Posted by murrisk on October 13, 2000 at 01:43:38:
In Reply to: Re: Samhain/Halloween posted by Magnolia Mary on October 12, 2000 at 02:07:30:
The co(fada)iste bodhar was the silent coach.
It was variably described as being drawn by
headless horses or driven by a headless man
(an cholann gan ceann). The coach and the clothing
of the driver were always black. Often associated
with the banshee, its purpose was to fetch away
people who had died. Those taken away were usually
described as unpopular or bad. At Halloween,
anything went, and usually did. The pooka
(pu(fada)ca) was a supernatural animal that took
men on nightmare rides at night, leaving them
home exhausted at the dawn of day. The nightmare
(an tromlui(fada))was also to be avoided.
Maybe it was the result of too much barm brack,
green apples and a deorum or two. Lisses or fairy
forts were also to be avoided. Lisses were said
to be open at Samhain and their occupants were
believed to change their residence from one
centre to another on that night. It was a
dangerous night for people to be out. If
the fairy host (an slua si(fada))issued forth
you could be in real trouble!