What do banshees do? According to Irish mythology, the bean sí was a female spirit who was seen as an omen of death, appearing near the house of someone who was about to die and wailing. Apparently their screaming was quite hideous and would drive listeners mad.

So why do so many people attribute different things to banshees? I’ve heard all kinds of verbs attributed to banshees, not just screaming like one. Here’s a post of mine from a couple years ago that quotes from the Dilbert newsletter, talking about how people misuse the term. “Screaming like a banshee” is normal and refers to what banshees do, but anything else is kinda weird. Check out this link. It’s pretty funny and ironic. :-D Ironic Banshees