User:Matt Deres/Haint blue

The term haint blue refers to a variety of light and sky-blue tinted paints used in the South Carolina Lowcountry and elsewhere in the American south as a means of warding off bad spirits ("haints"). Originally a Gullah tradition, usage has now spread to other parts of the United States.

Tints
Haint blue is not a specific tint or shade, but rather refers to any kind of blue paint used for the purposes of warding the house against harm. The general intent is to mimic the color of water or the sky, meaning that blues such as sky blue, celeste, or similar shades could all be used.

Mechanism
As with many other superstitions, the exact mechanism behind what haint blue was supposed to accomplish varies from telling to telling. According to some traditions, the paint is meant to trick bad spirits into thinking they're facing a stream or other form of running water, which they cannot cross. In other traditions, the paint is applied to the ceiling of covered porches to confuse spiders and wasps into thinking the ceiling is really the sky and therefore unsuitable for building nests in. Still other traditions simply suggest that the color brings good luck.