Excerpts taken from: http://www.resort.com/~banshee/home/banshee_definition.html
The Irish Banshee, (Gaelic for "ban" [bean], a woman, and "shee" [sidhe, a fairie]), is an attendant fairy (NOT a ghost) that follows the descendents of families, and none but them, and wails before a death. Many have seen her as she goes wailing and clapping her hands. The Banshee's scream, or keen ("caoine"), is said to be an imitation of the funeral cry of the peasantry. The origin of the Banshee legend probably dates back to Ireland's pagan days, before St. Patrick crossed the Channel and established Christianity. During Medieval times, the Banshee legend was adapted to incorporate Christian superstitions as often were the case for ancient traditions that never die. This explains the conversion of the Banshee fairy to the Banshee ghost.
When more than one banshee is present, and they wail and sing in chorus, it is for the death of some holy or great one. An omen that sometimes accompanies the banshee is the "coach-a-bower" ("coiste-bodhar"), an immense black coach, mounted by a coffin, and drawn by headless horses driven by a Dullahan (a type of headless phantom). The Dullahan will go rumbling to your door, and if you open it, a basin of blood will be thrown in your face. These headless phantoms are found elsewhere than in Ireland. In 1807, two of the sentries stationed outside St. James's Park (I dunno where in Ireland this park is) died of fright. A headless woman, the upper part of her body naked, used to pass at midnight and scale the railings. After time the sentries were stationed no longer at the haunted spot.
The origin of the Dullahan most probably originated in Norway where the heads of corpses were cut off to make their ghosts feeble.
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Well I certainly hope everyone has added a lucky charm (pun intended) to their brain after reading this. Please stay tuned for my next thread. I will be traveling to the North American Appalachian mines where I'll be interviewing the legendary "Tommy-Knocker". (I've never read the Steve King book but I can imagine what it's about. )
Capeside_Troll
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