The bean-nighe (Scottish Gaelic for “washerwoman” or “laundress”) is a female spirit in Scottish folklore, regarded as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. Also known as the Washing Woman or Washer at the Ford, she is seen in lonely places beside a stream or pool, washing the blood from the linen and grave-clothes of those who are about to die. Her characteristics vary depending on the locality, and differing traditions ascribe to her the powers of imparting knowledge or the granting of wishes if she is approached with caution. It is said that mnathan-nighe (the plural of bean-nighe) are the spirits of women who died giving birth and are doomed to perform their tasks until the day their lives would have normally ended. It was also believed that this fate could be avoided if all the clothing left by the deceased woman had been washed. Otherwise, she would have to finish this task after death.
Alias Bean Nighe, The Washing Woman, Washer at the Ford
Appearance List Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland by John Gregorson Campbell (1900), The Gaelic Otherworld by John Gregorson Campbell (1900, 1902, 2005), Scottish Folklore and Folk Life by Donald Mackenzie (1935), The Peat-Fire Flame: Folktales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands by Alasdair Alpin MacGregor (1937), An Encyclopedia of Fairies by Katharine Briggs (1976), Faeries (1978).
Description The bean-nighe (Scottish Gaelic for “washerwoman” or “laundress”) is a female spirit in Scottish folklore, regarded as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. Also known as the Washing Woman or Washer at the Ford, she is seen in lonely places beside a stream or pool, washing the blood from the linen and grave-clothes of those who are about to die. Her characteristics vary depending on the locality, and differing traditions ascribe to her the powers of imparting knowledge or the granting of wishes if she is approached with caution. It is said that mnathan-nighe (the plural of bean-nighe) are the spirits of women who died giving birth and are doomed to perform their tasks until the day their lives would have normally ended. It was also believed that this fate could be avoided if all the clothing left by the deceased woman had been washed. Otherwise, she would have to finish this task after death.
