The Best Places Around the World to Visit if You Enjoy the Legend of the Banshee

All supernatural creatures have origins from different cultures around the world. Each one has a fascinating history that has been forged from tales moving from one generation to the next. One fascinating creature that tops our list of favorite legends is the banshee. According to one legend, this creature is a wailing or shrieking female spirit that warns of the death of a family member. You can know more about this creature by visiting countries where her tale originated. So, here are the best places to visit if you enjoy the legend of the banshee.

Scotland

In Scotland, they believe in a unique type of banshee. The female spirit is known as caoineag, which means “weeper.” Most of the time, she is seen weeping in the night at a stream, waterfall, mountainside, or in a glen.

According to Scottish folklore, the caoineag foretells the death of a family member, and she cannot be questioned or approached. Plus, she will not grant any wishes.

As stated by a Scottish folklorist named Alexander Carmichael, the caoineag predicts the death of the soldiers slain in battle. To be specific, her wails were heard every night before the Massacre of Glencoe occurred. Additionally, her weeping also caused anxiety in the soldier’s families.

Ireland

One of the best places to visit if you enjoy the legend of the banshee is Ireland. After all, the legend of this female spirit originated in this country. In fact, this creature was originally a part of Celtic folklore.

According to Irish legends, the banshee will sing or wail when a family member will die or has died. Even if the person has died in a faraway place, their family member will still hear the wails or screams of a female spirit. The reason is that her wailing is a warning sealing the fate of the death. When multiple banshees appear in one place, the Irish people believe that it is a sign that a great or holy person will die.

According to several tales, the banshee is a ghost of a murdered woman. The creature can also be a spirit of a mother who died while giving birth.

North Carolina

The last on this list of best places to visit if you enjoy the legend of the banshee is North Carolina. According to folklore, the banshee in North Carolina doesn’t predict death like her other variations. Instead, she lures men into a river, bringing them down to an unfortunate, watery grave.

The story of the banshee started in the Colonial times. Back then, Dave Warner was running a sawmill on Tar River. When hostilities began, the Redcoats who thought that Warner was pro-revolution chained him and threw him into a river. Before he died, he cursed the men. From there, a banshee started haunting the place. One night, the female spirit led the men who killed Warner into the river to drown them, ensuring they received the same fate he did.