A mythological, female, magical creature that flies all night looking for prey. They feed on people's sadness. They kill by screaming in such a high pitch that it breaks glass and the arteries of its victem's body so that they drown in their own blood.
1. A female spirit derived from ancient Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death. Her Scottish counterpart is the Bean Nighe (washer-woman). It is said that when a person hears the Bansee's wail three nights in a row, a person in their family will die. When several Banshees appear, it indicates the death of someone great or holy.
2. Contemporary usage and depictions of the Banshee give her a much more evil nature, being often used as a foe in series and video games, and characterized by her powerful and strident voice.
3. An obnoxious, loud woman.
1. I heard a Banshee last night, I'm afraid this means mama will not heal.
2. "When a simple mortal hears a Banshee's cry, they die. But Banshees are former witches, and when a witch hears their cry, they turn into a Banshee!" - Charmed
A beautiful girl who routinely is too hard on her appearance, not realizing she's always the most gorgeous girl in the room. She uses banshee in a negative sense, unaware of its completely meaning.
Guy: "Hi. I love the way your hair looks!"
Girl: "Really? This mess? Oh, my gosh, I look like a banshee."
Guy: "I'm not sure that means what you think it means. Banshee is good!"
A spirit from ancient Irish/Scottish Celtic mythology.
From Old Irish "ben sΓde" and modern Irish "bean sΓdhe"/"bean sΓ", the word roughly means "woman of the fairies" ("bean": "woman"; "sΓdhe": "fairy mound"). When a citizen of a village dies, a woman (sometimes known as keener (taken from the Irish Gaelic word "caoin" ("to weep/cry")) would sing a caoineadh (lament); legend has it that, for five great Gaelic families: the O'Gradys, the O'Neills, the O'Briens, the O'Connors, and the Kavanaghs, the lament would be sung by a particular fairy woman.
When the stories were translated into English, a distinction between the "banshee" and the other fairy folk was introduced which does not seem to exist in the original stories in their original language, and the funeral lament became a wail that heralded a death. Hearing the cry of the banshee came to forewarn a death in the family and seeing the banshee would signify one's own death.
Most often, the banshee appears a maiden in white, combing their cascading fair hair with a silver comb (which is likely confused with local mermaid myths), while they are also shown in black or green and wearing a grey cloak.
She may also appear (near a body of water) as a washer-woman, and is seen apparently washing the blood-stained clothes of the ones who are about to die. In this guise she is known as the bean-nighe (washing woman).