Today is an odd 5th Tuesday, so I thought I would send you all a bonus stack!
Last weekend I had the privilege of going to Charleston for the Books in Charleston event and it was so much fun!
If you’ve ever strolled through Charleston, South Carolina, you’ve probably noticed that soft, dreamy blue color painted on porch ceilings all over the historic district. It’s everywhere, and it’s lovely. But it’s not just a design choice. There’s a whole story behind it.
That color is called haint blue, and it comes from the Gullah Geechee people, the community of enslaved Africans and their descendants who shaped so much of Lowcountry culture. A “haint” is a Gullah word for a restless spirit — a ghost that just won’t move on — and the belief was that evil spirits couldn’t cross water. Paint your porch ceiling the color of the sky and the water, and those haints would be confused, turned away, kept out. I love that. It’s practical and poetic at the same time.
Over generations, the tradition spread, and honestly, it may have had some real-world benefits too — many early versions of the paint were made with lye, which also happened to repel insects. So whether you believed in haints or not, a haint blue porch ceiling was doing something useful.
Today you can buy haint blue at any paint store — Sherwin-Williams has their own version — and it’s popular all over the South. But there’s something special about seeing it in Charleston, on those grand old piazzas, with the palmetto trees swaying and the history practically hanging in the air. I took this photo on a recent trip and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Some colors just feel like a place.
A special thanks to Callie for coming to see me! It was so lovely to meet you and your friend!
Have a wonderful week!
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.