Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Frightening Irish Vampires, Monsters and Ghost by Karen Nutt


My vampire tale Twilight’s Eternal Embrace was released Oct. 1, 2012!  The tale takes place in medieval Ireland with vampire warriors, invaders and of course there’s a forbidden romance.

Through the centuries tales of legends and myths have been passed down to us. Some are darn right scary. If you’re brave enough to read on, find out what frightening Irish demons and monsters roam the hillsides of Ireland, and what you must do to prevent becoming their next victim.

1. The Dearg-Due is a vampire. The name translates to ‘blood sucker’. She’s a female demon that seduces men drains and them dry. According to legend the beautiful woman fell in love with a local peasant, but her father would not let her marry him. She was forced to marry a man who was rich, but who was also a cruel man. She eventually committed suicide. She was buried near Strongbow’s Tree in Waterford. One night she rose from the grave and sought out revenge on her father and husband, sucking their blood until they died. The Dearg-due now rises once a year on the anniversary of her death to lure men to their death. To prevent her from rising: Place stones over her grave.

2. Washington Irving isn’t the only one who has a story about the headless horseman. The Dullahan, which translates ‘dark man’, is a man, who carries his head tucked under his arm and rides a horse with flaming red eyes. When he stops riding a human dies. Some claim he calls out the name of the doomed. His weakness is gold. I suggest you carry, a gold bar, gold coins, or wear gold jewelry. Whatever works best for you.

3. Leanan Sidhe is an evil Irish faery-muse and demon/vampire.  The faery woman is beautiful and gives inspiration to the poets and musicians, but of course the price is their life. She becomes the artist’s lover. She shares her creativity and magic, but she leaves the men so depressed that they wither away and die. She then takes them back to her lair. She doesn’t suck their blood. She collects it in a red cauldron. The blood is the source of her artistic inspiration and her beauty. Hmm…perhaps falling into bed with a beautiful woman who whispers inspirational ideas should be avoided at all cost. A cairn of stones also prevents this vampire faery from rising.

4. Banshee is the Irish wailing ghost of doom. She is a feminine spirit who begins to wail if someone is about to die. Banshees were said to appear to particular Irish families—the O’Gradys, O’Neills, O’Briens, O’Connors and the Kavanaghs. If several banshees appear, it meant someone of great importance would die.  Sometimes she appears as an ugly hag, but she’s also been described as a beautiful woman. One legend states a murdered woman, or a woman who dies in childbirth can become a Banshee if she is not buried properly. Most likely this meant a Catholic burial on sacred grounds.

Avoid at all cost changing your name to any of the above names. If you were born into those families… sorry there’s nothing you can do.

I hope you enjoyed the post!
READERS—I’m offering a $10 Amazon gift card to one lucky commenter.
Share an interesting legend or myth. Don’t know one? Then tell me which of the Irish fiends above scared you the most?

Blub for :Twilight’s Eternal Embrace

The Oiche Sith, the blood drinkers, forged an alliance with the Lathe Sith, a neighboring daywalker clan. The Oiche Sith would protect them from invaders in exchange that one female a year wed one of their warriors for the blooding ritual. Unfortunately, the female Lathe Sith never survives for very long.

Adryanna, a Lathe Sith, mourns the death of her recently mated sister, but she finds solace in the most unlikely place—in the arms of Bram, an Oiche Sith. She should fear him, loathe his existence, but instead she longs for their twilight embraces. Bram admires Adryanna’s strength and wishes only to protect her, even if it’s from him.

If Bram cannot find a way for Adryanna to survive the blooding ritual the romance is doomed. They seek help from Sheerin, Bram’s cousin, who believes he’s found a way for the Lathe Sith to survive, but others in the Oiche Sith clan do not wish for them to succeed.

About the author: Karen Michelle Nutt resides in California with her husband, three fascinating children, and a houseful of demanding pets. Jack, her Chihuahua/Yorkshire terrier is her writing buddy and sits long hours with her at the computer.

Whether your reading fancy is paranormal, historical or time travel, all her stories capture the rich array of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human phenomena—falling in love.
Visit the author at her website: http://www.kmnbooks.com
Stop by her blog for Monday interviews, chats and contests at: http://kmnbooks.blogspot.com


35 comments:

Katrina Gillian said...

I would say The Dullahan scared me the most. Headless and after you-- that's too freaky. :)

katrinagillian@ yahoo.com

Cathy said...

All the creatures scare me. lol

I wouldn't want to meet any of them.

Your books sounds good!

cnickol@verizon.net

Anonymous said...

Hi Karen, great blurb!

I wouldn't want to meet any of the critters. Though I adore shape shifters. :)

bidelia78@yahoo.com

Brenda said...

All of these creatures scare the crap out of me, but the Banshee freaks me out the most.

brenda_dyer212@hotmail.com

Jenna said...

I like the legend of the selkie. Not scary, but very romantic. Banshees are most frightening to me.

D'Ann said...

Hi,
Ever since I've been a child, the headless horseman has creeped me out...maybe because I'm a rider! Shrug.

Nicole Morgan said...

Great, but spooky post Karen. I kinda wish I hadn't read it before bed. I am a huge fan of all things creepy that go bump in the night. I liked how you stepped out of the norm and introduced me to some new ghouls I wasn't even aware of. I hope I can sleep tonight. ;)

Julie Lynn Hayes said...

I don't know if this qualifies, but here goes. Long ago, when I was but 21, my first husband was shot to death not far from the house where I still live, supposedly dying while trying to make his way home. Since that time, three people (but not myself) have claimed to see his ghost in the house. My daughter has also seen the ghost of a chef.

Interesting post, Karen!

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Katrina,
I would be running away if I caught sight of a headless horseman. :)
Thanks for stopping by.

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Cathy,

They are all pretty scary. lol
Thanks for popping in.

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

kittyb78,

I'm partial to shapeshifters, too. :)

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Brenda,

I don't know if the Banshees and their screaming would freak me out. :)

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Ooh, legend of the selkie--beautiful and sad, too. :)

Thank you for coming by for sneak peek!

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

D'Ann,

Looks like the Headless Horseman is in the lead-- Freaky? You bet. I hope you can ride fast!

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

D'Ann,

Looks like the Headless Horseman is in the lead-- Freaky? You bet. I hope you can ride fast!

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Nicole,

I'm glad I could introduce you to a few more ghouls-- lol

But hopefully, you'll only have pleasant dreams.:)

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Julie,

Oh my gosh-- that is terrible and spooky! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

The Banshee has always spooked me! It's my favorite spooky tale! Great post! Thanks for the giveaway!
jennyrlowery(at)yahoo(dot)com

Alicia Nordwell said...

I'd say, out of all the legends of Ireland I always found the Children of Lir to be particularly interesting. It mixes mythos with Christianity in an interesting way. Lir's 2nd wife, aunt to his children, is jealous and tries to have them killed. When the servant refuses she tries but cannot, so instead she curses them into the shape of swans to remain so until the sound of Christian bells. There's a lot of flaws with the fable, but I love researching older stories so it's one of my favs. Besides, as a modern day suffering of the evil stepmom, I do so love a good classic tale of their witchery! LOL

Great blog, and a fun subject this time of year. Congrats on your recent publishing success Karen!

Pamela K. Kinney said...

Banshees are cool.

Anonymous said...

That's a scary as I can take. I'm glad I read this in the morning, otherwise I'd have nightmares. Congratulations on your release.

Liz said...

That's a nice cover. ;)

I can't say any of them really frightens me, because there appears to be a reason behind each one: although with a couple of the solutions offered, some have a good reason to get stoned. (Don't shoot me for that pun, please!)

lily sawyer said...

Banshees would bother me. all that wailing over death and destruction. ew.

Linda (aka Lily Sawyer)

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Jennifer,

You're not alone. Banshees seem to be in the lead now. lol

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Cia,

I forgot about the legend of the Children of Lir. Great story. I have a lovely childrens book with this story in it. Thanks for sharing!!

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Waving to you Pamela!!!

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Ella,

I'm glad you read this in the daylight, too. lol

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Liz,

Thanks so much. I'm so glad you like the cover.

Sooo...you aren't afraid. You are a brave one.

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Lily,

Go team Banshee!! Can you hear them scream? Well...let's hope not. lol

katsrus said...

Your book cover is so pretty. sounds like a really good book. All those scare me but; Banshee really scares me the most.
Sue B
katsrus(at)gmail(dot)com

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Hi Sue,

I'm so glad to see you here. :)

You're not alone. Banshees seem to be the scary monster here.

I'm so pleased you like the book cover! I'm thrilled with it. :)

Melissa Limoges said...

Very cool post. I have to say the Banshee has always seemed scary to me. The book sounds great. :)

Unknown said...

They all scared me lol arafel1962@gmail.com

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

It's Halloween and it's time to choose one lucky trick or treater! Stay tune. I have to consult the caldron and conjure a winner!

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

...and the winner is Cathy! Congratulations!

For everyone here Twilight's Eternal Embrace is free at Amazon until Nov. 2nd. Happy Halloween!!

@Amazon