vigil, speak the family names softly, light a candle or lay an open cup by the hearth. If you hear the wail, inform elders and prepare rather than pursue the sound.
offering: A quiet vigil or lament, a lit candle by the hearth, or a small token of respect (simple food or a cup of milk)—acts that honor lineage and calm the wraith.

Abilities

Death Keening
A piercing, supernatural wail that foretells—and can precipitate—the imminent death of a named mortal within hours.
Mimicked Voice Lure
Flawlessly imitates the voice of a loved one to lure victims into isolation, despair, or mortal danger.
Ethereal Passage
Shifts to a semi-corporeal state to pass through walls and leave an icy aura that weakens living flesh and nerves.

Weaknesses

Wrought Iron
Contact with iron tools or iron boundaries repels her and can immobilize her presence briefly.
Consecrated Relics
Holy water, consecrated crosses, or spoken prayers blunt her wail and disrupt her manifestation.
Honored Lineage
When a clan's graves are tended and ancestral rites are observed, her compulsion to keening diminishes.

✦Tales & Stories featuring Banshee

day in the life

A Day in the Life: The Banshee

A silver comb, a grey cloak, and a cry that shatters glass. Follow the Bean Sídhe as she performs her sorrowful duty for the families of Ireland.

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monsters and myths

Banshee: The Washer at the Ford

She is not a ghost, but a messenger. When the Banshee screams, a member of the great Irish families is about to die. She is the Washer at the Ford, and she is crying for you.