Ankou

Ankou are the king of the dead is the last person to die in a parish during the year. All of the next year the Ankou calls the dead. Each parish has their own.
This powerful figure dominates in Britain lore. Celtic Brittney’s folklore tells of a collector of souls.

Ankou is a tall haggard with long white hair, or skeleton with a revolving head that can see everything everywhere. Ankou drives a spectral cart and has two ghost assistants to walk beside the cart. They stop at a house and one of two things happens, either Ankou knocks on the door -sometimes the living can hear the knock too- or wails like a banshee.
Occasionally it’s seen as an apparition going into the house and carrying the dead soul out. Its assists place the soul in the cart and off they go.

Image from Google search.

Dullahan

For today’s Vampire Wednesday were looking at yet another Irish Vampire. I never knew there were so many. I’m beyond excited!

Dullahan
The Dullahan is pronounced DAH-hool. He has a lot of variations to his name including Dullaghan, Far Dorocha, Gan Ceann, Headless Horseman

The Headless Horseman is well known from Washington Irving’s American retelling of the German folklore short story “The Ledend of Sleepy Hollow.”

After the potato famine started in 1845 people started saying the Banshee was accompanied by a headless man riding on a horse. They were seen particularly at midnight on Feast Days.

The Head was which was the color and texture of molded cheese, smiled from ear to ear. Sometimes the man would hold his head other times it was tied to the saddle. Some said that the horse was also headless.

There were also stories that the man drove a coach made of human thigh bones which was pulled by six black horse with skull heads, their eyes lit by candles in their sockets.

Really it doesn’t matter if he’s on horseback or if he’s driving a coach, he races down roads spreading disease, entire households suddenly fall ill.

Dullahan uses a bullwhip to lash out anyone’s eyes who happens to see him. He’s cursed with poor eyesight. Lucky victims get a bucket of blood tossed on them.

The Dullahan is incredibly greedy and will accept any momentary offering that’s thrown at him.

 

Photo Credit:
http://celticqueens.blogspot.com/2011/06/irish-dullahan.html
http://strangestate.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-irish-monsters.html

Banshee

Today, we’ll look at the Banshee.
“Wait, I know about Banshees they aren’t vampires!” I can hear you saying.
Oh, just you wait; you will have your eyes opened soon enough. You will wish you never read this post.
There’s still time for you to run a way and hide.

Are you ready to get on with today’s Vampire Wednesday?
All right then, here we go.

Green Banshee

The Banshee is now considered a type of Fay (fairy) with vampire tendencies. I never knew Banshee’s had vampire tendencies.
She wears a green dress and grey cloak, her long white hair is loose so it can blow in the wind
Or so says my legends.
A bit about her history before though, she was once believed to be an ancestor spirit that wailed to foretell the upcoming death of one of five major families: The Kavanaghs, The O’Brien’s, The O’Connor’s, The O’Gradys and The O’Neill’s.
Those who hear her wailing cry fear that someone in the family will die the next night.

Did you know that you could come across a banshee washing her shrouds at a riverbank? She’ll be naked of course. If you do find her while she washes, don’t run away. That will just make her mad!
Her long pendulous breast will get in her way. She’ll swing them over her shoulder, and now is your chance. Sneak up to her and pretend to suckle from her breast. Tell her she is your foster mother, and she should accept you. She will answer any question you have.

You could capture her and demand an answer by pointing your sword at her. Now it would be much cooler and much nicer if you convince her she’s your mother, instead of threatening her life, unlife. Whatever you get the point.

If you find her washing and she sees you first! She may tell you she’s washing the shirt of an enemy. You have to give her a name of one of your enemies. Don’t stop her from her chore or your enemy may die the following night.
You have to give her a name or she’ll attack you and drain you of your blood.
Hummm, drinking your blood, sounds like a vampire to me.

When she’s not washing, she hunts the hills near the lakes and rivers, she’s hunting young men, she’ll take him to a secluded place and drink all of his blood.
Here you’ve been reading waiting to see how a Banshee was in my Vampire post.
Now you know.

Photo Credits:
Green Banshee http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OurBansheesAreLouder
Banshee http://lgsquirrel.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/wail-of-the-banshee-modern-urban-tale/