A Baobhan Sith (pronounced baa’-van shee) is the Scottish version of a succubus, with a bit of a twist. It is a beautiful seductresses, who will prey on young travelers by night and return to its grave by day. They were known to have iron as a weakness.
The words “Baobhan Sith” are the translation for “fairy woman” in Scottish Gaelic.
Also known as “the White Women of the Scottish Highlands”, Baobhan Sidhe, Bavanshee or Baavan Shee, the Baobhan Sith is a cross between a vampire and a fairy, usually described as a woman of exceptional beauty what wears a green or white dress.
The preferred area of the attack was in a wooded region and wounds were normally inflicted on the victims in the neck veins, using their fingernails. The Baobhan Sith would suck the blood or, in older versions of the tale, the life force or even sexual potency from the victim.
They look very ordinary until they attack, then their delicate hands turn into talons to bleed their unsuspecting victims. And it all begins with an invitation to dance.
[drawn by Andrew DeFelice]
There were never any known male baobhan sith, but if a woman is killed by these creatures, she will turn into one.
Most of the Baobhan Sith where previously enchanters or witches who keep on using their skills after death.
They rise from their graves once a year in order to feed. A Baobhan Sith can be trapped in their coffin by building a stone cairn over their grave, this was thought to stop them from rising.
Note: In medieval versions of the tale, the baobhan sith were often depicted with cloven hooves, keep hidden under the dress and were supposed to be afraid of horses.
๑۞๑ Related: ๑۞๑
† Superstitions
† Legends
† Vampires in ancient cultures
