According to legend, Baobhan Sith are mostly attracted to hunters (as their clothes might smell of blood) and to young men out after dark.
The words baobhan sith (pronounced baa'-van shee) stand for fairy woman in Scottish Gaelic.
Baobhan Sith are even more withdrawn from society than are their common counterparts. They don’t care about power, they just want to feed and prey upon their victims, youth staying out until after dark. The fairies approach their victims by inviting them to dance with them, until they are exhausted because while dancing the sidhe, feed upon them, sucking their blood until death.
They usually settle in forests or mountains. Their home of choice is always a natural environment. Baobhan Sith also require a secure resting place during the day, somewhere underground and away from prying mortal eyes and other dangers.
They have hooves instead of feet, though they keep it hidden under their clothes or with the use of glamour and faery magic.
Many theories exist about the nature of these creatures. Some believe they are simply a specific kind of fae, others whisper that they are of Half-Eleven, Half-Vampire stock, but they always appear as beautiful women and enchanters, sometimes attacking in small groups with others of their kin.
Baobhan Sith possess the ability to shape-shift, but not into bats: their animal of choice is the wolf. Shapeshifting will lessen their power as they won’t be able to use their glamour in animal form.
They can speak any language their victim knows due to a form of telepathy, but they will sound as if they have a strange accent.
Baobhan Sith don’t use fangs as most vampires do to draw blood, but their long and sharp finger nails. They look very ordinary until the vampire attacks, then turn into talons to win their victim.
The so-called dancing vampires are capable of glamour and they use it to charm their victims through spells so they drain blood without the victim noticing. No male victim of theirs will turn into Baobhan Sith, as they are only women, but if they attack and kill a woman she will return as one of their kin. Most of them where previously enchanters or witches who keep on using their skills in death.
Baobhan Sith are fairy creatures so they might be harmed and killed by iron. But their awesome beauty is hard to resist even for those who understand how dangerous they are. Also, if horse-riding hunters are surrounded by baobhan sith they can usually ward them off by staying on the horse, if they manage to resist the creatures’ beauty.
The most common tale tells of four young friends who after hunting decide to spend their night in an abandoned cottage. As darkness falls they set a fire in the hearth and they start singing and dancing. As one of them express his wish to have female companions with them, four women knock at their door and start dancing with the youth.
As the baobhan sith start to attack their preys, the young man who was singing runs to the door, taking shelter between their horses. The creature that was running after him waits for him to get out of the safe circle formed by the animals but the man stays within until dawn breaks and the woman disappears shortly before.
The man returns to the cottage to find his friends dead and blood-drained. He only saved his life because fairy creatures are afraid of iron for it can harm and kill them, and horses had iron shoes.
