I saw Amanda, one of my critique partners, blog about the Banshee.

It kind of made me remember a lot of the fairy folklore I used to read about.

There are several types of sídhe (shee)

All of them come from the Tuatha Dé Danann, which were the Gods originally, but are now known as the Sídhe, and within the structure, you get some really bad fairies, to be sure.

The Baen Sídhe, the Banshee. Everyone knows about that screeching woman, I think. If you hear her wail your name… Ah, well. Hope you had a nice life. ‘Cause it’s over now.
The others… people know a lot less about.
The Leanan Sídhe tends to go after mortal lovers. If the guy consents, then he’s doomed. He’ll be her slave and the fairy will suck his life out of him until they waste away. (I can already hear the guys go ‘What a way to go’ heh.) Well, you’d think once they are dead, they’d be free, right? Not so. The only way you will leave a Leanan Sídhe is by finding someone else to take your place. However… If the man refuses to consent, then she becomes his slave. (I can see a terrific story there!)
The Daoine Sídhe are the most harmless of the lot. It more or less means "The Good Folk" or "The Gentry" and they are the most peaceful of the whole bunch.
The Sluagh Sídhe, the Fairy Host, are made up of restless spirits. As a whole, they are undead, or cursed, evil and nasty dead fairies.

Anyway, that’s a few of them.

Tags: Banshee, Fairies, Irish Folklore, Sidhe