banshee

plural banshees · alternative archaic banshie · alternative obsolete benshee

1. IrelandScotlandartsA female spirit, usually taking the form of a woman whose mournful wailing warns of an impending death.

   Late had he heard, in prophet's dream, / The fatal Ben-Shie's boding scream […].

   1810, The Lady of the Lake, Walter Scott, 3.VII

2. derogatoryA noisy or ill-tempered woman.

   Where's this old banshee that runs the place?

   1936, John Thomas McIntyre, Steps Going Down, page 15