Baobhan sith

A baobhan sith (pronounced baa'-van shee) is a type of vampire in Scottish mythology, similar to the Manx Leanan Sídhe or Irish banshee. They are also known as the White Women of the Scottish Highlands.

Usually found in forests or natural settings, a baobhan sith has the form of a beautiful woman in a green dress. One version of the legend says that they have deer hooves for feet, which they keep hidden under the dress. Often several baobhan siths will appear together as a group. Legends have them seducing young men with their beauty, inviting the men to dance with them and eventually drinking their blood.

There is a certain legend in regards to the baobhan sith, where a group of young travellers stopped for the night in a small glade in the Scottish Highlands. They build a fire and begin to wish for the company of beautiful women. Four stunning women appear, and begin to dance with the men. The dance, which started out for enjoyment, becomes harsh, and the women tear at the men and draw blood. One of the men runs from their shelter and hides between two horses. The strange women circle the horses, but cannot seem to cross to him. When dawn comes, they disappear. He finds his companions dead and drained of blood. It is thought that the Baobhan Sith could not cross to him because of the iron in the shoes of the horses.

The weakness of the Baobhan Sith seems similar to most vampires: they cannot tolerate daylight. It also seems that they do not use fangs to draw blood; but rather they use sharp fingernails. Similar to other vampires, Baobhan Sith use seduction to gain their victims. According to legend, they arise from their graves once a year to feed, and a way to stop them from waking is to build a cairn over their grave.

At the 2005 West Coast Salsa Congress in Los Angeles, USA, a team from Singapore called Salsa Fanatico performed a hybrid Scottish-Salsa dance called Bao Bhan Sith to a standing ovation. It closely followed the legend.

Literature

The baobhan sith have appeared on a number of occasions in author Mark Chadbourn's fantasy trilogies The Age of Misrule, The Dark Age "Hellsing: TV Series - Episode 10: "Master of Monster[1]" and Kingdom of the Serpent. The baobhan sith is also mentioned in Michael Scott's "The Magician: The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel."

See also

• Bubbancy
• Sith (disambiguation)

References

• Briggs, Katharine (1976). A Dictionary of Fairies. Middlesex: Penguin. p. 16. ISBN 0-14-00-4753-0. 

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