There is a very widespread belief that in certain families, warning of the impending death of a member of the family is given always in the same way. In some families a certain bird is seen by some member of the family before a death, in others the church-bell rings without being tolled, in another one or more flagstones of the pavement of the chapel are seen to be wet while the rest are dry, and the of wet flagstones tallies with the number of deaths. In Ireland such warnings are particularly frequent, and often occur in the form of what is called the Banshee, a screech heard by members of the family, but inaudible to others.