this is the haint blue ceiling of the porch on the very old house

where we are staying in south carolina

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Haint Blue is a term used for a range of pale, blue-green colors that are similar to the color of water or the sky. They’re often used to paint the porch ceilings of homes in the southern United States. The reason people paint their porch ceilings this color is a tale of tradition from the Deep South.

The word “haint” is a colloquial way to pronounce “haunt,” another word for ghosts or evil spirits. The word comes from the Gullah, a community of people descended from West African enslaved people who settled on the coast of Georgia and South Carolina.

The Gullah people  created this color by mixing indigo with lime, milk, and other natural ingredients. They painted porch ceilings, shutters, and even doors in this shade to keep away “haints” aka. restless spirits. The idea was simple but powerful: they believed that haints were afraid of water, spirits couldn’t cross water or sky, and so the color blue would protect the home.

Haint Blue paint was a form of protection for the Gullah and the southern communities embraced it wholeheartedly. That’s why so many porch ceilings throughout the south are painted a beautiful light blue-green, which has become known as haint blue.This  color is tied to memory, protection, and survival.

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‘color is a power which directly influences the soul.’

-wassily kandinsky

 

 

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charleston, south carolina, usa, October 2025