Talk:Banshee

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[edit] Before death

The claim that banshees in original folklore wailed after the death is not substantiated in any text I've ever read -- and has no references. I'm removing it. Please provide a reference to restore it. Goldfritha 03:46, 8 January 2007 (UTC) My best freind is from a family that is visited by the Banshee(not to mention other paranormal phonomenon, such as poltergeist activity) just before a death, his Dad, and others claim to have seen it. On that note, are there any recorded accounts of Banshee sightings in Ireland and/or Scotland?

'The Banshee', by Patricia Lysaght, is a fairly recent & in depth study, worth getting hold of for those interested.

True or not, I have seen this referenced elsewhere, though I cannot provide a source at the moment. Bobkeyes 03:16, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

My mother's uncle heard the Banshee, and fortold someone was going to die. He died later that night. The banshee, fortells death, it doesnt mourn afterwards...--Gothaur (talk) 11:23, 24 December 2007 (UTC)--82.141.197.34 (talk) 11:21, 24 December 2007 (UTC)


In my family, the O'Shea's of Limerick, the Banshee was heard by ONLY those who did not die. Her wail was just outside the window, my grandmother said. The wail would put your "hair on end". Those who could NOT hear the Banshee were dead by morning. The Banshee always came at night. One night, my grandmother, who was deathly ill, heard the Banshee, so her family was confused why it had come to their house as they huddled together afraid of the sound. The next morning, my grandmother's baby brother was dead in his crib. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.250.78.1 (talk) 18:17, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

I concur with the statement above. An elderly relative of mine was in a house where all heard a high pitch wail. The only exception was a house guest who was amused by their superstitions. The next morning the family discovered the guest had passed away in the night. Tonykewinsagain (talk) 15:28, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

I found one in the fridge once, but I found ant-powder worked wonders. Sarah777 (talk) 22:57, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

Ye fool, who mocks the banshee! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.83.121.172 (talk) 15:57, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] sídhe and caoineadh

Sí is just the modern spelling of sídhe; they aren't two different words. Also, I've adapted the IPA transcription of caoineadh to conform with the system used at Irish phonology and to reflect both the southern pronunciation in [-ə] and the northern pronunciation in [-u:]. —Angr 08:18, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Etymology

I don't know if this is correct, but MacBain's Gaelic Dictionary seems to say that while "sìth" does mean both "fairy" and "peace" in Scots Gaelic, the two meanings aren't really connected. It also lists "sídh" as the Irish equivilent for "fairy", but "síth" (or síoth) for "peace"[1]. As a child, I was taught that "Daoine Sídhe" meant "People of the Mounds". Daibhid C 20:30, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Natalie Carlson Reference in Trivia Section

The Trivia section contained this item:

  • Natalie Carlson was being quite the banshee in Avalon.

I removed the word "being," but, upon reflection, I commented out the entire bullet item. I can't tell if this is a legitimate reference, vandalism, or an effort at being cute. Whoever put it in should cite a link or a reference to clarify it, and UNcomment it back in. As it stands, it's too ambiguous to provide anything but misinformation. rowley 18:33, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing it out, rowley. I removed it altogether now. Looked like a prank. ---Sluzzelin talk 10:51, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Keep the popular culture references section

I object to the proposed deletion of the references in popular culture section. It is appropriate, and also appears in many other wikipedia entries, I don't understand why it is singled out of deletion. Bobkeyes 03:14, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

I think some of facts can be kept, if they are sourced and integrated largely as prose. Otherwise, they have to go, per WP:V - Kathryn NicDhàna ♫♦♫ 20:00, 9 October 2007 (UTC)
The trivia section should go. All it collects is random bits of rubbish. If the information is important it should go in the text. Not as a random bunch of dot points. Gillyweed 23:05, 9 October 2007 (UTC)
I am probably repeating what has been said a thousand times elsewhere on Wikipedia. Feel free to point that out and direct me or BobKeyes to a better version of this thought. Do you think a random list of things that share the name "Banshee" that have little to no relevance to the actual subject of the page are important? On the one hand, yes, as the information may be worthwhile as an afterthought to individuals who are interested in the influence of the literal Banshee on today's pop culture. On the other hand, no for two reasons: one, it's not very encyclopedia-like to just rattle off a list of random (often unimportant) things with the same names. Two: this is what disambiguation pages should be for. An offshoot of the second thought is the fact that if you're interested in why the creators of the Marvel comic book character Banshee took his name from a mythic creature, your first stop should be HIS article, not this one. In other words: I agree that it's lazy and generally poorly done (especially so here, considering Banshee has its own meaning in the English vernacular) but I think that there is a dearth of information available on Wikipedia as to WHY it shouldn't be done. The "please remove trivia sections" guideline page does not put it in terms people can understand at a glance. Just my two cents, delete at your leisure. Krylonultraflat 19:19, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Halo

Banshee is a very recognizable term to the video gaming community for its use in the Halo series of games. The fact that Halo vehicles didn't warrant a separate article doesn't have any bearing on whether we can give them mention in existing articles. See WP:NOTE, notability does not limit article contents. The rules we use to determine the necessity for a separate article are entirely different from those we use to decide on article content. I kept the changes made during the removal but re-inserted the specific mention of the Halo use. Equazcion •✗/C • 00:37, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

It's trivia. This is a folklore article. The general concept is mentioned. I do not want to once again open the door to unsourced cruft here. Write about it in the article of the video game. - Kathryn NicDhàna ♫♦♫ 04:52, 29 December 2007 (UTC)
Okay. You're the owner. We'll do what you want. Equazcion •✗/C • 05:16, 29 December 2007 (UTC)
By the way, in reference to your edit summary: The whole section is unsourced, yet you only removed one line due to that. Food for thought. Equazcion •✗/C • 05:24, 29 December 2007 (UTC)
I'd be perfectly fine with losing the whole section. BTW, I remind you of WP:CIVIL. - Kathryn NicDhàna ♫♦♫ 05:28, 29 December 2007 (UTC)
I meant no incivility. It was a heads-up to let you know how this looks to an outsider. In your own interest you might want to consider what I said. I don't believe the pop culture section should go -- I'm just showing you that the reason you cited was bogus. The only reason I'm letting this go is because I'm the only one fighting multiple people, and on Wikipedia, that's a losing battle. Equazcion •✗/C • 05:34, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

While the summaries of other uses need sourcing (and they can be sourced from the relevant books), it would be undue weight to list trivia that shares nothing in common with this article but the name and screaming or wailing. The things you're trying to re-add are already listed at Banshee (disambiguation). May I suggest that page, and the pages of the video games and such, are a better place for the trivia. - Kathryn NicDhàna ♫♦♫ 20:28, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

Absolutely agree with Kathryn. This info is for dab pages, and anyways detracts from the quality that is in the article. And btw, standing up for quality in wikipedia carries no implication of "ownership". Deacon of Pndapetzim (Talk) 20:33, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] bean ṡìṫ

Someone linked "bean ṡìṫ" to Bean niġe. Are they the same thing? Equazcion •✗/C • 23:41, 8 Feb 2008 (UTC)

That someone was me, as you know well equazcion. I dunno for sure to be honest; bean ṡìṫ appears to my screen as a bunch of boxes prefaced by 'bean', however tt does seem likely. You might knock of your agressive approach bty, this isn't a school yard. Ceoil (talk) 23:49, 8 February 2008 (UTC)
I can see the characters in question and they're different, so I'm going to revert this. Thanks. Equazcion •✗/C • 00:17, 9 Feb 2008 (UTC)

OK, all of the bizarre changes to the Gaelic and Old Irish, introduced by User:The Man in Question are wrong. Reverting them all. If something useful got lost in the meantime, please re-add it. There's a lot here to clean up. BTW, if someone who does not speak Gaelic wants to change the etymology or terminology here, do not do so unless and until you get consensus on the talk page from those who do speak Gaelic (or who at the minimum have at least a significant degree of Gaelic and good dictionaries and grammars at hand). *grumble* - Kathryn NicDhàna ♫♦♫ 01:26, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Image

Whenever I was hiding behing the kitchen chair because my grandmother warned me the Banshee was outside in the yard looking for me I pictured a screaming raven haired old woman in a black cloak, not a red haired naked young woman. I cant find a better image online, does anybody have alternative for the article. Ceoil (talk) 10:44, 11 February 2008 (UTC)