#scottish-folklore — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

Connect Paranormal @[email protected] · 2026-04-24 · 21:56 UTC

Is she a vampire or fairy? The Baobhan Sith are dangerous Scottish monster who prey on men. #vampires #fairies #Scottishfolklore https://youtu.be/1WhS9RYh05I?si=SgPJtp2EgRqIA6dB

#vampires #fairies #scottishfolklore

Nifty Buckles Folklore @[email protected] · 2025-11-16 · 20:27 UTC

#FolkloreSunday 🏡🪵🔥❄️#Hearthlore
In Scottish Highland hearths, the Yule log twists fierce: Chalk the Cailleach Nollich—"Christmas Old Lady"—onto its bark, then set her ablaze.
This rite derives from sketching a female effigy directly onto the log. As the blaze intensified, the woman's traced form would dissolve in the heat, "Charring the Old Wife," this mocking pyre scorches winter's crone.

#ScottishFolklore 🏴󠁧 🪵🔥
#CharringOldWife 🪵

Source: https://cailleachs-herbarium.com

📸Scott Richardson-Read

#folkloresunday #hearthlore #scottishfolklore #charringoldwife

Nifty Buckles Folklore @[email protected] · 2025-11-15 · 17:55 UTC

#BookWormSat 🧹

Did you know that #Brownies also know n come from Scottish folklore?

These charming household hobgoblins are known for their helpfulness, tackling chores when no one is watching.

Leave out some milk or cream and they may lend a hand around your home. 🧹
#ScottishFolklore 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

🎨 Arthur Rackham circa 1917.

#bookwormsat #brownies #scottishfolklore

Spirituality & Religious Studies @spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com@spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com · 2025-10-29 · 04:38 UTC

Banshees

A banshee (Bean si in Modern Irish & ben side, in Old Irish, meaning “woman of the fairy mound,” or “fairy woman”) is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member. She usually does this by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Keening is a traditional form of vocal lament for the dead in the Gaelic Celtic tradition. This is known to have taken place in Ireland & Scotland.

Banshees are strongly associated with specific Irish families. The belief is that the banshee is a family spirit attached to a particular lineage. Her mournful wail/cry is heard only by family members as a warning of an imminent death.

Another of the banshee characteristics is their unwavering attachment to certain Gaelic families such as the O’Neills, O’Brians, O’Connors, O’Grady, & Kavanaghs, among others. Some traditions hold that the banshee is the ghost. This is perhaps a mother of a famous poet/singer from the family who died tragically. In this sense, she’s an ancestral spirit tied to the bloodline & the land.

She appears or is heard only to mourn & warn the family of an impending death. Often before anyone has received news of it. This direct, specific role makes her an inherently familiar guardian or omen for that clan/family.

They aren’t family pets, the banshees presence is a known, if terrifying, part of the family’s history & destiny, linking her fate to theirs across generations.

A banshee is an autonomous entity, a powerful fairy-woman (bean sidhe) or ghost, isn’t under the control of any living person.

Sometimes she has long streaming hair, which she may be seen combing, with some legends specifying she can only be keen while combing her hair. She wears a gray cloak over a green dress. Her eyes are red from continual weeping. She’s sometimes dressed in white with red hair & a ghastly complexion.

In Ireland & parts of Scotland, a traditional part of mourning is the keening woman (bean chaointe), who wails a lament. This keening woman may be a professional, in some cases. The best Keeners would be in high demand.

Irish legends talks about 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 & news of their death hasn’t come yet. In those cases, her wailing would be the 1st 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’s unlikely they’ll come out alive, she’ll warn people by screaming/wailing. This gives rise to the banshee also being known as a wailing woman. The banshee was also linked with the death coach. The banshee is said to either summon the death coach with her keening or travel in tandem with it.

When several banshees show up at 1 time, it usually indicates the death of someone holy or great. The story sometimes tells that the woman (though called a fairy) was a ghost. She’s often a specific murdered woman, or a man who passed away in childbirth.

In some parts of Leinster, she’s referred to as the bean chaointe or ban nigheachain (“little washerwoman”) or nigheag na h-ath (“little washer at the ford”). She’s seen washing bloodstained clothes or armor of those who are about to die.

In Welsh folklore, there’s also a similar being known as the cyhyraeth. The cyhyraeth gives a disembodied moaning voice before the person’s passing.

Some sources suggest that the banshees Laments only the descendants of pure Milesian stock of Ireland. The Milesians were the final race to settle in Ireland. The original belief appears to be associated with a number of ancient Irish families. According to tradition, a banshee wouldn’t lament or visit someone of Saxon or Norman descent or those who came to Ireland later.

Most, not all, of the last names associated with banshees have the “O” or “Mc/Mac” prefix. That means people with the last names of Goidelic origin. This means a family native to the Insular Celtic lands. Rather than those of the Norse, Anglo-Saxon, or Norman.

There are some exceptions to the banshee lore. A banshee may lament a person who’s been gifted with music & song.

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#AngloSaxon #BanNigheachain #Banshees #BeanChaointe #BeanNighe #BeanSi #beanSidhe #BenSide #Celtic #Cyhyraeth #DeathCoach #Gaelic #Goidelic #InsularCeltic #Ireland #IrishFolklore #Kavanaghs #keening #KeeningWoman #Milesian #ModernIrish #Norman #Norse #OBrians #OConnors #OGrady #ONeills #OldIrish #Poet #Saxon #Scotland #ScottishFolklore #Singer #WelshFolklore

#anglosaxon #bannigheachain #banshees #beanchaointe #beannighe #beansi

Briar𓂃🖊 @[email protected] · 2025-09-15 · 13:34 UTC

I have a story in this book!
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

My contribution is the story
"Baobhan sith," which is a retelling of an old Scottish horror folktale.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/allworldswayfarer/into-the-dark-2/pledge/new?clicked_reward=false

#scottishfolklore #folklore #fae #fairies #horrorstories #horrorbook #horror

#scottishfolklore #folklore #fae #fairies #horrorstories #horrorbook

Connect Paranormal @[email protected] · 2025-07-03 · 11:22 UTC

Fuath are malevolent water spirits from Scottish Gaelic folklore inhabiting Highland waterways. They appear as green-skinned shapeshifters with both human and aquatic features. #fuath #scottishfolklore https://connectparanormal.net/2025/07/02/the-fuath-malevolent-spirits-of-scottish-waterways/

#fuath #scottishfolklore

Connect Paranormal @[email protected] · 2025-06-29 · 11:52 UTC

The Beithir, a snake-like monster in Celtic mythology, symbolizes natural mystery and power. It is described as an apex predator living in Scotland’s rural areas, often associated with storms. #beithir #scottishfolklore https://connectparanormal.net/2025/06/28/the-beithir-a-symbol-of-nature-and-chaos/

#beithir #scottishfolklore