Where Does Banshee Come from?

The name 'banshee' is derived from the Old Irish for 'woman of the fairy mound'. Her name is connected to the various mounds of earth dotted around the Irish countryside known as tumuli. These tumuli traditionally covered a grave or a number of graves and were said to be home to spirits of the dead.

Where did Banshees originate?

Banshee, Irish Bean Sidhe, Scots Gaelic Ban Sith, (“woman of the fairies”) supernatural being in Irish and other Celtic folklore whose mournful “keening,” or wailing screaming or lamentation, at night was believed to foretell the death of a member of the family of the person who heard the spirit.

When did the banshee originate?

Origins. Historians have traced the first stories of the Banshee to the 8th century which were based on a tradition where women sang a sorrowful song to lament someone's death.