Is There A Name For A Banshee That Beats On Doors?

Recently I have noticed that during times of wind there is not just a Banshee howling. An overhead door has been thumping also. So I was wondering if any one knows of a name for, or a story involving a Banshee that pounds or beats things or does other things to make noise. Or if that is not called a Banshee please do fill me in.

yes there is another name for something that bangs on your door - it's usually called a 12 year old!

(sorry, couldn't resist)

I have a pretty good idea that anything I have to add is not what you are looking for, but, I do want to add my 2 cents anyway....I hope you do not mind.

ahhh ... firstly, with names aside, I think that no matter what it does, if there is an "it" there....."it" is a being of a specific origin regardless of the actions and acts it chooses to portray for you......

so that in looking for this name, you are looking, only, for an artful word to express and contain a small incident that may or may not continue. Not, looking for a name for the being that it is, if it is anything more than the wind.....ehh.....anyway

I don't know much, I don't know how many intelligent beings live or visit this planet,

I do know, however, that atleast one other species exists on this planet with humans, and I like to call them the puppet masters!

invisible, maybe ethereal, alien for sure, but, are they from another planet or ghosts of their former shells here on earth-human or other

It could be a poltergeist, it could also be that you have a loose door that thumps around a bit, and a few spots where the wind makes a howling noise as it blows through.

Originally posted by RedGolem
Recently I have noticed that during times of wind there is not just a Banshee howling. An overhead door has been thumping also. So I was wondering if any one knows of a name for, or a story involving a Banshee that pounds or beats things or does other things to make noise. Or if that is not called a Banshee please do fill me in.

Well... unless someone's dropping dead every time you hear the "Banshee", I seriously doubt it's one. Banshee's are supposed to appear and/or shriek as a portent of death for someone nearby(traditionally, iirc, they would only cry for certain Irish families).

So I suppose that what you would be talking about would be a poltergeist.


Or, more likely, it's probably just the wind.

Strong wind howls as it disperses around objects in it's path eg. your house.

The banging is most likely the doorframe / windowframe rattling from the wind.

It is a common thing.

Bean Sidhe have been known to knock on things yes, some were known to actually be mute (odd but true), but its highly unlikely, given that there were VERY few familys that had one and most of them are either completely dead or the blood would be so dilute I doubt she'd show up anyway even if you were a very distant descendant.

Its one of those unsettling things, reading about a ghost who has power over life or death, but she herself doesn't (fairie lore is one of my hobbies) actually kill you, very few were ever known to cause someone to die if you read actual historical accounts that also featured them. Most of the stories are exaggerated or distorted. It was a PORTENT of doom, and quite often she would appear to the head of the house, not to the person who was to die anyway so if your father is still alive, its more likely concerning him or that she's mixed you up (can you get stupid faries?)

The first question is, can you trace ANY anscestor back to Ireland, and ultimately, were they one of the (I think its 6 its been a while sorry) major families that had their own Sidhe? Unless having a Lord in your family is true, its very unlikely its a 'Banshee', more likely a very ugly neighbour wanting to borrow some sugar.

There are many unpleasant ghosts, but if it IS a sidhe, then she is part of the folklore of the fay, and they DETEST iron, just get an iron horeshoe and nail it above the doorway she seems to bang on, or carry a nail around with you.

Besides which, it generally howled for 3 nights PRIOR to the death, and was not continued after or before. It was also generally seen by most of the family at LEAST once so they knew one of them was gonna pop it and could make plans. I believe in the existance of the weird, but IMO, even as a knower, I think it had more to do with the general political/social climate of the day in that a Lord was 'of the land' and that his death would have serious implications and therefore they were manifestations of grief or death purely because people thought about them and wished them into existance (like Tulpas) to ensure they knew before all hell broke loose.

Do I think you should worry? No. Will you? Yes, I've been in the same boat (I had regular visits from 'Shadow People' who I originally thought were Death since they had the whole black cowl thing going on), but you have to believe yourself that it won't harm you. Humans have the ability to cause their own demise (people die of fright), but iron is a sure way of removing its influence and there are many accounts of even ghosts disliking iron, so it could be the spiritual equivalent of a baseball bat - tell it you mean business and it can't even get near enough for it to touch you (most Sidhe law concerns the fact it generally must touch you once, and then you die, in a LARGE majority of cases, some seem to just howl and go and then you have an accident or whatever).

Belief is the major downfall of mankind, because we KNOW we have the propensity to evil, so evil we are capable of doing, even unto ourselves by our own mind. If we believed we could only do good, that is all we would be capable of, and all be better off for it. (©Me, just thought it up 2008)

After exhaustive research I have found the answer: In english the term would be "DoorbangingBanshee" and en Espanol it would be "ElPortaBangoDeBanshee" Glad to be of help. Also- If you would like to rid your home of these "Banshee" the hardware store sells replacement door closure units guaranteed to make them go away even in strong winds...

Thanks for all the info. everyone
I did learn quite a bit reading it. I know its just the wind banging on the door. But its just making so darn much noise thumping. I just want to be able to make an accurate reference to the folk lore for spirits the next time it is happening. So perhaps for the time being I will continue to call it a Banshee. I was not aware they also brought death. So that will be another interesting point I can bring up.

As I say, she is (or was, not strictly speaking sure there have been any cases in the last couple of centuries since most of the noble Irish families are mostly dead or in-bred with others of a different blood and people can be easily confused when confronted by a sheet-wearing ugly spectre of doom) a PORTENT rather than a, uh, well, disposer.

She strictly speaking doesn't necessarily kill you, but the cry is said to be extremely haunting "bone-chilling, yet beautiful", and that generally lasts a few nights and then you're gone, no if's or but's, so if you're still with us, and there has been no weird noises, then don't worry. Those that were mute generally banged on things and these were the ones that generally needed to touch someone to transfer their um, well, I'll say 'curse' but its more you need to know and thats the only means she can tell you (I find it amusing that Terry Pratchett knows about mute Banshee and uses it to his advantage in his humourous fictional tales in Discworld novels).

If you haven't heard any weird wailing, its very very unlikely, and again, no Irish Lords = no Sidhe worries anyway. Phantom fay dogs (Cue Sidhe always pronounced 'Coo Shee' like Bean Sidhe is pronounced 'Ban Shee'), well that's another matter...

To some she was a messenger that they should change their ways. I've read a couple of accounts in the latter centuries where people were being a bit 'naughty', generally concerning extra-marital affairs and she appeared to tempt them, but they saw through it (or she let them), and they lived happily with their wives until she called again.

As I say, the can bang, but its unlikely if you're not Irish that its a portent of your death, so don't worry, just get a new screen door!

I love fay lore, its extremely interesting, and being a bit Celtic (Welsh) its part of my heritage. I prescribe to a belief that something is living inside the earth, something that has no love for humans certainly, and may be these 'faries' or Richard Shavers 'derro'. I'm of the opinion its all connected, faries, aliens, bigfoot, etc, and so it interests me greatly.

Hope, whatever it is, it leaves you well alone or at the very least, does you no harm, ever. I hope I've helped in some way.

reply to post by ejsaunders


Ejsaunders
I just like the loar also. I am not that concerned about side interfering with the affairs at work. I just does make a horrible racket when the wind is blowing. Still thanks for the information.

ej...I to am a bit of a fan of the Celtic cycles...family came here 1800's
know anything of the Dallahan? or naganeen?

Hi Kelt

As far as I am aware, as I say, I thought (it'd been a while since I read any of the older works on them), there were six families, but if you check Wiki it says five families that were generally assumed to actually have a Sidhe, although that does not inherently preclude any other family having one and as far as I can remember I've never seen anything about those, but its been a while, I'll have a look at the old books over the weekend if you like?

I'm of the opinion that some of these things are more man-made than actually 'natural', and I'd say Bean Sidhe would be one of these things. It seems to me to be a manifestation of something natural, but it's quite hard to explain what I mean so if I say it and it doesn't make sense, then let me know, but I'll have a go:

Basically, my theory is that EVERYTHING is interconnected, and that God created some stuff that isn't in the 'book', some things that are perceived by us as forces or weird phenomenon. I'd put things like elementals in this category (I think they're related to Cherubim in some way) and that forces of nature are also in this category, but some things can be influenced, so while death is a natural force and has its own 'personality', humans have over the years created Tulpas for this force to inhabit at times and given each of these split personalities a personality. Here's where the Bean Sidhe comes from IMO and I think they were made because at that time, the Lord was naturally connected to the land, and the loss of a Lord would be bad, so they made these things themselves.

If that is the case, then it doesn't actually mean you couldn't have one if you weren't related to these families, or over the years as I say, they've mostly all died out or in-bred into other families, so you could have some blood in you I suppose if you can trace your heritage back to Ireland's great families.

If on the other hand, I'm wrong, and it was some sort of weird gift from the fay to the families, who some say were protected by them or occasonally married into the fay, then it's unlikely given that these days there are very few reports of faries (give the rise of iron, magnets, etc in every day life) that these things actually physically exist anymore, well, enough to bother someone anyway. I'm not saying they've disappeared, and we don't know if they're immortal or anything, but they seem a lot less interested these days.

As I say, I'll check my library on the weekend if you're really interested, but the names don't (off the top of my head) sound familiar, but its been a good few years since I really got into some of the books and geneology is quite convoluted at the best of times.

I don't know if this helps, but back in '97-'98, my Irish neighbour and her friend had come down to our flat having been to the local pub for a bit of a knees-up.

They came back to ours a bit worse for wear,and started chatting in their broad Irish accent. It must have been about midnight, when we heard two taps on the window overlooking the car park. The woman looked terrified, 'it's the Banshee, she is coming for one of us, more likely me,' speaking to her friend.

Here is where it gets a bit weird. It must have been about four in the morning when we heard a heavy thud from the flat upstairs. Sometime after that, our neighbour, the woman, came to our door, upset and scared, *Paddy, is dead, I can't revive him.' She asked my fiance, who is now my husband to come and have a look. He got onto the phone and called for the police and ambulance. He was in fact dead.

I don't know what led to the man's demise, but it was strange how we had heard the knocking on the window and he died a few hours later.

This was the middle of Summer and our window to our flat would have been impossible for anybody to reach.


*I changed the name of the individual out of respect for his family. He was a decent human being,and still thought of to this day.*

If you don't mind saying, what was the surname of the individual involved if you know? It'd be interesting to find out if the individual was connected to any of the great families in some way.

It's also interesting to note that this was in the 'present' rather than as far as I can tell the last case was before the major rise of iron use in every day, such as for car manufacturing and the 'steam age'. It may be that as some accounts suggest, that 'cold forged' iron was the actual thing that hurt them the most, and while iron does hurt them, they can still come close enough.

Though, as I say, she was more a portent, the deed was already done, it was merely her being 'nice' and letting you know so you could plan, although it's odd that this didn't occur 3 nights prior, more the night before. Could be a coincidence and some bird had a bad head that night, but interesting nonetheless.

Thanks for sharing!

It sounds like my step-kids trying to get at the refridgarator if you ask me.