Hey everyone,
In an attempt at finding meaningful lore to use for inspiration when making suggestions, I have looked for lore deep in history of the classes in Deadhaus. I decided to focus, first, on the Banshee. In my search, I've encountered many interesting stories and found various parallels between them.
I believe the Banshee is the hardest creature to find information about because it is, traditionally, belonging to the Irish, and they seem to mostly share their tales orally. As I don't speak Irish and have no means of going after that kind of source, I was forced to look for people who could.
At first, all I encountered were mediocre tales and contemporary understandings of what the Banshee is meant to be. While the descriptions where generally the same, and some of the stories proved to be accurate (when compared to deeper knowledge I later found), they lacked detail and often had personal touches to them.
I'm going to cite here some of the most prominent content I have encountered.
1- The Banshee: The Irish Death-messenger, - By Patricia Lysaght
This was surely the most complete and detailed source of information I have found. Patricia is of Irish origin and she has many associations to institutions which study Irish folklore in general. This book is a summary of many collections of data, in the form of interviews, questionnaires, collections of written accounts, and many other materials. This is definitely the most comprehensive source of information on Banshees and is a must read for those who seriously seek information on them.
Numerous other references can also be found at the end of the book.
The book can be found and borrowed temporarily on this website.
2- The Irish Folklore Collection
This is the greatest source of information used on the book mentioned above. The link takes you straight to the archives, segregated by topics. The Banshee is one of the archives with the most data. Plenty of it is in Irish, but there are accounts in English as well. Though the book is more than worth it, as it makes it a good summary of all that can be found here, it may be used as an alternate source if you want to look for information straight from where they came from.
3- The Banshee - By Elliott O’Donnell
While not as in-depth as the first source, and even being dismissed by the first book's author as fanciful and as having questionable sources, this book still has plenty of content to be talked about and is freely available on the internet.
4- True Irish Ghost Stories, "BANSHEES, AND OTHER DEATH-WARNINGS" by St. John D. Seymour and Harry L. Neligan, [1914], at sacred-texts.com
This website has a huge collection of ancient texts. This is one of the books I have found to be of interest, with various accounts and bits of information. If you look up "Banshee" in the website itself, there is a large assortment of similar content to be found.
5- The Bean Nighe - ScotClans
Many tales of Banshees, Bean Nighes and Bean Sídhes, which all seem versions of the same in other cultures, portray Banshees as appearing in mists, near rivers, at night, in the fog of forests, or generally in the shadows. This reference is merely one depiction of such.
6- The Cattle Raid of Fraech (8th century)
This is the very first and oldest text that I have identified as talking of the Banshee. However, they don't use that term. The description is pretty fitting, though. In the first source, Patricia mentions that the first instance of the term "bean sí" (Irish for Banshee) was traced back to the middle of the eight century, the period in which this text was written.
7- The Death of Cú Chulainn (8th century)
This is the second oldest text describing a Banshee (without naming it such) that I have found.
8- Jone's Celtic Encyclopedia
This is a website that holds numerous, numerous texts of Celtic nature, including the two texts cited above. If you look for Banshee in the Encyclopedia section, or Bean Sídhe, you can find short passages that link to other articles that very helpfully tie some of the origins of the folklore, and elements that are referenced in Patricia's book.
9- Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, Edited and Selected by W. B. Yeats [1888]
A collection of various tales, not just of Banshee. But they were selected particularly due to their exquisiteness, according to the editor.
10 - Big Book of Mythology - Banshee
While this is not an in-depth description of the Banshee, it does make an interesting final point: in the Welsh folklore, there is a similar creature to the Banshee called the Hag of the Mist.
Minor references or sources for more references
11- Ireland in Fiction - Forgotten Books
This is a book which cites a collection of other books of Irish stories, some of which are about mythology, some of which are about Banshees. Can be used to find further references. The book is incomplete, some pages have been removed by the website.
12- The Dead-Watchers, and Other Folk-Lore Tales of Westmeath, Patrick Bardan (1891, p. 82)
The oldest book containing the "The Comb Legend", as explained in reference [1].
13- The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill (12th century)
A story about the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 and Aoibheall of Craig Liath in Clare. A Banshee, by the name of Aoibheall, visits a character (Brian Boru) in eve of the battle and tells him he will killed in battle in the following day. Aoibheall is a spirit attached to the O'Briens that works as a kind of guardian to the noble family.
14- Annals of Loch Cé (13th century)
Recounts the same story as above.
15- Reicne Fothaid Canainne (9th century)
This text mentions Morrígan (a name for Babd, the Celtic war goddess), who was seen washing entrails and spoils from battle. It is also mentioned that she had long and flowing hair, as is commonly associated to the Banshee.
16 -The Destruction of Da Choca's Hostel (or The Hostel of Da Choca) (alternate1, alternate2) (Allegedly predates the year 1000)
When a character moves to another region to assume the kingship he meets a "red woman" in the river Shannon. The woman is washing her chariot and its cushions and harness. As she lowers her hand on the water, the water becomes red with gore and blood. As she raises her hand, no drop of liquid falls from her hand (it is not wet). They traverse the river without wetting their feet, in this way. The text identify her as "the Babd". When he asks her what she is doing, she makes a pose typical to a sorceress and replies, chanting, that she is washing his harness and that of his followers. This is taken as an omen of death. She is also later described, in another form, as having long hair.
17- The Triumphs of Turlough (14th century)
The army of Donnchadh O'Brien family encounters in the shore of a river "a hideous, loathsome had called a babd washing mangled heads and limbs on the shore". When Donnchadh asks her who she is and who are the dead, she says she is the "brónach of Burren" (Meaning Hag of the Black Head--a peninsula Clare) and that the heap of gore are the head of his army, an that his own head is in the middle. His army is slain before the next evening. A second story in the book talks of Richard de Clare and his army, who when crossing the Fergus river met a horrific badb washing armor and rich robes until the the river was dyed in red. He told someone to talk to her and ask about the gear she washed, and she replied that she was washing the armour, raiment and other strippings of De Clare, his sons and the rest of his entourage, who would soon be dead. Their hair was described as grey, rough, unkempt, long as a sea-wrack and inextricably tangled.
18- Táin Bó Cúailnge (Allegedly from the 9th century, compiled in the 12th century)
This one describes a mix of the bean sí and Babd figures. Medb meets a beautiful maiden as she departs from Cruachain for Ulster. The maiden is in a chariot drawn by two black horses, she is richly dressed, has yellow long hair, and held a weaver's beam (I thought this was a kind of spear, but apparently it's an item used to weave tissue) of white bronze. Medb talks to her and asks her name. She describes herself as Fedelm, the poetess of Connaught. Mebd asks if she has the power of prophecy called "imbass forosna". Fedelm says she has. Fedelm then looks into the future and makes a statement about Medb's future: "I see it bloody, I see it red", and then sings a poem prophesying the victory of Cú Chulainn over Medb. Her ability to see the future, particularly about people's death, her connection to the color red, her description of beauty and of riding along on a chariot are all characteristics similar to that of Babd. She is also described by characters and narrators as a weaving prophetess, and there are songs were weaving women sing about gory battles. Weaving is tied to the original character as a sorceress, as weaving had magickal powers in primitive beliefs. This Fedelm character is an amalgamation of the two Banshee versions: bean sí and badhbh.
19- Hag of the Mist
This is the Welsh version of the Banshee. Further information could be sought in that lore.
20- Soul Screamers Series - Rachel Vincent
A more contemporary approach to the Banshee, likely romanticized and improbably tied to the original oral traditions. I have not read any of them, though, so that's an semi-empty statement.
21- The Otherworld, Entry on Jone's Celtic Encyclopedia
The Otherworld is the realm of the Banshees, the land of the dead. Information may be sought about this topic to gain further insight about the origins of the Banshee beliefs.
22- A Little Bit Irish - Folklore - Part 2 - The banshee - Thanks to @Faceless Mike for the recommendation.
An Irish storyteller accounting one of the stories of the Banshee.
These are a collection of small facts that I have extracted from these sources above. References are marked in brackets. [ ]
This research that I made was focused mostly on the origins of the Banshee and their oldest iterations. As such, I focused on the Irish versions, particularly that of the oral Irish traditions and their folklore up until Gaelic times.
It is clear that the Banshee in Deadhaus would need considerable adaptations, as being too closely tied to the lore would make for a likely lackluster experience. For example, there are no male Banshees, and Banshees were seen to be ferocious, yet harmless to those who did not oppose her.
A number of inferences and borrowings might be necessary, especially with other versions of the Banshee and her origins, such as Babd or the Scottish Bean-nighe, or especially the Welsh Hag of the Mist. The more fantastical tales might be more interesting than the actual beliefs held up until the last century.
From the traditions, a number of ideas can be taken, especially in regards to the Banshee's mannerisms, sounds, clothing, color palette, as well as concepts for her lore and skills in-game.
While there is surely a lot still to be read and explored, I believe this is a good analysis of the lore. I hope to have been of service.
In an attempt at finding meaningful lore to use for inspiration when making suggestions, I have looked for lore deep in history of the classes in Deadhaus. I decided to focus, first, on the Banshee. In my search, I've encountered many interesting stories and found various parallels between them.
I believe the Banshee is the hardest creature to find information about because it is, traditionally, belonging to the Irish, and they seem to mostly share their tales orally. As I don't speak Irish and have no means of going after that kind of source, I was forced to look for people who could.
At first, all I encountered were mediocre tales and contemporary understandings of what the Banshee is meant to be. While the descriptions where generally the same, and some of the stories proved to be accurate (when compared to deeper knowledge I later found), they lacked detail and often had personal touches to them.
I'm going to cite here some of the most prominent content I have encountered.
1- The Banshee: The Irish Death-messenger, - By Patricia Lysaght
This was surely the most complete and detailed source of information I have found. Patricia is of Irish origin and she has many associations to institutions which study Irish folklore in general. This book is a summary of many collections of data, in the form of interviews, questionnaires, collections of written accounts, and many other materials. This is definitely the most comprehensive source of information on Banshees and is a must read for those who seriously seek information on them.
Numerous other references can also be found at the end of the book.
The book can be found and borrowed temporarily on this website.
2- The Irish Folklore Collection
This is the greatest source of information used on the book mentioned above. The link takes you straight to the archives, segregated by topics. The Banshee is one of the archives with the most data. Plenty of it is in Irish, but there are accounts in English as well. Though the book is more than worth it, as it makes it a good summary of all that can be found here, it may be used as an alternate source if you want to look for information straight from where they came from.
3- The Banshee - By Elliott O’Donnell
While not as in-depth as the first source, and even being dismissed by the first book's author as fanciful and as having questionable sources, this book still has plenty of content to be talked about and is freely available on the internet.
4- True Irish Ghost Stories, "BANSHEES, AND OTHER DEATH-WARNINGS" by St. John D. Seymour and Harry L. Neligan, [1914], at sacred-texts.com
This website has a huge collection of ancient texts. This is one of the books I have found to be of interest, with various accounts and bits of information. If you look up "Banshee" in the website itself, there is a large assortment of similar content to be found.
5- The Bean Nighe - ScotClans
Many tales of Banshees, Bean Nighes and Bean Sídhes, which all seem versions of the same in other cultures, portray Banshees as appearing in mists, near rivers, at night, in the fog of forests, or generally in the shadows. This reference is merely one depiction of such.
6- The Cattle Raid of Fraech (8th century)
This is the very first and oldest text that I have identified as talking of the Banshee. However, they don't use that term. The description is pretty fitting, though. In the first source, Patricia mentions that the first instance of the term "bean sí" (Irish for Banshee) was traced back to the middle of the eight century, the period in which this text was written.
7- The Death of Cú Chulainn (8th century)
This is the second oldest text describing a Banshee (without naming it such) that I have found.
8- Jone's Celtic Encyclopedia
This is a website that holds numerous, numerous texts of Celtic nature, including the two texts cited above. If you look for Banshee in the Encyclopedia section, or Bean Sídhe, you can find short passages that link to other articles that very helpfully tie some of the origins of the folklore, and elements that are referenced in Patricia's book.
9- Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, Edited and Selected by W. B. Yeats [1888]
A collection of various tales, not just of Banshee. But they were selected particularly due to their exquisiteness, according to the editor.
10 - Big Book of Mythology - Banshee
While this is not an in-depth description of the Banshee, it does make an interesting final point: in the Welsh folklore, there is a similar creature to the Banshee called the Hag of the Mist.
Minor references or sources for more references
11- Ireland in Fiction - Forgotten Books
This is a book which cites a collection of other books of Irish stories, some of which are about mythology, some of which are about Banshees. Can be used to find further references. The book is incomplete, some pages have been removed by the website.
12- The Dead-Watchers, and Other Folk-Lore Tales of Westmeath, Patrick Bardan (1891, p. 82)
The oldest book containing the "The Comb Legend", as explained in reference [1].
13- The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill (12th century)
A story about the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 and Aoibheall of Craig Liath in Clare. A Banshee, by the name of Aoibheall, visits a character (Brian Boru) in eve of the battle and tells him he will killed in battle in the following day. Aoibheall is a spirit attached to the O'Briens that works as a kind of guardian to the noble family.
14- Annals of Loch Cé (13th century)
Recounts the same story as above.
15- Reicne Fothaid Canainne (9th century)
This text mentions Morrígan (a name for Babd, the Celtic war goddess), who was seen washing entrails and spoils from battle. It is also mentioned that she had long and flowing hair, as is commonly associated to the Banshee.
16 -The Destruction of Da Choca's Hostel (or The Hostel of Da Choca) (alternate1, alternate2) (Allegedly predates the year 1000)
When a character moves to another region to assume the kingship he meets a "red woman" in the river Shannon. The woman is washing her chariot and its cushions and harness. As she lowers her hand on the water, the water becomes red with gore and blood. As she raises her hand, no drop of liquid falls from her hand (it is not wet). They traverse the river without wetting their feet, in this way. The text identify her as "the Babd". When he asks her what she is doing, she makes a pose typical to a sorceress and replies, chanting, that she is washing his harness and that of his followers. This is taken as an omen of death. She is also later described, in another form, as having long hair.
17- The Triumphs of Turlough (14th century)
The army of Donnchadh O'Brien family encounters in the shore of a river "a hideous, loathsome had called a babd washing mangled heads and limbs on the shore". When Donnchadh asks her who she is and who are the dead, she says she is the "brónach of Burren" (Meaning Hag of the Black Head--a peninsula Clare) and that the heap of gore are the head of his army, an that his own head is in the middle. His army is slain before the next evening. A second story in the book talks of Richard de Clare and his army, who when crossing the Fergus river met a horrific badb washing armor and rich robes until the the river was dyed in red. He told someone to talk to her and ask about the gear she washed, and she replied that she was washing the armour, raiment and other strippings of De Clare, his sons and the rest of his entourage, who would soon be dead. Their hair was described as grey, rough, unkempt, long as a sea-wrack and inextricably tangled.
18- Táin Bó Cúailnge (Allegedly from the 9th century, compiled in the 12th century)
This one describes a mix of the bean sí and Babd figures. Medb meets a beautiful maiden as she departs from Cruachain for Ulster. The maiden is in a chariot drawn by two black horses, she is richly dressed, has yellow long hair, and held a weaver's beam (I thought this was a kind of spear, but apparently it's an item used to weave tissue) of white bronze. Medb talks to her and asks her name. She describes herself as Fedelm, the poetess of Connaught. Mebd asks if she has the power of prophecy called "imbass forosna". Fedelm says she has. Fedelm then looks into the future and makes a statement about Medb's future: "I see it bloody, I see it red", and then sings a poem prophesying the victory of Cú Chulainn over Medb. Her ability to see the future, particularly about people's death, her connection to the color red, her description of beauty and of riding along on a chariot are all characteristics similar to that of Babd. She is also described by characters and narrators as a weaving prophetess, and there are songs were weaving women sing about gory battles. Weaving is tied to the original character as a sorceress, as weaving had magickal powers in primitive beliefs. This Fedelm character is an amalgamation of the two Banshee versions: bean sí and badhbh.
19- Hag of the Mist
This is the Welsh version of the Banshee. Further information could be sought in that lore.
20- Soul Screamers Series - Rachel Vincent
A more contemporary approach to the Banshee, likely romanticized and improbably tied to the original oral traditions. I have not read any of them, though, so that's an semi-empty statement.
21- The Otherworld, Entry on Jone's Celtic Encyclopedia
The Otherworld is the realm of the Banshees, the land of the dead. Information may be sought about this topic to gain further insight about the origins of the Banshee beliefs.
22- A Little Bit Irish - Folklore - Part 2 - The banshee - Thanks to @Faceless Mike for the recommendation.
An Irish storyteller accounting one of the stories of the Banshee.
These are a collection of small facts that I have extracted from these sources above. References are marked in brackets. [ ]
- The most common denominations for Banshee in Ireland are of three types: bean sí/banshee, bean chaointe (and similar forms), and "badhbh-appellations". Between the three, the most common is bean sí. [1]
- The bean chaointe and its variants are associations that came from professional keeners, women who were hired to either create emotions in funerals or to guide the souls of the deceases by singing sorrowful songs. [1]
- The babd term and its variants are likely an association to a Celtic war goddess, and seem to be the oldest use of the term, possibly its origin. It may be possible to find older sources of the Banshee by looking for Babd in literature. [1, 8]
- The origin of the Banshee can definitely be traced to Gaelic Ireland, where its name was fully developed. [1]
- While the common translation for bean síd found online is actually "fairy woman" (bean = woman), it is more likely that this is an inadequate interpretation. The original idea of síd, probably lost in translation, is of the meaning "Otherword". The meaning of bean síd is more likely "Woman of the Otherworld". [1]
- The misinterpretation and popularity of the fairy association may have caused the lore to change over time and mix with lore of fairies, which are completely different beings with their own folklore in Irish culture. [1]
- One of the reasons why Banshees are imagined as women is because of Irish tales that represented the Otherworld as "The Land of the Women". However, it seems to be that the reason why it stayed that way is because of etymology and belief, as the word "bean" means woman, and once the idea that all Banshees were female had taken roots, it would not have a good reason to change. Despite that, there have been horsemen, charioteers and coach drivers, all male, associated as Harbingers or Omens of Death, just like the Banshee through and through. [1, 4]
- The origins of the Banshee are not firmly standardized in the Irish folklore, as most people don't bother thinking about it, but the most common belief is that she is some form of ghost of a once living human. The second biggest belief is that they are ghost of someone who belonged to specific traditional families. [1]
- In terms of being attached to traditional families, there is a connection to be made with the Old Norse mythological creature fylgja, a family-connected guardian spirit that accompanied families and appeared before death, but also had other functions, as being the "carrier of the luck of the family". It is possible that the Banshee is a specialized version of that older belief. [1]
- The belief that Banshees are attached to families is widespread, but the origin of this belief may have led to different interpretations. The traditional and repeated idea is that Banshees follows the families with "O' and Mac" on their names, but this is actually just an old way of saying "Truly Irish", meaning that Banshees would typically follow Irish families and the people who lived near them. [1]
- A poem by Piaras Feiritéir was the first written account of a Banshee being attached to families, and that was on 1642. It is possible the idea had existed for some time, however. [1]
- In popular folklore, the Banshee did not typically cried for the death of children. This may have been because the mortality rates of old were quite high. Although the Banshee cried for the death of both men and women, men's death were twice as common. There is a preference to the oldest male members of the family in the accounts, and especially that of nobility, aristocratic individuals, or people who were prominent figures in the society. [1]
- The majority of the Banshee's manifestations are auditory only. She is only seen sometimes, while being heard, and even less often is she only seen. [1]
- The terms used to describe the Banshee scream are: cry, gol, wail, lament, keen, moan, roar, scream, shriek, screech, call, scréach, béic, olagón, ochón, lóg, lógóireacht, caoineadh, glaoch, liú. These are terms taken from the Irish Folklore Collection. The most common term used is cry--in the sense of weeping--followed by wail. These are sounds of mourning, sadness, grief. The Banshee becomes more clearly defined as a supernatural version of the professional Irish keeners through this as well. However, there are instances in which those words denote a dangerous feel to them, an unnatural, piercing, frightening side. [1, 2]
- The Banshee is not known to sing in her wailing, she doesn't pronounce words. [1] - Personal note: that might just be because people cannot understand the language of the Otherworld...
- Popular accounts of the Banshee's crying pattern state it as being that of a child: it gets intense on a high pitch, and then fall downs momentarily, only to rise high again afterwards. It is also said that they do it similarly to the professional keeners, but with an emotional tone of lonesomeness that is supernatural. It was also compared to women suffering with deep sorrow. Comparisons are also made between the Banshee wail and the nocturnal cry of mating cats with, again, a supernatural roar or tone to it. There was but one account of the scream being "piercing" in the Irish Folklore Collection. The supernatural component can be defined simply as "alien". [1, 2]
- The Banshee wail has been said in tradition to be very loud and last very long. It is so loud that it even deaf people can hear it, sometimes from very far away, and even the ground and walls reverberate with it. It is also a continuous wail without pauses to breathe. In some cases, the Banshee is known to wail in a numerically limited fashion: sometimes three high pitches, sometimes seven, sometimes ten. The most common is three times, especially in areas where the term babhb is more common, which might be due to beliefs that the number 3 is magical. [1]
- Somehow, the Banshee is known to stop crying if people who hear her scream tell her to stop or to shush. There was a single account where it was said she would do the opposite of what she was told to do. [1]
- The sounds of the Banshee are hard to pinpoint, as it either seems to be coming from all directions, or it seems to change location every time it is heard, sometimes within seconds or less. The Banshee can only be heard by some people, sometimes being completely inaudible to some or most people in a gathering. The Banshee usually sings around or going towards the location of the person dying. [1]
- Because the Banshee's wail is so strong, it can sometimes be heard by people who are not associated to the one to die, from far away. [1]
- There are multiple accounts of the sounds of the Banshee accompanying the rivers and streams, sometimes in the reverse direction of the water's flow. [1]
- Apart from the unnatural way in which the screams are heard, you can also tell the songs and cries are supernatural because of the sensations it provokes. They wails often result in shivers, cold sweats, and profound fear. Animals are also able to hear the screams and react to them, becoming very agitated and even refusing to go through locations where they've heard the Banshee before. [1]
- Though there is no association to oral tradition in Irish folklore, there are multiple statements in literature saying that multiple Banshees can be seen crying together for the death of people who are great or holy. In oral tradition, Banshees are always lonely. [1, 4]
- The visual attributes used to describe the Banshee are many and usually of opposite nature. She can be described as young or old, tall or small, beautiful or ugly, and wearing clear or dark-colored clothes (usually dresses). Her height varies from 4-year old height (even as old) to regular-sized person. She is more often described as small, of no particular beauty or ugliness, old, having grey hair, and wearing white clothes (the white color is due to etymology of the bean sí name in Irish). [1]
- The Banshee is never depicted in a romantic or sexual way, nor is there any account of Banshees being attracted to humans or vice versa. It is possible to speculate that this is because her appearance is associated to death, something very distant to romance. [1]
- Beauty or ugliness is not usually important to recognizing the Banshee, but the fact that her traits indicate there was no one like her in the region, and therefore it reinforces that she was a supernatural entity. [1]
- Long hair is a trait that is particularly attributed to the Banshee. When she is seen as beautiful, her hair is often golden, which is one of the traits commonly associated with beautiful women in Ireland, but these are not numerous depictions. The length of the hair is often described as reaching the ground. The long hair may be associated to particular figures of the Otherworld tales, such as Fedelm, Clíona, Étain and the badhbh figures. In Ireland, mourning women usually let their hair loose, and that may also have some association to it. [1]
- The hair colors seen were red, black, brown, gold, and grey. Grey being the most common, followed by gold, then red, black and finally brown. Green, blue and yellow are not colors the Banshee was ever associated with in folklore, only in fiction. [1]
- When it comes to clothes, the colors appear, in order of frequency: white, black/brown, red and grey. White is common due to the idea that she needs to be properly seen in the dark. Red is associated with the supernatural and magick, and black/brown are regularly dark colors of mourning. As the Banshee is often perceive to be old, she is not seen as wearing bright colors. [1]
- The most common clothes she wears is a cloak, followed by a dress. She is also described as using a cape and shawl. The dresses are long and cover her feet, which is why there are few descriptions of what she uses in her foot. However, she is more often described as being barefooted. [1]
- The object most commonly associated to the Banshee is a comb. This has to due with one of its legends, its long hair, and associations of the Banshee with the Mermaid myth in regions where the Mermaid was common. The comb has been described as being golden, silver, made of iron, steel, bone or wood, and was also described as glittering, blue, very small or broken-toothed. The descriptions are often made to identify it as an unnatural item. [1]
- Although in literature the Celtic war goddess from which the Babd Banshee came from transforms herself into a variant of crow, and that crow is considered an omen of death, the Banshee is not known or referred to transform herself into any animal. Other creatures that typically serve as an omen of death have been known to appear at the same time as a Banshee, however. [1, 4]
- The Banshee most commonly appears before someone's death, occasionally appearing after the death and even in rarer occasions, at the same moment. She may appear in Ireland even if the person she is attached to is not in the same country, and vice versa (appear elsewhere if someone in Ireland dies). How long she appears before death varies, often being hours before, sometimes minutes, and in even more rarely a day or two before a person expires. [1, 4]
- It was believed that, once the Banshee appears, the fate of the person she is attached to is certain--death is unavoidable. While she usually manifests when people expect someone to die, due to sickness or old age, she has also appeared before sudden and unexpected deaths. [1]
- The Banshee is sometimes known to not appear and not be able to be heard by the people who will die, but then again, there are also accounts of the opposite, and that everyone can hear and see her, and still die. The vastly common account is that both neighbors and relatives of the person who is going to die hear and see the Banshee, with the neighbors being even more common. This may be, among other things, because death is a communal event in Ireland where people are expected to participate to pay respects, though this is only a theoretical connection. [1, 4]
- There is no particular association of season or day of the year for the appearance of Banshees, but they typically appear in the dark or in border-hours, at dawn or dusk. On rare occasions, they appeared at daylight. [1]
- When death occurs abroad, the Banshee will often cry in the place where the person was born or in their family's estate. [1]
- There are sometimes specific locations that a Banshee appears in, on rocky formations in rural areas or in alleys in more urban areas, but these are of very particular Banshees. Even more commonly, the Banshee is seen near bodies of water, be them lakes, streams, ponds and wells, and this has been identified in all Ireland. This may be because the rivers and other bodies of water were used as delimiters of land, and that supernatural entities where often seen or thought to manifest from the outside. It is also important to notice what has been said of the sound of the Banshee being heard through the water, being carried over it. This link to water must also have happened due to the legends of the Celtic war goddess Babd, where she washed the dead men's clothes. A testament to that is also the similarities between the Irish Banshee and the Scottish Bean Nighe, and the Welsh Hag of the Myst. [1, 5, 10]
- Despite the connection of the Banshee with bodies of water, she still usually appears or can be heard in the proximity of houses where the water reaches, typically of where the soon-to-be dead person lives, even if the person ends up dying somewhere else. [1]
- Banshees are not known for appearing inside houses and buildings, going only so far as being at the entrance of places, such as on doors and particularly so on windowsills or under them. [1]
- Though the Banshee is not considered evil (or particularly good-natured) there was a widespread belief that interfering with her could bring bad luck, or be plainly dangerous. People have reported physical injuries as consequences, such as sprained foot, crooked mouth, temporary blindness and death. To some, using the Banshee's name in vain would bring upon her wrath. [1]
- There are three main Irish legends of interactions between humans and the Banshees: The Comb, the Imprint of the Five Fingers and the Sheet.[1]
- The Comb legend has two main versions. In the first version, a human meets the Banshee and a) she is not aware of the person and gets startled, running away and leaving her comb behind for the human to take or b) the human somehow manages to snatch her comb and run away (for a reason that is not specified). In the second version, the human just finds her comb laying on the ground and picks it up. On both versions, the Banshee visits the home of whoever got their comb, wailing, and stays on the window or door until you give her comb back. The comb is often returned to her by hanging it or holding it on tongs or other instrument, or leaving it at the windowsill, or handing it by pushing it under the door. The tongs are often described as being of iron or wood, and sometimes they have been heated. Then, the Banshee snatches the comb and disappears, often breaking the tong in the process. In the first version, the encounter often takes place when the person has stayed out late or have been close to a dying person at the moment of their death. [1]
- In some versions, the comb is replaced by a washing beetle, an old instrument to beat dirt off of clothes. In one story, a man steals the Banshee's comb and she uses her washing beetle to try and catch the thief by throwing it at him multiple times, until he eventually reaches his home. [1]
- Priests have been known to advise the person who angered the Banshee of what to do (often, how to return her stolen object), implying that the clergy did share belief in the Banshee. [1]
- Heated iron was associated with protection against the supernatural, and tongs were widely used in Ireland, which is why they are often the object of choice when handing the Banshee back her stolen comb or item. It was believed, for the most part, that handing the item by hand would result in the Banshee ripping the hand off the person, and some tales speak of their hand shriveling when touched by the Banshee. [1]
- It is possible that the breaking or distortion of the instrument used to handle the Banshee's stolen object was taken from another Irish legend, The Visit of the Old Troll, and particularly The Dream Visit. [1]
- The moral of the Comb legend seems to be that people who have antissocial behavior, such as stealing objects or approaching and scaring lone women, are faced with consequences. It is also implied that staying out late at night is dangerous, is frowned upon, and can lead to an encounter with the Banshee. It also teaches children not to pick up objects they find on the ground. [1]
- The legend of the Imprint of the Five Fingers goes like this: A man was going back home late in the night when he noticed a woman standing on the way near a flag. He touched her shoulder, trying to get her attention, and the Banshee quickly turned and grabbed him by his head. Holding his head, she lifts him off the ground for a moment, and then releases him. The next day, he is found to have her hand imprinted on the top of his head, and the hair which she touched turned white and lifeless. [1]
- The Imprint legend was only known and told in one county in Ireland, with one unique instance at the opposite side of the country. [1]
- The Comb legend told in the same county often said that the Banshee would leave her fingers imprint on the object used to hand her the stolen object. This could be a hybridization of the Imprint legend with the Comb legend. [1]
- The moral of the Imprint legend is similar to that of the Comb. People who walk at night need to beware of who they meet, and be careful when accosting women (especially with indecorous behavior)--they might be a Banshee. [1]
- The legend of the Shirt goes like this: A man is going to a wake late at night and finds this woman washing a shirt on a river with a beetle. He mocks her by asking if she would wash his shirt. Later in the day, while he's at the wake, she appears and tears off his shirt from his body, or pulls off some of his hair. [1]
- The Shirt legend occurs in an even more strict area than the Imprint, appearing in only one county, specifically in two parishes. Everything indicates this is a "newly" formed legend created within two generations, before 1930. [1]
- The moral of the Shirt legend is similar to the other two: Do not walk alone at night and do not be discourteous to women. [1]]
- In literature, there are different instances where characters who are similar to or called by bean sí appear, as foreboders of death. In chronological order, as identified by Patricia Lysaght [1] is as follows: The Cattle Raid of Fraech [6], The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill [13], Annals of Loch Cé [14], a text where a character named Áine serves as a Banshee, warning of the death of Maurice Fitzgerald, written by Piaras Feiritéir (circa 1642), and in the same work where Clíona, a former land goddess, became a Banshee. In the evolution of these stories, the Banshee is seen as taking form into the oral traditions in Ireland of today, developing her characteristics over time. [1, 6, 13, 14]
- In the texts mentioned above, the Banshees were divine beings that had particular connections to aristocratic and politically-influential individuals. The Banshees represented the sovereignty of regions of Ireland, and in some cases the country as a whole. They were depicted as beautiful women, something that is likely linked to their divine nature. [1]
- In other literary texts, there are the tales of beings closer to the badhbh definition, of a more aggressive nature. They appear chronologically in this order: The Death of Cu Chulain [7], The Destruction of Da Choca's Hostel [16], The Triumphs of Turlough [17]. This goes from Medieval times to Early Modern Irish periods, from which the stories merged with the bean sí concept further. These texts depict a version of the Banshee that manifests to the people who are going to die, they have a more hostile attitude, and are described as ugly. They are also seen as having a connection with water. [1, 7, 16, 17]
- There is a strong link between the history of kingship, families, and the sovereign figure of the Banshee, especially in older texts. There is a good chance that the idea behind the Banshee being attached to families actually came from the fact that Banshees were supposed to represent the power of a territory, and that her association to royalty was because kings, and their progeny through marriage, were also greatly associated to the territory. Thus, Banshees' connection to families, especially of high status, could very well be explained with the families having an attachment to ancient groups of royalties that had dominium over a territory. [1]
- By the 8th century, the fusion of the bean sí and badhbh variants was taking form. This happened due to many social, political and structural changes that happened in Ireland and the nearby countries. There were immigrants arriving on the land, literature became more prominent, there was the decline of Gaelic tradition, the hybridization of many tribes, etc. and all this led to the merging of the Banshee concepts. By the 17th century, the merging was about complete. [1]
- The connection of the Banshee in all its forms with water likely survived through more than 12 centuries because water, as well as other landscape features such as mounds and hills, have been perceived as having a link with (or being an entry to) the Otherworld, the land of the dead. [1, p. 213]
- Belief in the Banshee was prevalent up until the 1930s, the period of the analysis made by Patricia Lysaght of the collections of archives on the supernatural being, and the belief was so commonplace that people were not scared by it, they took it as granted in their majority. However, by the 1940s the belief began to wane, and by the 1970s the locals already described it as a waning belief, mostly held by elder people. The advent of other forms of education, increased literacy, urbanization, more advanced technology and many layers of critical thinking are likely to have contributed to the loss of the belief over time. Despite that, there were still pockets of belief identified up until 1983, one of the latest records in the Irish Folklore Collection mentioned in Patricia's book. The expectation is that the belief continues to decline, potentially being transformed into children's legends as has happened with many other supernatural beliefs. [1]
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This research that I made was focused mostly on the origins of the Banshee and their oldest iterations. As such, I focused on the Irish versions, particularly that of the oral Irish traditions and their folklore up until Gaelic times.
It is clear that the Banshee in Deadhaus would need considerable adaptations, as being too closely tied to the lore would make for a likely lackluster experience. For example, there are no male Banshees, and Banshees were seen to be ferocious, yet harmless to those who did not oppose her.
A number of inferences and borrowings might be necessary, especially with other versions of the Banshee and her origins, such as Babd or the Scottish Bean-nighe, or especially the Welsh Hag of the Mist. The more fantastical tales might be more interesting than the actual beliefs held up until the last century.
From the traditions, a number of ideas can be taken, especially in regards to the Banshee's mannerisms, sounds, clothing, color palette, as well as concepts for her lore and skills in-game.
While there is surely a lot still to be read and explored, I believe this is a good analysis of the lore. I hope to have been of service.
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