“SCREE . . . SCREE . . .”

Terry is half asleep when he hears the wailing, rising and falling like the waves of the sea. He wishes it were a dream, but he knows it isn’t. It isn’t an owl screeching, either. Or the Flannerys’ old cat. Could it be the Banshee—the ghostly figure of Irish legend who wails outside a house when death is near?

Why would she come here?

In spite of his fears, Terry goes out to confront her. Is it really the Banshee, or . . . something else?