Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy Hints

What do all the Irish terms mean?

  • Any terms you really need to know are translated for you in the game. But if you're of an inquiring mind like me, you'll wonder about the others. Here are the ones I wanted to know about.

    sidhe (pronounced shee) -- a mound of earth, and thus the fairies who are associated with that mound.

    banshee -- literally a woman of the fairy mounds, and thus a fairy woman.

    Sasanach -- people from England. The word comes from the word "Saxon" and is faintly derogatory, referring to one of the many groups that overran and conquered Ireland over the centuries.

    solas -- solace or comfort

    cara -- friend

    preachan -- crow

    babog -- doll

    spiaire -- spy. These five words are all written on the family tree in the tower, along with several pictures of crows. That makes me think they're the names of the crows who were Fiona's friends over the years.

    the Good People -- fairies. Traditionally the name is used because according to the folklore, fairies were pretty scary people. Calling them by their real name might make them appear, and then they'd do things like making the milk go sour, spoiling the crops, and stealing your children. So when you wanted to talk about them, you'd call them the Good People -- and then even if they figured out you meant them, they might be flattered enough not to kidnap your kids.