A banshee is a female spirit in Irish folk stories. People believed you could hear her long, wild cry when someone in a family was going to die. The cry is a warning or a lament, not a weapon. She is not, in the old stories, a monster that hunts you down; she mourns, or she announces death.

A banshee is a female spiritbanshee 是個女性的靈 in Irish folk stories出現在愛爾蘭民間故事裡。People believed人們相信 you could hear her long, wild cry你會聽到她又長又淒厲的哭喊聲 when someone in a family was going to die當一個家族裡有人快要過世的時候。The cry is a warning or a lament那個哭喊聲是一種警告，或一種哀悼，not a weapon而不是一種武器。She is not, in the old stories, a monster that hunts you down在古老的故事裡她不是一個會來獵殺你的怪物；she mourns, or she announces death她只是哀悼，或宣告死亡的到來。

The English word was borrowed from Irish bean sí, from older Irish meaning “woman of the fairy mound” — the sí are the fairy people of the old hills. It came into English in 1771.

The English word was borrowed from Irish bean sí這個英文字是從愛爾蘭語 bean sí 借來的，from older Irish meaning "woman of the fairy mound"源自更古老的愛爾蘭語，意思是「精靈丘的女人」——the sí are the fairy people of the old hillssí 指的是古老山丘裡的精靈族。It came into English in 1771這個字在1771年進入英文。

Though actually, loose English, especially in the US, has almost forgotten the death-warning. “Scream like a banshee” usually just means to scream very loudly. Games and horror films often paint her as a witch who kills.

Though actually不過其實，loose English, especially in the US在比較隨意的英文裡，尤其是美式英文，has almost forgotten the death-warning已經幾乎忘了這個「死亡預警」的意思。"Scream like a banshee" usually just means to scream very loudly"Scream like a banshee"（尖叫得像 banshee 一樣）通常就只是指「叫得非常大聲」。Games and horror films often paint her as a witch who kills電玩和恐怖片常把她畫成一個會殺人的女巫。

The older idea is closer to a messenger of death, and she is always spoken of as female. Some stories even say a banshee belongs to a particular family, not to everyone.

The older idea is closer to a messenger of death比較古老的概念更接近「死亡的信使」，and she is always spoken of as female而且她總是被描述成女性。Some stories even say有些故事甚至說，a banshee belongs to a particular family一個 banshee 是屬於特定某個家族的，not to everyone而不是每個人都有。