Representations of the Banshee

“In her home, with bent head, homeless,

Clasping her knees she sits,
Keening, keening!”

From The Banshee, John Todhunter

A messenger of death, this spectral figure has been the subject of countless Irish legends and stories for centuries, and her presence continues to captivate readers today.

In this reading and writing workshop, you’ll examine a range of literary responses to the banshee, including stories by Irish writers Charlotte Riddell and Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. The tutor will lead you through exercises and support you in crafting creative responses inspired by this otherworldly woman.

“And then with a start and a shiver, and a blanched face, he turned sharply round, whilst a low, sobbing, wailing cry echoed mournfully throughout the room. No form of words could give an idea of the sound.”

From Hertford O’Donnell’s Warning, Charlotte Riddell

About the Tutor

Jen Herron is a writer, journalist and teacher whose work has been featured in Haunted Words Press, Seaside Gothic, Hearth and Coffin, Bowery Gothic, The Irish Times, BBC Radio and others. She won the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing, 2022.