Usually associated with Celtic folklaw, how did a banshee come to herald the death of a resident of the Fylde Coast? We find out, on the 10th day of our spooky local tales.
During my research, I came across a singular account of a banshee type spirit that haunted a family in Poulton-le-Fylde.
For those unfamiliar, a banshee is usually an exclusively Celtic haunting, associated chiefly with Ireland, but also with Scotland and Wales.
A “woman of the fairies”, these supernatural beings’ mournful wails or lamentations at night are believed to foretell the death of a member of the family of the person who heard the spirit.
According to the Encyclopaedia Brittanica, in Ireland banshees were believed to warn only families of pure Irish descent. The Welsh counterpart, the gwrach y Rhibyn (witch of Rhibyn), visited only families of old Welsh stock.
The Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott mentioned belief in a kind of banshee or household spirit in certain Highland families.
How then, does an ancient Celtic spirit come to be found on the Fylde Coast? Well, Lancashire and the Fylde was known as a wild place in ancient times and the old beliefs lingered on here a long time after the rest of the country had been ‘enlightened’.
On Christmas Day in 1908 in the Fleetwood Chronicle and Fylde Advertiser ran an article concerning Fylde’s ghosts. It told of a legend of a banshee or a noisy boggart haunting the Walmsley family. It would appear making “uncanny noises” heralding the death of a family member. The article called for readers to get in touch if they had more information on this unquiet spirit.
Banshees don’t cause death, they merely warn of it. It is thought that the myth of the banshee stems from the 8th century, with the a tradition of “Keeners”. A Keener was a woman, usually a beggar who would accept a payment of ale for singing a sorrowful song at a funeral. Their mournful voices would keen through the night lamenting the dearly departed’s passing. Unfortunately, these women became outcasts, believed by the church to be sinners and to be damned for all eternity.
Read our previous Hallowe’en Tales
Day 1 – The Curse of Carleton Crematorium.
Day 2 – The Witch Ducking Stools of Poulton-Le-Fylde.
Day 3 – The Ghost-Seer of Weeton.
Day 4 – Smuggling, Drowned Nuns and Fallen Acrobats at Raikes Hall
Day 5 – The Hauntings at the Old Coach House
Day 6 – Old Scrat
Day 7 – A Goblin Funeral at Extwistle Hall
Day 8 – The Ghost of Lady Macbeth
Day 9 – The Mermaid & The Sea Serpent of Marton Mere
Take a look at Zowie Swan’s debut novel, Chingle Hall here.
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