| Banshee | |
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Real Name |
Banshee |
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First Appearance |
Irish Floklore |
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Created by |
Irish Folklore |
Origin[]
A banshee, which means "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman", is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name is connected to the mythologically important tumuli or "mounds" that dot the Irish countryside, which are known as síde (singular síd) in Old Irish.
Sometimes the banshee has long streaming hair, which she may be seen combing, with some legends specifying she can only keen while combing her hair. She wears a grey cloak over a green dress, and her eyes are red from continual weeping. She may be dressed in white with red hair and a ghastly complexion.
Irish legend speaks of a lament being sung by a fairy woman, or banshee. She would sing it when a family member died or was about to die, even if the person had died far away and news of their death had not yet come. In those cases, her wailing would be the first warning the household had of the death. The banshee is also a predictor of death. If someone is about to enter a situation where it is unlikely they will come out alive she will warn people by screaming or wailing, giving rise to a banshee also being known as a wailing woman. The banshee was also associated with the death coach, being said to either summon it with her keening or to travel in tandem with it.
When several banshees appear at once, it indicates the death of someone great or holy. The tales sometimes recounted that the woman, though called a fairy, was a ghost, often of a specific murdered woman, or a mother who died in childbirth.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
all published appearances of Banshees from before January 1, 1929 are in the public domain.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
- Triumphs of Torlough (1380)
- Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland (1825)
- The Memoirs of Ann, Lady Fanshawe (1907)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Thing #5: In the Things You Should Know feature, there are three panels informing about the habits of banshees.
- Adventures into Darkness #10: The Weird Facts feature shared apparently true facts such as the recorded notes of a banshee's wail.
- Beware! Terror Tales #4: Landlord Mr. Mulcahey comes to collect the overdue rent from the O'Givern family. He meets a family of banshees.
Public Domain Comic Appearances Inspired by the Banshee[]
- Fantastic Comics #21-23: When his stepfather was killed in Ireland by masked villain the Scorpion, Jim O'Donnell emigrated to the U.S., where he found the villain and defeated him. He decided to begin a crime-fighting career as the Banshee in order to stop others from being hurt like his stepfather.
- V...-Comics #1-2: In issue one the Banshee fought the Crimson Abbot. Then in issue 2, Father Jessup hears the confession of a very ill man who, years before, took a great deal of wealth from others, but now vows to return it. However, Carron's "staff" decide that will definitely not happen, and the Banshee intervenes.
- Blue Beetle (1967) #1-2: Max Bine fought the Question as the villainous Banshee.
- Green Mask v1 #11: In the story titled The Banshee of Dead Man's Hill , High school students Johnny, Gail and Danny decide to explore the "haunted" Banshee Cave. A group of saboteurs is using the cave as a hideout. One of the men is injured and their leader, Dr. Baum, decides to use Gail for a blood transfusion. Johnny, angered, becomes the Green Mask. The Green Mask eventually defeats all of the saboteurs and kills Dr. Baum.
- Jumbo Comics #97: Sheena stars in a story titled Banshee Wail of the Undead.
- Ghost Comics #1: In the story The Banshee Bells, a convict escapes from chain gang and is commandeered by the ghost of his evil brother to commit crimes like he did.
- All Hero Comics #1: This issue introduced Banshee O'Brien the young apprentice of Ibis the Invincible.
- Whiz Comics #46: Ibis the Invincible and Banshee O'Brien solve the Mystery of the Missing Leprechaun.
- Six-Gun Heroes #14: Smiley Burnette encounters a wild stallion called the Black Banshee.
- Jungle Comics #107: Kaanga and Ann Mason visited Banshee Valley where they discovered white renegades impersonate the fire god of the B'tongis and demand the B'Tongis act as their raiding force. Kaänga exposes the impersonations and N'geeso's tribe help route the B'Tongis.
- Super-Mystery Comics v3 #5: Buckskin battle the villainous Banshee whose true identity was Sheriff Temple.
- War Birds #1: The Banshee Brothers, Ivy Lane and Judd Warren, were air-force pilots who flew McDonnell F2H Banshee planes in the 46th Fighter Squadron during the Korean War.
- Wambi, Jungle Boy #5: Wambi while looking for a new watering hole wanders into the Lair of the Banshee Apes who are a group of aggressive baboons. After Wambi and his jungle allies defeat the baboons, they continue on their search and eventually find where water drained from an extinct volcano.
- Strange #5, 7: Featured a story titled the Mysterious Banshee Belle which was a haunted ship with a pirate ghost.
- Cat-Man Comics #8: An advertisement for Capt. Aero Comics shows Captain Aero battling he Banshee of the Red Hills.
- Jet Aces #2: During the Korean War, Buzz Bennett of the Banshees was the newest member of the "Bunker Hill" aircraft carrier. He was the pride of Pensacola and goes on his first strike with two other pilots over enemy territory.
Notes[]
- Sean Cassidy, An Irish mutant from the X-Men, possesses a "sonic scream", capable of harming enemies’ auditory systems and causing physical vibrations. His code-name is Banshee after the legendary female spirit from Irish mythology, said to possess a haunting cry.
- In the One Piece manga, the character Banshee was probably named after the mythological creature.
- Many Pokemon are inspired by Banshees including Mismagius, Misdreavus, Flutter Mane and Gourgeist.