Anne Baily

'Stories of Lough Guir' (1870) are based upon the stories J. Sheridan Le Fanu had been told by Miss Anne Baily of Lough Guir years before. I read them in Ghost Stories and Mysteries [of J. Sheridan LeFanu, (more usually spelled 'Le Fanu')],

Before retelling five extremely short stories, Mr. Le Fanu writes about Miss Baily and a couple of relics in the Baily house.

'The Magician Earl': This is the story about how the Earl of Desmond and his castle sank to the bottom of the lake, and how he tried to trick a blacksmith.

'Moll Rial's Adventure': A young girl is washing clothes in the lake when she meets a grand-looking gentleman. The description of how clothes were washed back then (the 'beetle' sounds worse than a washboard), made me wonder just how clean they got.

'The Banshee': Miss Anne told about her only personal experience of the family banshee. ('Consumption' is an old name for tuberculosis.)

'The Governess's Dream': She dreamed about a man telling her where he had buried a treasure, but can she convince Mr. Baily to search for it?

'The Earl's Hall': The same governess has a terrible vision.

Mentions: Countess d'Aulnois, the Munster fairies, and the Hibernia Pacata.

Lovers of folktales should enjoy these.… (mehr)