Tomorrow night is of course Halloween, the spookiest night of the year. Halloween, having originated in Ireland (more on that tomorrow) is full of spirits and spooks of a green persuasion, and you may run into a few of them as you trick or treat on Tuesday. As a public service, the Kansas CIty Irish Fest presents this handy guide to identifying these Gaelic Ghouls.
The Bean Sidhe or Banshee makes her appearance when someone in the household is about to die. She heralds your demise when her piercing "caoine" or keening is heard. Similar mournful wailing is sometimes heard when last call is announced at the Irish Fest beer tents.
The Púca, pronounced "Pookah" is an Irish hobgoblin. One of the most feared spirits, according to legend, it can take on a variety of shapes and sizes in order to wreak havoc and harm. It's said that the Púca often takes on the form of a horse or calf, rushes between a victim's legs, and hoists them away for a mad dash across the countryside. This excuse can come in handy, should you have to explain to your significant other how you ended up on a stool at Kelly's Bar when you'd just gone out to light the jack o'lantern on the front step.
The Taisé is the image of a person who is not present and warns of an imminent accident. The worst omen of all is to see the Taisé of yourself, which means you are about to die. Or that you happen to be standing in front of a mirror, which for some of us is equally scary.
The Gray Man or Far Liath appears as a fog and covers land and sea with his cloak. He obscures rocks so ships crash upon them and darkens the road so that travelers unwittingly stumble over cliffs to their deaths. Again, for some of us seeing a gray man may simply mean we've happened on to that mirror again.
The Dark Man or Far Dorocha rides on his black horse into our world to abduct humans and return with them to the underworld. Although he never speaks, mortals invariably understand his commands and, unable to disobey, surrender their wills to his. This is similar to the way we Irish Fest staffers respond to our executive director "Kreepy Keli" Wenzel.
The Dullahan is a headless horseman who rides an equally headless horse during the dead of night; wherever he stops a mortal dies. And since neither one can see where the hell they're going, they tend to stop a lot unfortunately, usually after running into road signs and the backs of stopped busses. His eerie cry of "Ow! Damn it!" can be heard echoing throughout the land.
The Dearg-Dur is Ireland's legendary vampire. According to some tales, it can take the shape of a pale young woman who lingers in graveyards at night waiting for unwary passers-by. Her beauty is irresistibly seductive, but when she kisses, she feeds on blood, draining the life from her victim. The victim, having been stupid enough to go shift a pale looking girl hanging around in a graveyard at night, deserves exacty what he has coming to him. This is known as "thinning the herd".
Hope that helps. Have a nice day, spooks.
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