banshee

In Gaelic folklore, an otherworld female spirit whose crying portends the death of a person of old Irish stock. She is rarely seen, and descriptions of her can vary from a beautiful young woman to an old crone. She derives from the ancient land-goddess, and her role echoes the notion that a nobleman is ritually married to his territory. Belief in the banshee is still very common in Ireland, and her cry is even heard among Irish emigrants abroad.