In Irish mythology, the female spirit whose wailing foretells or heralds death is the banshee.
The English word comes from the Irish bean sí, often translated as “woman of the fairy mound” or “fairy woman.” The sí refers to the ancient mounds and otherworldly places associated with Irish supernatural tradition. A banshee’s cry may be described as screaming, shrieking, keening, or lamenting, and it traditionally warns that a family member is dying or has died.
The legend is closely related to the real Irish practice of keening, a formal lament performed at funerals. Folklore sometimes portrays the banshee as an otherworldly woman combing her hair, with red eyes from continual weeping. In other stories she is linked to a death coach or appears as the ghost of a woman who died violently or in childbirth.
A banshee is not simply a generic ghost or monster. A spriggan and redcap belong mainly to Cornish folklore, while a kelpie is a Scottish water spirit. Scottish traditions also contain related death omens, such as the bean nighe, a washerwoman who foretells death.