The leannán sídhe is a figure from Irish Folklore. She is depicted as a beautiful woman of the Aos Sí who takes a human lover. Lovers of the leannán sídhe are said to live brief, though highly inspired, lives. The name comes from the Gaelic words for a sweetheart, lover, or concubine and the term for inhabitants of fairy mounds. While the leannán sídhe is most often depicted as a female fairy, there is at least one reference to a male leannán sídhe troubling a mortal woman. A version of the myth was popularized during the Celtic Revival in the late 19th-century. The leannán sídhe is mentioned by Jane Wilde, writing as "Speranza", in her 1887 Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms and Superstitions of Ireland. W. B. Yeats popularized his own 'newly-ancient' version of the leannán sídhe, emphasizing the spirit's almost vampiric tendencies. As he imagined it, the leannán sídhe is depicted as a beautiful muse who offers inspiration to an artist in exchange for their love and devotion; although the supernatural affair leads to madness and eventual death for the artist:
A number of traditional Irish tales feature characters that appear to draw from the leannán sídhe legend for inspiration. These include Katharine Mary Briggs's "The Fairy Follower" in Folktales of England, the story "Oisin in the Land of Youth" in Ancient Irish Tales, "The Dream of Angus" in Augusta, Lady Gregory's Cuchulain of Muirthemne. In 2005 game , one of the bosses called Nevan was based on Leanan sídhe. Leanan sidhe is also a recurring recruitable creature in the popular Megami Tensei series of games. The old Irish song "My Lagan Love" uses her as a metaphor for consuming love: "And like a love-sick lennan-shee/She has my heart in thrall,/Nor life I owe nor liberty/For love is lord of all." The Irish band Unkindness Of Ravens released the song "Leanan Sídhe in 2015 alongside an accompanying video further exploring the ancient myth. The video was filmed in The Burren in County Clare and the Slieve Bloom Mountains in County Offaly, Ireland, as well as the Pollnagollum caves. Modern fantasy novels often include characters based on Irish mythology. Examples include The Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher, with a recurring character named Leanansidhe and The Iron Fey Series, by Julie Kagawa. Also the book Ink Exchange, a part of the Wicked Lovely series, by Melissa Marr. Starring in the Japanese manga "Mahoutsukai no Yome " volume 3, by Kore Yamazaki a leannan sidhe lives with Joel Garland where Chise meets in his rose garden. The 2017 horror movieMUSE, written and directed by John Burr, features her as the mythical and deadly spirit who becomes the muse and lover of a painter.
