This chapter will deal with the bringer of death.In most cultures the bringer
    of death is simply called the angel of death and is expected to have a scary
    appearance-something covered by a dark cloak and a large -------.Two 
    cultures though have been brought to my attention to have a more "charming"
    version of the death bringer-the Irish and the Scottish.
    The Irish culture and folklore includes a creature called the Bansidhe
    or more commonly spelled Banshee,as it is pronounced.The name in Gaelic
    means "fairy woman",this fairy is dreaded by all Irish man for it brings
    the news of death.The Banshee which is rarely seen as an apparition
    omits a howl which grows to a cranscendo and then dies away,this wail
    is a warning sign that death is near to either the person that hears the
    howl or someone he loves.Although the name translates as "fairy woman"
    many say that the Banshee is a spirit given to every Irish family by God
    to protect them and their assets.This celestial creature can not come
    into contact with its mortal proteges only once,before they die.At that
    time God allows the Banshee to express all its love towards the
    departing family member by omitting the dreaded howl. There are some
    cases in which the Banshee was reported to be seen,she took the form of
    a red haired woman with green eyes.

    James O'bary a businessman from Boston has reported to hear the cry of
    the Banshee on three occasions.The first was when he was a young
    child,he was lying on his bed,the weather was clear and the noise of
    birds could be heard outside,in this harmony he noticed a strange sound
    "As if a demented woman was crying"he said,he thought it was the wind
    but the trees weren't moving.He left his room and entered the kitchen
    where he saw his father with tears in his eyes and his mother told him
    that they just got news that his grandfather had died.
    The second time the Banshee howled for O'bary was when he was serving
    in the United States Air Force in the Far East.He was awakened by the
    dreadful howl and instantly he knew that his father had died,later that
    week he got the news.
    The third time that the Banshee howled was when O'bary was on a
    business and pleasure combined trip.He was lying in bed and reading
    the morning papers when he heard the noise again.This time he recognized
    it instantly and all he hoped for that the Banshee wasn't howling for
    one of his family members.The date was November 22,1963,shortly after
    noon and the Banshee was bewailing the death of an acquaintance of
    O'barys-Jhon F. Kenedy,the President of The United States.

    The second death bringer that caught my attention comes from Welsh
    history or folklore.The Welsh version of the death bringer is called
    "The Dribbling Hag" and she is the opposite of the Banshee.She takes
    the form of a revolting old woman who stands on westward bound river
    banks and washes the clothes of the dead.Her only goal is to bring the
    news of death to the people that are about to die themselves,these
    people will see their own clothe being washed by the Dribbling Hag.
    There is no hard evidence of the existence of such creature and it is
    mostly mentioned in the Welsh folklore but there are a few people who
    reported to have seen it and many more say that they did so in the past.


    The questions that creep into our mind after reading these passages is
    why do we need creatures that bring death and what are they? If we look
    at the Banshee we will see that it's actually not a death bringing
    creature but more of a warning creature.When the Banshee howls,it howls
    to the person that has close relations with the person that is about to
    die but never to the person himself. On the other hand the Dribbling Hag
    brings death.She knows who is going to die and she informs the person
    himself that he should prepare for his death. There is a theory that
    tries to explain why different cultures have different "angels of
    death",the thesis says that just as we inherit physical qualities we
    must also inherit some knowledge.This knowledge we inherit is imprinted
    and believed in by the ancestors,so if our folklore will include a
    headless rider as an angel of death we too will believe this. This
    theory agrees with psychiatrist C. G. Jung's of the "collective
    unconscious",an inherited storehouse of memories of mankind's
    experience. All in all these two death bringers are believed to exist
    only in folklore,but you should never be over confident because they
    might just get you...