Baobhan sith
Encyclopedia
A baobhan sith is a type of female vampire
in Scottish mythology
, similar to the banshee
or leanan sídhe
. Also known as "the White Women of the Scottish Highlands
," they are beautiful seductresses who prey on young travelers by night.
Much like other vampire
s, the baobhan sith use seduction to gain their victims and cannot tolerate daylight. But rather than using fangs to draw blood, it seems they use sharp fingernails.
According to one version of the legend, they have deer
hooves
for feet, which they keep hidden under the dress. Another variation says that a way to stop them from waking is to build a cairn
over their grave.
There is a certain legend in regards to the baobhan sith, where a group of young travelers stopped for the night in a small glade
in the Scottish Highlands. They built a fire and began to wish for the company of beautiful women. Four stunning women appeared, and began to dance with the men. The dance, which started out for enjoyment, became harsh, and the women tore at the men and drew blood. One of the men ran from their shelter and hid between two horses. The strange women circled the horses, but could not seem to cross to him. When dawn came, they disappeared. He found 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.
's fantasy trilogies The Age of Misrule
, The Dark Age
, and Kingdom of the Serpent
.
The baobhan sith is also mentioned in Michael Scott's "The Magician: The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel.", baobhan sith is also featured in the anno Domini Anthology series by Christopher Young.
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
in Scottish mythology
Scottish mythology
Scottish mythology may refer to any of the mythologies of Scotland.Myths have emerged for various purposes throughout the history of Scotland, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations, and at other times being completely rejected and replaced by other explanatory narratives.-...
, similar to the banshee
Banshee
The banshee , from the Irish bean sí is a feminine spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld....
or leanan sídhe
Leanan sídhe
In Celtic folklore, the "Barrow-Lover" is a beautiful woman of the Aos Sí who takes a human lover. Lovers of the leannán sídhe are said to live brief, though highly inspired, lives...
. Also known as "the White Women of the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
," they are beautiful seductresses who prey on young travelers by night.
Description and attributes
A baobhan sith has the form of a beautiful woman in a green dress. Once a year she arises from her grave to feed on young men by night in forests or other natural places away from society. They operate in groups, together seducing victims with their beauty, inviting the men to dance with them and eventually drinking their blood.Much like other vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
s, the baobhan sith use seduction to gain their victims and cannot tolerate daylight. But rather than using fangs to draw blood, it seems they use sharp fingernails.
According to one version of the legend, they have deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
hooves
Cloven hoof
A cloven hoof is a hoof split into two toes. This is found on members of the mammalian order Artiodactyla. Examples of mammals that possess this type of hoof are deer and sheep. In folklore and popular culture, a cloven hoof has long been associated with the Devil.The two digits of cloven hoofed...
for feet, which they keep hidden under the dress. Another variation says that a way to stop them from waking is to build a cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
over their grave.
There is a certain legend in regards to the baobhan sith, where a group of young travelers stopped for the night in a small glade
Glade (geography)
A glade or clearing is an open area within a woodland. Glades are often grassy meadows under the canopy of deciduous trees such as red alder or quaking aspen in western North America. They also represent openings in forests where local conditions such as avalanches, poor soils, or fire damage have...
in the Scottish Highlands. They built a fire and began to wish for the company of beautiful women. Four stunning women appeared, and began to dance with the men. The dance, which started out for enjoyment, became harsh, and the women tore at the men and drew blood. One of the men ran from their shelter and hid between two horses. The strange women circled the horses, but could not seem to cross to him. When dawn came, they disappeared. He found his companions dead and drained of blood. It is thought that the Baobhan Sith could not cross to him because of the iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
in the shoes of the horses.
Trivia
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 ChadbournMark Chadbourn
Mark Chadbourn is an English fantasy, science fiction and horror author with fifteen novels published around the world.Born in the English Midlands from a long line of coal miners...
's fantasy trilogies The Age of Misrule
The Age of Misrule (series)
The Age of Misrule is a three-book modern fantasy novel series, written by Mark Chadbourn. It is set in Britain and the faery Otherworld around the beginning of the third millennium....
, The Dark Age
The Dark Age (series)
The Dark Age is a trilogy by Mark Chadbourn set around the beginning of the third millennium. While the previous series was a clear fantasy story, this has strings of gothic horror and existentialism woven into it.The three books are:...
, and Kingdom of the Serpent
Kingdom of the Serpent
The Kingdom of the Serpent is the third in a series of trilogies written by Mark Chadbourn. Set in modern-day Britain, it continues from The Age of Misrule and The Dark Age....
.
The baobhan sith is also mentioned in Michael Scott's "The Magician: The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel.", baobhan sith is also featured in the anno Domini Anthology series by Christopher Young.